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June 7, 2019
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Where do I find my effective tax rate on my completed return?

  • June 7, 2019
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Best answer by Devin11_2

"Effective tax rate" is not something that will appear on your tax return, and there's actually not a single definition of what it is. Essentially, effective tax rate is just the average tax rate you pay on all of your income.

There's multiple ways you can calculate this number, depending on which effective tax rate you're interested in. If you want to know your effective tax rate on only your "taxable income" (i.e. your income after all adjustments, deductions, and exemptions), then just divide your total tax (Line 61 of Form 1040) by your taxable income (Line 43 of Form 1040). If you're interested in the effective tax rate on all of your income (even the income you don't pay any tax on because of deductions, etc.), then divide your total tax by your total income (Line 22 of Form 1040).

You can also choose different lines for income (maybe you want Adjusted Gross Income on line 37, or maybe you want to add in even non-taxable income from tax exempt interest or social security benefits) and different lines for the tax (maybe you don't want to include penalties or self-employment tax from the "Other Taxes" section). But basically it's just your taxes paid -- under whatever definition of taxes paid you want to use -- divided by your income -- under whatever definition of income you want to use.

3 replies

Devin11_2Answer
Employee
June 7, 2019

"Effective tax rate" is not something that will appear on your tax return, and there's actually not a single definition of what it is. Essentially, effective tax rate is just the average tax rate you pay on all of your income.

There's multiple ways you can calculate this number, depending on which effective tax rate you're interested in. If you want to know your effective tax rate on only your "taxable income" (i.e. your income after all adjustments, deductions, and exemptions), then just divide your total tax (Line 61 of Form 1040) by your taxable income (Line 43 of Form 1040). If you're interested in the effective tax rate on all of your income (even the income you don't pay any tax on because of deductions, etc.), then divide your total tax by your total income (Line 22 of Form 1040).

You can also choose different lines for income (maybe you want Adjusted Gross Income on line 37, or maybe you want to add in even non-taxable income from tax exempt interest or social security benefits) and different lines for the tax (maybe you don't want to include penalties or self-employment tax from the "Other Taxes" section). But basically it's just your taxes paid -- under whatever definition of taxes paid you want to use -- divided by your income -- under whatever definition of income you want to use.

bob33Author
June 7, 2019
This mostly answered my question, but I had seen it calculated for me as I was going through the TurboTax process (it showed up on one of the screens, not my return), and I was looking for that.
August 19, 2021

I moved some money from Trad.IRA to Roth IRA during 2020.

I'm doing an amended tax return.  How do I find out the

effective tax rate for $2000?

March 19, 2022

Where did you even find your effective tax rate? There used to be a summary and insights kind of page on the first page of my pdf return, but now it's just the 1040 followed by alllll the other sheets.

Is it not in the downloaded PDF anymore?

Cass0317
March 20, 2022

You should be able to find your effective tax rate at the bottom of your 2-year comparison. It is also stated on the TurboTax Filing Instructions page if you print a copy of your return.  

"Employee Tax Expert Cynthiad66"

Here is how to print the TurboTax Filing Instructions page after filing:

You need to download your tax return using Print Center and choose the option for all worksheets.

  1. Sign onto your online account and land on the Tax Home web page

  2. Scroll down and click on Add a state. 

  3. This will take you back to the 2019 online tax return.

  4. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. 

  5. Then click on Print Center.


  6. Then click on Print, save or preview this year's return.  Choose the option Include government and TurboTax worksheets.

If you used the download version, please see the TurboTax FAQ below:

How do I print a copy of my return filed in the TurboTax CD/Download software?