<prompt> Human: So I did my run through with my W-2 forms and my refund was all fucked up. Will someone smarter than me please explain what happened? Story in album...Assistant: you dont pay all of your money in 1 tax bracket, you pay each division of money in each appropriate percentage.For example you made 34,533, you pay 10 on the first 17400 and 15 on the remaining 17133. That means your federal taxes are 1740 2569 4309 about. If you compare that to the total federal you paid and it is lower, you will owe taxes. If it is higher, you will get a refund. I cant speculate wo more information though. State has different rules and Im not going to get into it since I dont know much about KY.Edit: MathHuman: ...I feel like I missed this class...  <response>: Its very important stuff that isnt taught in school some of the reasons why poor people make decisions that make them poorer whereas rich people make them richer. The inability to understand one of the biggest expenses that people spend taxes and how to reduce it is a pretty big flaw in the education system but fortunately by the time you are 18, you havent paid much into taxes and should be responsible in educating yourself. Trust me, when you start making some real money, you find the interest to learn really really quick how to keep more money for yourself.Edit: i also wanted to add that a lot of people who dont understand are afraid to earn more money because it will put them in a higher tax bracket. Its impossible to make less money this way because if you do go into a higher tax bracket, you only pay that on the money in that tax bracket so you still make more money than not getting a raise. 