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Tax Bracket Calculator (2026)

Choose a filing status and enter your 2026 income to see how federal income tax applies to it, layer by layer. The calculator can subtract the 2026 standard deduction, then shows your tax, your marginal and effective rates and how much of your income falls in each bracket.

Your numbers

Ordinary income such as wages, before the standard deduction.

Calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.

Results

2026 federal income tax
$5,020
Marginal rate
12%
On the next dollar
Effective rate
11.4%
Tax ÷ taxable income

What this means

After the $16,100 standard deduction, $60,000 leaves $43,900 of taxable income.

For a single filer, 2026 federal income tax on that is about $5,020.

Each rate applies only to the income inside its bracket: $12,400 at 10%, $31,500 at 12%. Reaching a higher bracket never raises the tax on the income below it.

Your marginal rate is 12%, so another $1,000 of taxable income would add about $120 of federal income tax.

The effective rate — tax divided by taxable income — is 11.4%, below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are taxed at lower rates.

2026 standard deduction
$16,100
Taxable income
$43,900
Tax as a share of the income you entered
8.4%
Room left in the 12% bracket
$6,500
How the taxable income fills each bracket
RateIncome in this bracketTax
10%$12,400$1,240
12%$31,500$3,780
Total$43,900$5,020
  • Estimates federal income tax on ordinary income only. It leaves out tax credits, itemized and other deductions, capital gains rates, Social Security and Medicare taxes, self-employment tax and state taxes.
  • Uses the 2026 rate schedules in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (returns filed in 2027). The IRS Tax Table for taxable income under $100,000 works in small income ranges, so a return can differ from this figure by a few dollars.

How this calculator works

You pick one of four filing statuses (single, married filing jointly, head of household or married filing separately) and enter your 2026 ordinary income, such as wages. By default the calculator subtracts the 2026 standard deduction for that status: $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household.

If you already know your taxable income, you can skip the deduction. The calculator then applies the 2026 federal rate schedules from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which cover income earned in 2026 and reported on returns filed in 2027. It shows the tax, your marginal and effective rates, the income in each bracket and the room left before the next one.

The formula and the 2026 brackets

Brackets work in layers. The first slice of taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and so on up to 37%. Moving into a higher bracket only changes the rate on the income inside that bracket; the income below it is taxed exactly as before. Your marginal rate is the rate on the next dollar.

The effective rate divides the tax by taxable income. The calculator also shows tax as a share of the income you entered, which is lower still because the standard deduction isn’t taxed. The table lists the 2026 thresholds for single filers and married couples filing jointly; the calculator also holds the head of household and married filing separately schedules.

The formula and the 2026 brackets
RateSingle: taxable incomeMarried filing jointly: taxable income
10%Up to $12,400Up to $24,800
12%Over $12,400 up to $50,400Over $24,800 up to $100,800
22%Over $50,400 up to $105,700Over $100,800 up to $211,400
24%Over $105,700 up to $201,775Over $211,400 up to $403,550
32%Over $201,775 up to $256,225Over $403,550 up to $512,450
35%Over $256,225 up to $640,600Over $512,450 up to $768,700
37%Over $640,600Over $768,700

A worked example

Take an illustrative single filer with $85,000 of wages and no other income. Subtracting the $16,100 standard deduction leaves $68,900 of taxable income. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, the next $38,000 at 12% and the remaining $18,500 at 22%, for a total of about $9,870 in 2026 federal income tax.

The marginal rate is 22%, so another $1,000 of taxable income would add about $220. The effective rate on taxable income is 14.3%, and the tax is 11.6% of the $85,000 entered. On an actual return, the IRS Tax Table works in small income ranges below $100,000 of taxable income, so the figure there can differ by a few dollars.

A worked example
RateIncome in this bracketTax
10%$12,400$1,240
12%$38,000$4,560
22%$18,500$4,070
Total$68,900$9,870

What the result doesn’t tell you

This is federal income tax on ordinary income only. It leaves out tax credits, itemized and other deductions, the lower rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends, Social Security and Medicare taxes, self-employment tax and state or local income taxes. It also leaves out the additional standard deduction for taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind: $1,650 each for 2026, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse.

The result also differs from what’s withheld from your paychecks. Withholding is a prepayment during the year; the return compares your actual tax with what you’ve paid, which is why a refund or a balance due says little about your tax rate. For a complete figure, the IRS forms and instructions for the year are the final word.

Common questions

Do tax brackets apply to all my income?

No. Each rate applies only to the slice of taxable income inside its bracket. For a single filer in 2026, the first $12,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10% no matter how much you earn in total. Reaching the 22% bracket means only the taxable income above $50,400 is taxed at 22%; everything below keeps its lower rates.

Can a raise push me into a higher bracket and lower my take-home pay?

Not through federal income tax brackets alone. Only the part of the raise that lands in the higher bracket is taxed at the higher rate, so after-tax income still rises. Other effects can reduce the gain, such as losing a credit or benefit that phases out as income rises, but the bracket system itself doesn’t make a raise cost you money.

What is the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of taxable income, set by the top bracket your income reaches. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by an income figure. This calculator divides by taxable income and also shows tax as a share of the income you entered. The effective rate is lower than the marginal rate whenever income spans more than one bracket.

What is the 2026 standard deduction?

For 2026, the IRS lists a standard deduction of $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household. Taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind can add an additional amount. Itemizing instead generally lowers the tax only when itemized deductions add up to more than the standard deduction.

When do the 2026 tax brackets apply?

They apply to income earned from January 1 through December 31, 2026, which is reported on federal returns filed in 2027. Returns filed in 2026 cover 2025 income and use the 2025 brackets instead. The IRS usually announces the next year’s brackets and standard deductions in the fall, after adjusting them for inflation.

Terms on this page

Sources and further reading

Examples are illustrative and focus on U.S. personal finance. This page is educational, not individual financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Read our editorial approach or report a correction.

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