Quoted from cottonm4:You are paying more in taxes with that check than I have ever made in one year.
I apologize but it is hard to gather much sympathy when what you have left over is more than I make.
It is also possible to have a one time event happen that launches you to a much higher tax bracket for that year. For example, from an IPO that happened this year (so all my stock being paid at once instead of over multiple years) my federal income tax is going to be higher than my salary. If someone saw the check I am writing to the IRS next year and assumed that every year I pay that much in taxes they would assume I have millions of dollars lying around, but I don't have near that much money. You can have similar situations happen from lump sum settlements happening.
