Federal Income Tax Rates and Brackets

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Federal Income Tax Calculator: 2025 vs 2026

How the Federal Income Tax Calculator Works

The Federal income tax calculator shows each major step from household income to estimated tax. Each column applies the corresponding year's tax brackets, deductions, SALT limits, and credit amounts to the same inputs, making it easier to compare 2025 and 2026. The comparison also includes deductions created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

The final three rows summarize your Federal results:

• Estimated Income Tax: Your Federal income tax estimate for the year.
• Effective Tax Rate: Federal income tax as a percentage of household income.
• Marginal Tax Rate: The Federal tax rate applied to your next dollar of taxable income.

Change any calculator input to see how it affects both years.

Tax Rates

Federal Income Tax Rates

The United States uses a progressive rate system to calculate federal individual income tax. Different portions of federal taxable income are taxed at different rates, called marginal tax rates. For 2026, seven marginal tax rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% apply to federal taxable income. The 2026 rates and corresponding brackets generally apply to income reported for the calendar year from January 1 through December 31, 2026. Most individuals will file their 2026 Form 1040 series returns from January through April 2027.

The seven marginal tax rates remain unchanged from 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the current rate structure permanent, while the taxable income thresholds are adjusted annually for inflation. Reaching a higher bracket does not cause all household income to be taxed at that rate. Each rate applies only to the portion of taxable income within its bracket.

The table above lists all seven federal income tax rates and the corresponding taxable income brackets for Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, and Head of Household taxpayers. Use our federal income tax calculator at the top of this page to compare your estimated 2025 and 2026 results. The examples in the next section show how the 2026 brackets apply after deductions.

Examples

Federal Income Tax Calculation Examples

The goal of these examples is to isolate how the 2026 standard deduction and progressive federal income tax brackets affect taxpayers at the same income per person, without other deductions or tax credits obscuring the comparison. For that reason, the examples assume straightforward W-2 wage income, no dependents, no age or blindness deductions, no itemized or additional income deductions, and no tax credits. The Married Filing Jointly example uses twice the household income of the Single example. You can recreate both examples using the calculator above.

A common misconception is that reaching a tax bracket causes all taxable income to be taxed at that rate. Both examples reach the 22% bracket, but only the portion of taxable income above the applicable threshold is taxed at 22%. The lower portions remain taxed at 10% and 12%. In this simplified comparison, the joint household has twice the income, standard deduction, applicable bracket thresholds, and resulting federal income tax. Both examples therefore have the same effective and marginal rates, so filing together does not create a federal marriage penalty for this couple. Next, we will review the step-by-step calculations for the Single and Married Filing Jointly examples.

Step-by-Step Example 1: Single

For a single filer with $80,000 of household income, the 2026 federal standard deduction is $16,100. Subtracting that deduction leaves $63,900 of federal taxable income.

That amount of taxable income reaches the 22% bracket, so the marginal tax rate is 22%. The full $63,900 is not taxed at that rate. Instead, each rate applies only to the portion of taxable income within that rate's bracket:

• Bracket 1 [$0 to $12,400]: The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%. $\mathrm{\$12,400}\times 0.10=\mathrm{\$1,240.00}$
• Bracket 2 [$12,401 to $50,400]: The next $38,000 is taxed at 12%. $\mathrm{\$38,000}\times 0.12=\mathrm{\$4,560.00}$
• Bracket 3 [$50,401 to $105,700]: The remaining $13,500 is taxed at 22%. $\mathrm{\$13,500}\times 0.22=\mathrm{\$2,970.00}$

Federal tax before credits: $1,240.00 + $4,560.00 + $2,970.00 = $8,770.00.

Federal tax credits: This example assumes no Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, or other federal tax credits.

Estimated federal income tax: With no credits, the estimated federal income tax remains $8,770.00.

Federal effective tax rate: 10.96%, calculated by dividing the estimated federal income tax of $8,770 by $80,000 of household income.

Federal marginal tax rate: 22% because the last dollar of taxable income falls within the 22% bracket.

Step-by-Step Example 2: Married Filing Jointly

Now let's apply the same calculation to a married couple filing jointly with $160,000 of household income, twice the income used in the Single example.

The 2026 federal standard deduction for Married Filing Jointly is $32,200. Subtracting that deduction leaves $127,800 of federal taxable income.

That amount of taxable income reaches the 22% bracket, so the marginal tax rate is 22%. The full $127,800 is not taxed at that rate. Instead, each rate applies only to the portion of taxable income within that rate's bracket:

• Bracket 1 [$0 to $24,800]: The first $24,800 is taxed at 10%. $\mathrm{\$24,800}\times 0.10=\mathrm{\$2,480.00}$
• Bracket 2 [$24,801 to $100,800]: The next $76,000 is taxed at 12%. $\mathrm{\$76,000}\times 0.12=\mathrm{\$9,120.00}$
• Bracket 3 [$100,801 to $211,400]: The remaining $27,000 is taxed at 22%. $\mathrm{\$27,000}\times 0.22=\mathrm{\$5,940.00}$

Federal tax before credits: $2,480.00 + $9,120.00 + $5,940.00 = $17,540.00.

Federal tax credits: This example assumes no Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, or other federal tax credits.

Estimated federal income tax: With no credits, the estimated federal income tax remains $17,540.00.

Federal effective tax rate: 10.96%, calculated by dividing the estimated federal income tax of $17,540 by $160,000 of household income.

Federal marginal tax rate: 22% because the last dollar of taxable income falls within the 22% bracket.

Conclusion

Federal Income Tax Takeaways

Tax brackets do not apply to your entire income: The 22% marginal rate in the examples applies only to taxable income above the applicable threshold. Lower portions remain taxed at 10% and 12%, while the standard deduction reduces the amount of income that reaches the brackets in the first place.

Deductions and credits affect federal income tax differently: Deductions reduce taxable income before the tax rates are applied. Tax credits are applied after the initial tax is calculated. This is why the calculator displays the standard deduction, taxable income, tax before credits, and tax credits as separate steps.

The Single and Married Filing Jointly examples produce the same effective rate: At the income levels used in these examples, the joint household has twice the income, standard deduction, applicable bracket thresholds, and resulting federal income tax. Both examples therefore produce a 10.96% effective tax rate and a 22% marginal tax rate, with no federal marriage penalty in this simplified comparison.

The seven federal income tax rates remain unchanged for 2026: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the current rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% permanent. The taxable income thresholds are adjusted annually for inflation, but the top marginal rate remains 37% for 2026.