Josh

Financial modeling and data

Numbers don't argue, but the assumptions behind them do - and they should be visible.

Josh covers the data-heavy side of PennyCalc - the pages where the math has to be exactly right and the assumptions have to be visible. His background spans investment banking at Houlihan Lokey and financial modeling in private equity, the kind of work where a misread amortization schedule has real consequences. That habit shows up in how these tools are built: full breakdowns, stated assumptions, and no black boxes.

He reviews and helps maintain mortgage, tax bracket, retirement, compound interest, and capital gains tools, plus long-form history pages that put current rates and brackets in context. His standard for a page that argues a number is that the reader should be able to inspect the important steps that produced it.

Josh's standard is that the number is only as useful as the assumptions a reader can inspect and defend. The PennyCalc tools that bear his name make material inputs editable, identify the important defaults, and show how those inputs produce the result.

AI tools may assist with drafts, implementation, and test scaffolding. Josh is named here because he owns the human review of the financial models and data assigned to him. See the review process.

pages with this reviewer byline

topic areas covered

IRS Pub 17 · FRED · JCT · SSA Trustees

primary sources

Per release

verification checkpoint

What Josh covers

Mortgage calculationsFederal income taxRetirement modelingCompound interestCapital gainsHistorical rate datasets

My editorial standards

Every assumption is editable. Every default value on a Josh-owned calculator can be overridden. If the user disagrees with our property tax estimate for their county, the input is right there.
No black-box math. Every output is decomposed into its inputs. A "$2,935 monthly payment" breaks down into the P&I, escrow, and PMI line items so the reader can audit each piece.
Source the default, not just the number. Material current-year defaults should point to the controlling government or regulatory release, with the applicable year stated. Where a statewide estimate is only a planning input, the page should say so and let the reader replace it.
The history page should include the table, not just the chart. Charts are for shape; tables and downloadable data are for inspection. Priority history pages publish both.
The amortization schedule is mandatory. Mortgage and loan tools that hide the schedule are useful for sales conversion and useless for actually planning the next 30 years.

How I verify a fact before it ships

Tax-related figures: checked against the controlling IRS Revenue Procedure, Notice, form instruction, or other primary publication for the applicable tax year. Secondary summaries are used only as cross-checks.
Historical rate series: checked against the named government, regulator, or first-party statistical series cited on the page. When a series needs interpretation or compilation, the methodology and limitations should be visible.
Retirement contribution limits: IRS Notice for the current year, then cross-checked against published Joint Committee on Taxation explanatory documents for any rule changes.
Social Security data: SSA Trustees Reports primary, with the COLA announcement page as the formal annual marker.

Signature work

U.S. Federal Tax Brackets History (1913-2026)

One of PennyCalc's most visible reference pages. Bing Webmaster Tools reported 1,400 Microsoft Copilot citations to this page in the 30 days ended July 18, 2026. It combines the rate series, legislative history, and year-by-year context in a citable format.

Mortgage Calculator with PMI, Taxes & Insurance

Models principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and PMI together, with the assumptions exposed instead of hiding them behind the headline payment.

Capital Gains Tax Rate History (1922-2026)

The long-term rate series alongside the legislative events that moved it. Built for the tax-planning audience that needs to ground a "what was this rate in 19XX" question precisely.

IRA Contribution Limit History (1974-2026)

Every year from EGTRRA-era catch-up changes to the SECURE 2.0 super-catch-up. Pairs with the retirement projection calculator.

Pages reviewed by Josh

Working with the team

Josh owns financial-model and data review, Michael owns implementation and regression coverage, and Jessie owns the editorial pass. AI tools may help draft, research, or implement a change, but the named humans remain responsible for checking the source, the calculation, and the final explanation. A byline identifies the accountable reviewer rather than claiming that one person typed every line alone.

What I'm working on now

Josh's current review priority is the current-year tax and housing data that drives calculator defaults and high-traffic reference pages, with material changes recorded in the public corrections log.

Spotted an error?

We prioritize math and sourcing reports and document material corrections. Use the corrections page and include "Josh / [page URL]", the disputed value, and a primary source.

PennyCalc's named reviewers are accountable for the financial, editorial, and implementation work assigned to them. Read more on the about page and in the methodology.