Editorial methodology, sources & review process
How every figure on TaxSaveIQ gets there, who checks it, which official material it comes from, and how to tell us when something is wrong.
Who reviews the numbers
Tax inputs and calculator methodology are reviewed by Deepak Middha, Chartered Accountant, who has 18 years in hedge-fund accounting and taxation and has passed the Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination. He is the founder of TaxSaveIQ and its tax calculator methodology reviewer.
Passing the Series 65 examination is not a licence or registration, and TaxSaveIQ does not provide investment-advisory services. Review means the tax data, formulas, and assumptions are checked against official sources — it is not an audit, and it is not personal advice.
What a calculator review covers
- Tax-year inputs and which year each calculator defaults to
- Federal brackets and threshold figures
- Standard deduction amounts by filing status
- Credits, phaseouts, and their income ranges
- Retirement contribution and catch-up limits
- Capital-gains rate thresholds
- Self-employment tax methodology, including the 92.35% adjustment and the deductible half
- Calculator formulas and the order in which deductions are applied
- Stated assumptions and what each tool deliberately leaves out
- Edge-case handling, such as phaseout boundaries and wage-base limits
- Source links to the governing official material
- Plain-English explanations of the results
- The last-verified date shown on the page
How sources are ranked
Different calculators rely on different official material. When two sources appear to disagree, the higher tier wins:
1. Statute
The Internal Revenue Code as amended, including the 2025 changes commonly called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Statute governs when guidance has not yet caught up.
2. IRS guidance
Revenue procedures and notices — for the 2026 tax year, the inflation-adjusted brackets, deduction amounts, and limits published in Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
3. IRS forms, instructions and publications
Schedule SE, Schedule D, Schedule 1-A, Form 8995, Publication 505, and Publications 590-A and 590-B, used for calculation order and edge-case mechanics.
4. Other federal agencies
The Social Security Administration for the annual contribution and benefit base used in payroll and self-employment calculations.
5. State tax authorities
Each state's Department of Revenue for rates, brackets, exemptions, and the treatment of retirement income. Each state page cites its own sources and carries its own verified date.
Source map by calculator
Each calculator cites the material that actually governs its calculation. These are the same sources listed in the “Methodology and sources” section on each page.
Federal Income Tax Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
State Tax Estimate Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
Self-Employment Tax Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
- IRS — About Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax
- IRS — Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
- Social Security Administration — Contribution and benefit base by year
- IRS Topic no. 751 — Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- IRS — About Form 8995, Qualified Business Income Deduction
- IRS — About Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals
Capital Gains Tax Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
W-2 vs 1099 Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
- IRS Topic no. 751 — Social Security and Medicare withholding rates
- IRS — About Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax
- IRS — Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)
- IRS — About Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate
- IRS — About Form 8995, Qualified Business Income Deduction
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments (PDF)
LLC / S-Corp Tax Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
Roth vs Traditional Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
Lifetime Tax Savings Calculator →Tax year 2026 · data last verified
- IRS — Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
- IRS Publication 590-B — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements
- IRS Topic no. 423 — Social Security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits
- IRS — 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments (PDF)
Other tools — the W-4 optimizer, RMD calculator, Roth conversion calculator, tax-loss-harvesting calculator, quarterly planner, and the OBBBA and state pages — cite their own sources and verified dates on the page itself.
Verification cadence and dates
- Federal figures are re-checked when the IRS publishes new inflation adjustments or new guidance on a provision we model.
- State figures are re-checked per state; where a state has not published 2026 amounts, the latest enacted figures are used and the page says so.
- Each calculator and guide displays the date its tax data was last verified, taken from the same data file that drives the calculation.
- A page's last-verified date changes only when the underlying tax data is re-checked — not when wording or layout is edited.
Corrections policy
- If a figure is wrong, we fix the underlying data rather than patching a single page, so every calculator that uses it is corrected at once.
- Corrections that change a calculated result also update that page's verified date.
- Where the law is unsettled or a state has not published 2026 figures, the page says so instead of presenting an estimate as final.
- Found something wrong? Report a correction — include the page and the figure you believe is incorrect.
What TaxSaveIQ does not do
- No individualized tax, legal, accounting, financial, or investment advice.
- No tax return preparation, e-filing, or representation before the IRS.
- No claim of IRS approval, certification, or endorsement — TaxSaveIQ cites IRS material, which is not the same as being endorsed by the IRS.
- No user ratings or reviews are collected, so none are published or marked up in structured data.
Publisher and disclaimer. TaxSaveIQ is owned and operated by Wealth Building Academy LLC, an Illinois-registered limited liability company. Naperville, IL 60563. TaxSaveIQ provides educational calculations and general information only. It does not provide individualized tax, legal, accounting, financial, or investment advice. Tax laws, limits, interpretations, and individual circumstances can change. Verify important decisions with official sources or a qualified professional.
This page last reviewed · About TaxSaveIQ · About the reviewer