[primis]

When you're making 50-70k / year you're probably not able to put money in a 401k, especially in the event you have a single income 3 or 4 person household.

This is also missing the point slightly. You shouldn't have to rely on tax day returns.

[refurb]

If you're a family of 4 making $70,000, you get $27,000 deduction off the bat. Your federal income tax is $4,890 or 6.9%.

I'd say that's pretty low considering it's median household income in the US.

[tempsy]

you will be able to claim deductions immediately and owe less taxes than a single person making the same. plus you get double the standard deduction. in that case you will really pay very few taxes even if you save very little in a 401k or IRA (though you still should even if you can’t max)