[sten]

federal tax: 40%
social security, medicare: 7.5%
self-employment tax: 7.5%
—
total fed tax: 55%

how do i avoid that again? move to another country?

sorry... the US is the only country in the world that believes anyone claiming US citizenship must pay federal taxes no matter what country they reside in. and the taxes are on their WORLD WIDE income, not just the monies made within the US.

when you spend more then half your life working for someone else... your life is not your own.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“when you spend more then half your life working for someone else... your life is not your own.”

+1

Self-evident to anyone who will take a moment from their hamster wheel to pause and think.

[riri]

I believe you can qualify for about 92K in the form of a tax exclusion.

So, if you can find a way to make and live on less than that, you can free yourself slowly from the shackles.

I guess if you are a couple you can look into not being married. Not sure how that would work. Many places where you can live OK on 90k though.

[Quality_Not_Quantity]

federal tax: 40%

I see your problem. You make too much money. Stop it. Stop it now and leave some money for the poor people who don't make enough money, then your taxes will go down.

/sarc

[Labyrinthos]

how do i avoid that again? move to another country?

Move to Puerto Rico where full-time residents do not pay federal income tax income earned in PR.