Am i calculating my tax liablitly right?

Are you 1099 or W2?
And what about per diem...did you already get that?
And the 20% business deduction if 1099?
Do you own your own equipment? Did you take depreciation?

Start with the 1099 or W2...If you are 1099 you will be gold this year..let us know...

 

In your example of grossing $55,000 you would first take the deduction off that $55,000 to come up with your taxable income. (to keep this simple we are assuming that's the only deduction you qualify for on your taxes)

Your new adjusted gross income is now $43,000. Now it's not as simple as just saying I am in the 22% tax bracket and that's what you owe. The way taxes work is you pay each percentage as you go up the brackets.

For example if you are single.
from $0 - $9525 you pay 10% = 952.50
Now $9526 - $38700 you'll pay 12% on the $29174 you made in bracket plus $952.50 from the previous bracket.

Since your taxable income was $43,000 that means you'll also need to pay the 22% on the income you made over $38701.

That means your total Tax would look like this:
10% bracket = $952.50
12% bracket = $3500.88
22% bracket = $946.00
Total tax = $5399.38

If we went with your example you would owe the IRS $9460. That's over $4,000 you would be giving the IRS for free.

 

Did not the per diem go away for w2 employees for 2018?

Google Calcxml tax calculator and plug in the numbers. It is accurate.

 

This is correct. Once you get your total taxable income look up the number on the brackets that are posted every year and it will do the math for you.
1040 TAX AND EARNED INCOME CREDIT TABLES (2018) | Internal Revenue Service