How federal tax brackets work
The regular federal income tax is progressive: taxable income fills the lowest bracket first, then the next bracket, one layer at a time. The tax generated by those layers is added together.
Crossing a threshold does not reprice the dollars below it. A higher bracket applies only to taxable income above that threshold, so the bracket change itself cannot erase the benefit of earning an additional dollar.
Marginal rate vs. effective rate
Your marginal rate is the statutory rate on the last dollar of taxable income. Your effective rate is estimated regular federal income tax divided by taxable income.
The effective rate is normally lower because earlier layers are taxed at lower rates. It is not the same as tax divided by gross income; the results show that separate ratio in income-estimate mode.
How this calculator estimates taxable income
In Estimate from income mode, the calculator subtracts known pre-tax adjustments, then either the selected 2026 basic standard deduction or your custom deduction. Neither subtraction can push taxable income below zero.
The basic standard deduction used here is $16,100 for single and separate filers, $24,150 for heads of household, and $32,200 for joint filers and qualifying surviving spouses. No age, blindness, dependent, senior, or other additional deduction is added.
What this estimate does not include
This tool estimates regular US federal individual income tax before credits. It excludes state and local tax, payroll and self-employment tax, capital gains rates, Net Investment Income Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, special deductions, phase-outs, withholding, and refunds.
A return may also use IRS Tax Tables and tax-specific rounding. Credits, special income types, filing details, and rules not modeled here can make the amount on a filed return different.
2026 federal income tax brackets
These are the statutory regular-income schedules used by the calculator. Qualifying surviving spouse uses the married filing jointly schedule but remains a separate form choice.
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly / surviving spouse | Married filing separately | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0.00 to $12,400.00 | $0.00 to $24,800.00 | $0.00 to $12,400.00 | $0.00 to $17,700.00 |
| 12% | Over $12,400.00 to $50,400.00 | Over $24,800.00 to $100,800.00 | Over $12,400.00 to $50,400.00 | Over $17,700.00 to $67,450.00 |
| 22% | Over $50,400.00 to $105,700.00 | Over $100,800.00 to $211,400.00 | Over $50,400.00 to $105,700.00 | Over $67,450.00 to $105,700.00 |
| 24% | Over $105,700.00 to $201,775.00 | Over $211,400.00 to $403,550.00 | Over $105,700.00 to $201,775.00 | Over $105,700.00 to $201,750.00 |
| 32% | Over $201,775.00 to $256,225.00 | Over $403,550.00 to $512,450.00 | Over $201,775.00 to $256,225.00 | Over $201,750.00 to $256,200.00 |
| 35% | Over $256,225.00 to $640,600.00 | Over $512,450.00 to $768,700.00 | Over $256,225.00 to $384,350.00 | Over $256,200.00 to $640,600.00 |
| 37% | Over $640,600.00 and above | Over $768,700.00 and above | Over $384,350.00 and above | Over $640,600.00 and above |