Working Overtime Is More Taxing Than You Think
The payoff for overtime work appears to be a very good deal for the employee. But here’s some unpleasant news. Thanks to the rising burden of taxes, the bonus income actually received from working longer hours is much less than one might think. That is because every extra hour worked is taxed at the worker’s highest marginal tax rate. In some cases, overtime work may even push the worker into a higher tax bracket.
It turns out that even if the worker receives time and a half for overtime, a surprisingly large share of the bonus wages goes straight to the tax collector.
You can't be "pushed into a higher tax bracket."
That isn't how tax brackets work.
As your income increases it is taxed at the percentage designated for each bracket.
So for example say $0-$10,000 is taxed at 10% and $10,001-$20,000 is taxed at 12%.
Person A makes $8,000 a year.
Person B makes $15,000 a year.
Both Person A and B's first $10,000 is taxed at 10%.
Person B is only taxed at 12% for every dollar he made that is over $10,000, not at 12% for his entire income.