<prompt> Human: Is it possible to keep more money by making less and avoiding more taxes from being bumped to a higher tax bracket?  <response>: No. Tax brackets do not work like you think they do. For simplicity sake, lets pretend there are 2 tax brackets. Bracket one is 50k or less, and is 25. Bracket 2 is over 50k, and is 40. If you make 51,000 you dont suddenly owe 15 more in taxes. You pay 25 on the first 50,000 you earn, and then 40 on the remaining 1,000. 