Important: These projections are educational estimates and not financial, tax,
legal, or investment advice. Federal tax is approximated using the single‑filer standard deduction
($13,850) and 2023 federal brackets; state tax is a flat percentage by
state from an internal table. Estimates exclude Social Security/Medicare (FICA),
local taxes, itemized deductions, credits, AMT, capital‑gains rules, and self‑employment taxes. Actual outcomes
vary.
Assumptions & limitations
- Filing model: W‑2 wages, single filer, standard deduction only; no dependents, credits, or adjustments.
- Federal tax calc: Monthly estimate = (annualized income − $13,850) through 2023 bands (10/12/22/24/32/35/37%), divided by 12.
- State tax: Single flat rate per state from a fixed lookup; local/city taxes not modeled.
- Payroll taxes: FICA is not included.
- Education & loans: Tuition follows the chosen academic calendar; if deferring, tuition is added to loan principal and interest accrues monthly at the specified APR. No IDR/PSLF/forbearance nuances.
- Income changes: Expected salary replaces current salary starting at/after the provided graduation date; other changes come from user‑defined milestones.
- Contributions & withdrawals: Retirement/emergency contributions treated as post‑tax outflows. Retirement withdrawals treated as taxable ordinary income; no early‑withdrawal penalties/RMD rules modeled.
- Returns: Retirement balances use the selected strategy (none / flat annual rate / random monthly range). No general inflation is applied unless you model it via milestones.
- Data sources: Public datasets (e.g., BLS/NCES) may change without notice. COL adjustments not applied unless explicitly labeled.
);
}