Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 19:26 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 19:26
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,355
Own Kudos:
778,083
 [10]
Given Kudos: 99,964
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,355
Kudos: 778,083
 [10]
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 11 Jun 2019, 01:20
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
9
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

15% (low)

Question Stats:

82% (01:20) correct 18% (01:40) wrong based on 521 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100, and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed. If Elena's gross income was $34,500 and she claimed 2 dependents, how much did she determine her state income tax to be?

A. $1,600
B. $1,625
C. $1,650
D. $1,675
E. $1,700
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
User avatar
Lampard42
User avatar
Joined: 22 Nov 2018
Last visit: 12 Dec 2020
Posts: 427
Own Kudos:
551
Given Kudos: 292
Location: India
GMAT 1: 640 Q45 V35
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V41
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V41
Posts: 427
Kudos: 551
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 11 Jun 2019, 02:48
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100, and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed. If Elena's gross income was $34,500 and she claimed 2 dependents, how much did she determine her state income tax to be?

A. $1,600
B. $1,625
C. $1,650
D. $1,675
E. $1,700
Show more

34500*5%=1725; Rounded 1700-100=1600 IMO A
User avatar
CareerGeek
User avatar
Joined: 20 Jul 2017
Last visit: 17 Nov 2025
Posts: 1,292
Own Kudos:
4,267
 [4]
Given Kudos: 162
Location: India
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Marketing
GMAT 1: 690 Q51 V30
WE:Education (Education)
GMAT 1: 690 Q51 V30
Posts: 1,292
Kudos: 4,267
 [4]
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 11 Jun 2019, 05:25
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100, and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed. If Elena's gross income was $34,500 and she claimed 2 dependents, how much did she determine her state income tax to be?

A. $1,600
B. $1,625
C. $1,650
D. $1,675
E. $1,700
Show more

5% of gross income = 5/100*34500 = 1725 $
The above figure is rounded off to nearest 100 --> 1700 $

She claimed 50 $ for each dependent = 2*50 = 100$

Net tax she paid = 1700 - 100 = 1600 $

IMO Option A

Pls Hit kudos if you like the solution
User avatar
BrentGMATPrepNow
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 12 Sep 2015
Last visit: 31 Oct 2025
Posts: 6,739
Own Kudos:
35,331
 [2]
Given Kudos: 799
Location: Canada
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 6,739
Kudos: 35,331
 [2]
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 13 Apr 2020, 10:20
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100, and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed. If Elena's gross income was $34,500 and she claimed 2 dependents, how much did she determine her state income tax to be?

A. $1,600
B. $1,625
C. $1,650
D. $1,675
E. $1,700
Show more

Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100....
10% of $34,500 = $3450
So, 5% of $34,500 = $1725
Rounded DOWN to the nearest $100, $1725 becomes $1700

... and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed.
Elena has 2 dependents
So, we subtract a total of $100

$1700 - $100 = $1600

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 21,712
Own Kudos:
26,990
 [1]
Given Kudos: 300
Status:Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Location: United States (CA)
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 21,712
Kudos: 26,990
 [1]
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 17 Feb 2021, 17:28
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100, and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed. If Elena's gross income was $34,500 and she claimed 2 dependents, how much did she determine her state income tax to be?

A. $1,600
B. $1,625
C. $1,650
D. $1,675
E. $1,700
Show more
Solution:

First of all, 5% of $34,500 is 34,500 x 0.05 = $1,725. Rounded down to the nearest $100 yields $1,700. Finally, because she has 2 dependents, she can deduct 50 x 2 = $100. Therefore, her state income tax is 1,700 - 100 = $1,600.

Answer: A
User avatar
AkiWho
User avatar
Joined: 21 Mar 2025
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5
Given Kudos: 204
Location: India
Posts: 5
Kudos: 0
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 17 Sep 2025, 02:51
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey, I did:
5% tax = 5/100*345 = 345*5

after dependents deduction= 345*5 - 100 = 1625

and then I rounded 1625 to the nearest dollar i.e. 1600

Is it okay to do the rounding off at the last step? Or, did it just work out in this scenario and might be incorrect in other problems?
BrentGMATPrepNow


Elena computed 5 percent of her gross income, rounded the resulting figure down to the nearest $100....
10% of $34,500 = $3450
So, 5% of $34,500 = $1725
Rounded DOWN to the nearest $100, $1725 becomes $1700

... and subtracted $50 for each dependent that she claimed.
Elena has 2 dependents
So, we subtract a total of $100

$1700 - $100 = $1600

Answer: A

Cheers,
Brent
Show more
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,108
Own Kudos:
32,884
 [2]
Given Kudos: 700
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 5,108
Kudos: 32,884
 [2]
To determine her state income tax last year, Elena computed 5 percent 17 Sep 2025, 06:33
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
AkiWho
Hey, I did:
5% tax = 5/100*345 = 345*5

after dependents deduction= 345*5 - 100 = 1625

and then I rounded 1625 to the nearest dollar i.e. 1600

Is it okay to do the rounding off at the last step? Or, did it just work out in this scenario and might be incorrect in other problems?

Show more
AkiWho

My two cents- While you arrived at the correct answer in this case, this was fortunate coincidence! If the numbers had been different, you would have gotten it wrong. Let me show you why:

The Correct Solution:

The problem states Elena's process in this specific order:
  1. Computed 5% of gross income
  2. Rounded the result DOWN to nearest $100
  3. THEN subtracted dependent deductions

Step 1: Calculate 5% of gross income: \(0.05 \times 34,500 = 1,725\)
Step 2: Round DOWN to nearest $100: \(1,725\) rounded down → \(1,700\)
Step 3: Subtract dependent deductions: \(1,700 - (2 \times 50) = 1,700 - 100 = 1,600\)

Answer: A ($1,600)

What You Did Differently: You calculated \(1,725 - 100 = 1,625\) first, then rounded to \(1,600\)

Why This Matters - A Quick Example:

Imagine if 5% had been $1,760:
  • Correct way: $1,760 → round to $1,700 → subtract $100 = $1,600
  • Your way: $1,760 - $100 = $1,660 → round to $1,700 (wrong!)

Strategic Takeaway for GMAT Success: When the GMAT gives you a sequence of operations (especially with words like "then," "after," "next"), treat it like a recipe - follow the exact order given. The test-makers often design problems where changing the order produces a different (wrong) answer that appears in the choices.

Hope this helps!
Moderators:
Bunuel
Math Expert
105355 posts
Krunaal
Tuck School Moderator
805 posts