What is the tax owed by a married couple filing jointly who report a taxable income of [tex]$\$ 97,025$[/tex]?

[tex]
\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{\text{Taxable income is:}} & \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{\text{And you are:}} \\
\hline
\text{At least} & \text{But less than} & \text{Single} & \text{Married filing jointly} & \text{Married filing separately} & \text{Head of household} \\
\hline
& & \multicolumn{4}{|c|}{\text{Your tax is:}} \\
\hline
97,000 & 97,050 & 20,149 & 15,734 & 20,609 & 18,509 \\
\hline
97,050 & 97,100 & 20,163 & 15,776 & 20,623 & 18,521 \\
\hline
97,100 & 97,150 & 20,177 & 15,759 & 20,637 & 18,534 \\
\hline
97,150 & 97,200 & 20,191 & 15,771 & 20,651 & 18,546 \\
\hline
97,200 & 97,250 & 20,205 & 15,784 & 20,665 & 18,559 \\
\hline
97,250 & 97,300 & 20,219 & 15,796 & 20,679 & 18,571 \\
\hline
97,300 & 97,350 & \text{Error} & 15,809 & 20,692 & 18,584 \\
\hline
\end{array}
[/tex]

We are given that the taxable income is
[tex]$$
I = \$97{,}025.
$$[/tex]

Looking at the tax table for a married couple filing jointly, we see that one of the brackets covers incomes from
[tex]$$
\$97{,}000 \quad \text{(inclusive)}
$$[/tex]
to
[tex]$$
\$97{,}050 \quad \text{(exclusive)}.
$$[/tex]

Since
[tex]$$
97{,}000 \leq 97{,}025 < 97{,}050,
$$[/tex]
the income falls in this bracket.

In this bracket, the tax is specified as
[tex]$$
\$15{,}734.
$$[/tex]

Therefore, the tax owed by the couple is
[tex]$$
\boxed{\$15{,}734}.
$$[/tex]