Refund Ledger — Federal Tax Refund Estimator

Filing basics

Tax year, filing status, and who counts as a dependent.

Tax year

Filing status

State for a state tax estimate alongside your federal one

Age & vision boosts your standard deduction

You're 65 or older You're blind

Qualifying children under 17, for Child Tax Credit

Other dependents older kids, relatives — $500 credit

Your W‑2 income

Add one card per job. Had more than one employer this year? Add another — the totals below add themselves up.

W‑2 #1

Box 1 · Wages

Box 2 · Fed. withheld

Box 4 · SS withheld

Box 6 · Medicare withheld

Box 17 · State withheld

Copy each number straight off the form — Box 1 is wages, Box 2 is federal tax already withheld, Boxes 4 and 6 are Social Security and Medicare tax withheld, Box 17 is state tax withheld. Boxes 4 & 6 only move your result if you had multiple jobs or a high income; leave them at $0 otherwise. Box 17 only matters if you picked a state above.

Other income

Anything that didn't come with a W‑2.

Self‑employment net profit

Taxable interest

Ordinary dividends total, incl. qualified

…of which, qualified dividends

Short‑term capital gains

Long‑term capital gains

Other income unemployment, retirement dist., etc.

Capital losses, rental income, and K‑1 income aren't modeled here — for those, a full preparer or software will be more accurate.

Adjustments & deductions

What shrinks your income before tax rates apply.

Adjustments to income IRA, HSA, student loan interest, educator exp.

Deduction method

Standard deduction Itemize

Your standard deduction: —

I have qualified business income eligible for the 20% pass‑through deduction

Itemized deduction detail

Mortgage interest paid

State & local taxes paid capped at $40,000

Charitable donations

Medical & dental expenses only excess over 7.5% AGI counts

Other itemized deductions

Other payments

Tax already sent to the IRS — and your state, if you picked one — that didn't come from a W‑2.

Other federal tax withheld 1099s, etc.

Federal estimated payments made

Other state tax withheld 1099s, etc.

State estimated payments made

Federal and state withholding (and Social Security/Medicare) from your W‑2s is pulled in automatically from the cards above — no need to re‑enter it here.

Other credits

Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Credit are calculated for you automatically below.

Other nonrefundable credits education, retirement savings, etc.

Federal · estimated result

Your estimated refund

Fill in the form to see your number update live.

Total income$0

Adjusted gross income$0

Deduction$0

Taxable income$0

Income tax$0

Self‑employment tax$0

Additional Medicare tax$0

Nonrefundable credits used$0

Total tax$0

Withholding & est. payments$0

Total payments & credits$0

Estimate — not filed

What this assumes

Capital gains/qualified dividends are taxed at preferential rates stacked on top of ordinary income.
Earned Income Credit and Additional Medicare Tax use simplified, linear approximations of the IRS tables.
Child Tax Credit phases out $50 per $1,000 of AGI over $200,000 ($400,000 married filing jointly).
State tax uses each state's own brackets and standard deduction applied to your federal AGI — it doesn't model state-specific credits, exemptions, or add‑backs, and Head of Household/Married Filing Separately reuse the state's single-filer brackets as an approximation.
Not tax advice — verify with a preparer, IRS Free File, or your state's revenue department before you rely on this number.