2026 tax year · US · Updated June 11, 2026

Tax Bracket Calculator

“What bracket am I in?” is the wrong question and “what do I actually pay?” is the right one. This calculator answers both: your marginal bracket, your real effective rate, and exactly how much tax each bracket adds on the way up.

Your numbers

$
Wages plus net self-employment profit and other ordinary income.

Your 2026 federal brackets

Your marginal bracketThe rate on your NEXT dollar of taxable income
22%
Effective rateTotal tax ÷ taxable income, what you actually pay overall
13.0%
Total federal income tax
$7,670
Taxable incomeAfter the $16,100 standard deduction
$58,900
$46,800 more taxable income until the 24% bracket. Only dollars above the line are taxed at the higher rate.

How your tax stacks up, bracket by bracket

Taxable incomeRateYour tax in this slice
$0 – $12,40010%$1,240
$12,400 – $50,40012%$4,560
$50,400 – $105,70022%$1,870
$105,700 – $201,77524%$0
$201,775 – $256,22532%$0
$256,225 – $640,60035%$0
$640,600 and up37%$0
Moving into a higher bracket never reduces your take-home pay: only the dollars above the line are taxed at the higher rate, so every extra dollar you earn still leaves you with more after tax. This calculator covers federal income tax only, with no self-employment tax and no state tax.

How marginal brackets actually work

Federal brackets are a staircase, not a cliff. Your taxable income fills the 10% bracket first, then the 12% bracket, then the 22% bracket, and so on. Each rate applies only to the dollars inside its own band. Crossing a bracket line changes the rate on your next dollar and nothing else; the dollars already taxed below the line keep their lower rates forever. That is why a raise can never shrink your take-home pay, no matter how many bracket lines it crosses.

It is also why your effective rate is always lower than your bracket. Take a single filer with $60,000 of taxable income in 2026. They are “in the 22% bracket,” but the first $12,400 is taxed at 10% ($1,240), the next $38,000 at 12% ($4,560), and only the last $9,600 at 22% ($2,112). Total federal income tax: $7,912, an effective rate of 13.2%. The bracket headline says 22%; the bill says 13.2%. Every dollar that fills a lower step drags the average down.

One more thing the headline number hides: brackets apply to taxableincome, not gross income. The standard deduction comes off the top before the staircase starts, which often lands you a full bracket lower than your salary suggests. And if you’re self-employed, two pieces sit outside this picture: self-employment tax stacks on top of income tax from the first dollar of profit, while the QBI deduction works the other way, cutting the taxable income these brackets apply to.

These are estimates, not tax advice. The model covers federal income tax on ordinary income only: no self-employment tax, no state tax, no credits, and no itemized deductions.

Where these numbers come from

Tax is computed by filling each bracket in order and summing the slices, with the standard deduction subtracted first when income is entered gross. Every figure is transcribed from this source:

  • IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 bracket tables for all four filing statuses and the standard deductions, read directly from the PDF

Constants last verified against these sources on June 11, 2026. Every value is also pinned by an automated test suite that fails if a rate in the calculator drifts from the figure we transcribed from the source.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between my marginal rate and my effective rate?
Your marginal rate is the rate on your NEXT dollar of taxable income: the bracket you are 'in'. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your taxable income: what you actually pay overall. Because the lower brackets tax your first dollars at 10% and 12% no matter how much you earn, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. Someone 'in the 22% bracket' typically pays an effective rate in the low teens.
Will a raise push me into a higher bracket and cost me money?
No. The US uses a marginal system: crossing into a higher bracket only changes the rate on the dollars ABOVE the line, never the dollars below it. If a raise moves you from the 12% to the 22% bracket, only the slice that lands above the 12% cap is taxed at 22%; everything underneath keeps its old rate. A raise always increases your after-tax pay, even when it changes your bracket.
What are the 2026 federal tax brackets for single filers?
For 2026, single filers pay 10% on taxable income up to $12,400, 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600, and 37% above that. Each rate applies only to the income inside that band, not to your whole income.
What does the standard deduction do?
It is income the brackets never touch. For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers (and married filing separately), $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. You subtract it from your gross income first, and the brackets apply to what is left. That is why someone grossing $16,100 or less as a single filer owes no federal income tax at all.
Do tax brackets apply to my gross income or my taxable income?
Taxable income: gross income minus the standard deduction (or itemized deductions) and any other deductions you qualify for. This is the most common way people overestimate their tax. A single filer grossing $75,000 in 2026 is taxed on $58,900 after the standard deduction, which can mean landing in a lower bracket than the gross number suggests.
How does self-employment change this?
Self-employment tax (15.3% Social Security and Medicare) is a separate tax that stacks on top of the income tax these brackets calculate, and it applies from the first dollar of net profit with no standard deduction to shelter it. If you freelance or run a side hustle, run your numbers through our self-employment tax calculator at /self-employment-tax-calculator to see the combined picture.
Are these the official 2026 numbers?
Yes. The bracket thresholds and standard deductions come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the revenue procedure that sets the inflation-adjusted figures for tax year 2026 (the return you file in early 2027). The IRS adjusts these numbers annually, so the 2027 brackets will differ slightly.

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