2026 Federal Tax Bracket Calculator

Example Calculation

A single filer with $85,000 of income has $68,900 of taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction. The tax is $1,240 on the first $12,400 (10%), $4,560 on the next $38,000 (12%) and $4,070 on the last $18,500 (22%).

The total is $9,870. The marginal rate is 22%, but the effective rate is only 11.6% of income.

How It Works

The United States uses a progressive federal income tax. That means your income is divided into slices, and each slice is taxed at its own rate. A common misunderstanding is that moving into a higher bracket makes all of your income taxed at the higher rate. It does not — only the dollars above the bracket threshold are taxed at the higher rate.

This calculator applies the tax year 2026 brackets and standard deductions published by the IRS in Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Enter your annual income, choose a filing status, and decide whether to subtract the standard deduction ($16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly and $24,150 for head of household). The tool then shows a table listing every bracket you reach, how much of your taxable income falls inside it and the tax owed on that slice.

Two numbers summarize the result. Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of income — the highest bracket you reach — and tells you how much extra tax a raise or side income would face. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, which is always lower than your marginal rate and shows your overall tax burden.

This estimate covers ordinary income only. It does not include Social Security and Medicare taxes, state income tax, credits such as the child tax credit, itemized deductions, the alternative minimum tax, net investment income tax or special rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends. Treat it as a way to understand how brackets work and to compare scenarios, and use IRS resources or a tax professional to prepare an actual return.

Formula Explained

Taxable income = income − standard deduction

Tax = Σ (ratei × portion of taxable income inside bracket i)

Effective rate = total tax ÷ income; marginal rate = rate of the top bracket reached.

Assumptions and limits

• Tax year 2026. Brackets and the standard deduction come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32.
• It covers ordinary income only. Long-term capital gains, qualified dividends, the alternative minimum tax, credits and the net investment income tax are not included.
• It does not include Social Security and Medicare tax or state income tax, so it is not your take-home pay. Use the paycheck calculator for that.
• If you tick the standard deduction it is subtracted. Itemized deductions and above-the-line adjustments are not modeled. Untick it if the number you entered is already taxable income.