Tax Bracket Creep

Definition

Earning more money but paying a higher percentage in taxes, causing the joy of a raise to evaporate into the IRS's coffers.

Example Usage

My salary increased 5%, but I slipped into a higher tax bracket, so I'm actually making less after taxes.

Origin

Tax policy and personal finance terminology

Fun Fact

Inflation causes bracket creep in countries with fixed tax brackets, which is why governments periodically adjust them

Source: Personal finance and tax terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

fin.

Short for 'finance'—the management and science of handling money, assets, and resources. Whether personal or corporate, it's the art of making numbers go up instead of down.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

discrepancies

The polite accounting term for 'the numbers don't match and someone's either incompetent or stealing.' These are inconsistencies between what should be and what actually is in financial records, inventory counts, or data sets. Finding discrepancies is either the start of a really boring afternoon of reconciliation or a really exciting fraud investigation.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

equities

Fancy financial speak for stocks—those little pieces of companies you can buy that either make you feel like Warren Buffett or a complete idiot, depending on the day. They represent actual ownership in a corporation, unlike bonds where you're just the company's reluctant banker. The asset class that lets you participate in capitalism's rollercoaster while your stomach does backflips every time the market hiccups.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

issuer

The brave (or foolhardy) organization that creates and releases securities into the market, essentially asking strangers to trust their financial management for potential profits.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Beginner

Bear Market

A prolonged period when stock prices fall and investors pretend they saw it coming all along. Named after bears because, like encountering an actual bear, the best strategy is to play dead and hope it goes away before it eats your retirement fund.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Beginner

balance

That delicate financial state where your books don't scream for an audit, achieved by making sure debits and credits play nice together. It's either equilibrium or a temporary illusion before the next reconciliation nightmare.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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