2026 Tax Bracket Calculator

2026 federal income tax in seconds

This calculator estimates your 2026 federal income tax from your gross income and filing status. It subtracts the standard deduction, then applies the seven progressive 2026 brackets — 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% — slice by slice so you can see exactly how much tax falls in each bracket.

How it works

Taxable income is your gross income minus the standard deduction for your status (single $15,750, married filing jointly $31,500, head of household $23,625), floored at zero. Each bracket taxes only the slice of income that falls inside it:

tax = sum over brackets of (slice in bracket) x (bracket rate)
effective rate = total tax / gross income
marginal rate = rate of the highest bracket you reach

The 2026 single thresholds are 10% up to $11,925, 12% up to $48,475, 22% up to $103,350, 24% up to $197,300, 32% up to $250,525, 35% up to $626,350, and 37% above that.

2026 tax bracket schedule by filing status

Single filers:

Standard deduction (single): $15,750. For married filing jointly the brackets are roughly doubled, and the standard deduction is $31,500.

Worked example

A single filer earning $100,000 takes the $15,750 standard deduction, leaving $84,250 of taxable income. The first $11,925 is taxed at 10% ($1,192.50); the next $36,550 (to $48,475) at 12% ($4,386); and the remaining $35,775 (to $84,250) at 22% ($7,870.50). Total federal income tax is about $13,449 — a marginal rate of 22% and an effective rate of roughly 13.4% on the $100,000 gross.

Marginal vs. effective rate — and why the distinction matters

The marginal rate is the rate that applies to your last dollar of taxable income — the “top bracket” you reach. It is commonly misunderstood: people sometimes believe that reaching the 22% bracket means all their income is taxed at 22%. That is not how progressive taxation works.

Each bracket taxes only the slice of income within it. In the example above, only $35,775 of the $84,250 taxable income is taxed at 22%. The rest was taxed at 10% and 12% first. As a result the effective rate — total tax divided by gross income — is always lower than the marginal rate, often substantially so.

The effective rate is the better figure for:

• Budgeting (how much of my gross income goes to federal tax?)
• Comparing total tax burden across years or income levels

The marginal rate is the better figure for:

• Deciding whether a bonus, freelance income, or Roth conversion is worth it (the next dollar earned is taxed at this rate)
• Calculating the after-tax benefit of a deduction (a $1,000 deduction at a 22% marginal rate saves $220)

What this calculator does not include

This is an estimate for planning purposes. It does not model:

• Payroll taxes (Social Security at 6.2% on wages up to the wage base, Medicare at 1.45%)
• State income tax — varies from 0% (Texas, Florida, Nevada, etc.) to over 10% in some states
• Credits such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, or education credits, which reduce tax dollar-for-dollar
• Above-the-line deductions such as HSA contributions, student loan interest, and self-employment tax deduction
• The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which applies mainly at higher incomes

Verify your figures with the IRS or a qualified tax professional before filing.