US Income Tax Calculator

About US Income Tax Calculator

2026 Federal Tax Brackets

The US uses a progressive tax system with seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Each slice of taxable income is taxed at the rate for the bracket it falls into, not a single flat rate. The following thresholds come directly from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which set the 2026 inflation adjustments and applied the OBBB's extra adjustment to the lower brackets.

Rate	Single / MFS	Married Filing Jointly	Head of Household
10%	$0 - $12,400	$0 - $24,800	$0 - $17,700
12%	$12,400 - $50,400	$24,800 - $100,800	$17,700 - $67,450
22%	$50,400 - $105,700	$100,800 - $211,400	$67,450 - $105,700
24%	$105,700 - $201,775	$211,400 - $403,550	$105,700 - $201,750
32%	$201,775 - $256,225	$403,550 - $512,450	$201,750 - $256,200
35%	$256,225 - $640,600 (MFS caps at $384,350)	$512,450 - $768,700	$256,200 - $640,600
37%	Over $640,600 (MFS: over $384,350)	Over $768,700	Over $640,600

How Progressive Taxation Actually Works

Moving into a "higher bracket" does not mean all your income is taxed at that rate - only the dollars inside the higher bracket face the higher rate. Here is a full worked example for a single filer earning $80,000 in 2026:

Step 1 - Taxable income: $80,000 gross - $16,100 standard deduction = $63,900.

Step 2 - Apply each bracket:

Bracket	Income in Bracket	Tax
10% ($0 - $12,400)	$12,400	$1,240.00
12% ($12,400 - $50,400)	$38,000	$4,560.00
22% ($50,400 - $63,900)	$13,500	$2,970.00

Total federal income tax: $8,770. Effective rate: $8,770 / $80,000 = 11.0%. Even though the top bracket reached is 22%, the effective rate is roughly half of that because the first $16,100 is fully sheltered and the first $12,400 of taxable income is only taxed at 10%.

Standard Deduction (2026)

The OBBB permanently raised the baseline standard deduction, and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 indexed it again for 2026. The 2026 amounts are:

Filing Status	2026 Standard Deduction
Single	$16,100
Married Filing Jointly	$32,200
Married Filing Separately	$16,100
Head of Household	$24,150

The standard deduction is subtracted from gross income before tax brackets apply. Around 87% of filers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing (IRS Statistics of Income). You should itemize only if qualifying expenses - mortgage interest, state and local taxes (the OBBB raised the SALT cap to $40,000 through 2029), charitable donations, large medical bills - exceed the standard deduction amount. Taxpayers aged 65 and over, or blind, get an additional standard deduction on top, and the OBBB added a separate $6,000 senior deduction (2025-2028) that phases out at higher incomes.

What Is FICA and How Much Does It Cost?

FICA stacks on top of income tax and is withheld from every paycheque. For 2026 it has three layers and each uses a different base:

• Social Security (OASDI): 6.2% on wages up to the wage base, which SSA set at $184,500 for 2026. Wages above that pay no further Social Security tax.
• Medicare (HI): 1.45% on all wages, no cap.
• Additional Medicare Tax: An extra 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single/HoH), $250,000 (MFJ), or $125,000 (MFS). This was introduced by the Affordable Care Act and is employee-only.

For a typical worker earning below the Social Security wage base and below the Additional Medicare threshold, FICA adds a flat 7.65% of gross pay. A self-employed person pays both halves of FICA as self-employment tax (15.3%), but deducts half when calculating adjusted gross income.

Marginal vs Effective Tax Rate

The marginal rate is the tax on your next dollar; the effective rate is the blended tax on every dollar. Here is how they look across common 2026 incomes for a single filer taking the standard deduction and ignoring state tax:

Gross Income	Taxable Income	Federal Tax	Effective Rate	Top Marginal Bracket
$30,000	$13,900	$1,420	4.7%	12%
$50,000	$33,900	$3,820	7.6%	12%
$75,000	$58,900	$7,670	10.2%	22%
$100,000	$83,900	$13,170	13.2%	22%
$150,000	$133,900	$24,734	16.5%	24%
$250,000	$233,900	$51,304	20.5%	32%

A useful tax-planning insight: for most middle earners, pre-tax 401(k) contributions save income tax at your marginal rate, not your effective rate. A single filer in the 22% bracket who contributes $10,000 saves roughly $2,200 in federal tax, which is why maxing an employer match is usually the highest-return move in personal finance.

Where Does the Typical American Fall?

Median household income in the US was $83,730 in 2024 according to the US Census Bureau (September 2025 release), with real income rising 1.3% year over year. For a single filer earning the 2024 median individual wage of roughly $48,060 (BLS Occupational Employment Wage Statistics), 2026 federal income tax after the standard deduction works out to about $3,587, an effective rate of 7.5% and a marginal rate of 12%. Add FICA (7.65%) and take-home pay is around $40,796 before any state tax.

The distribution is steeply tilted at the top. Tax Policy Center data for 2024 shows the bottom 40% of earners pay an average effective federal income tax rate below 0% (negative, thanks to refundable credits like the EITC and CTC), the middle quintile averages around 6%, the top 10% averages 18%, and the top 1% averages around 26%. The top 1% of earners pay roughly 40-42% of all federal income tax collected, per IRS Statistics of Income.

Tax Credits That Change the Final Bill

This calculator stops at bracket calculation; tax credits are applied after and can substantially reduce the final liability. The biggest ones (2025 figures shown; 2026 amounts index slightly higher):

• Child Tax Credit: Up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 (OBBB raised this from $2,000), partially refundable up to $1,700. Phases out above $200,000 (single) / $400,000 (MFJ).
• Earned Income Tax Credit: Up to $8,046 for families with three or more children at around $25,500 of earned income; phases out as income rises.
• American Opportunity Tax Credit: Up to $2,500 per student for the first four years of college, 40% refundable.
• Saver's Credit: Up to $1,000 single / $2,000 MFJ for retirement contributions at lower income levels.
• Clean Vehicle Credit: Up to $7,500 for qualifying new EVs, phased out for most vehicles after September 30, 2025 under OBBB.

What Changed From 2025

This calculator uses 2026 figures. If you are completing a return for tax year 2025 (filed by April 2026), the numbers were lower: the standard deduction was $15,750 (single/MFS), $31,500 (MFJ) and $23,625 (HoH), the 10% bracket ran to $11,925 (single) / $23,850 (MFJ), the top 37% rate started at $626,350 (single) / $751,600 (MFJ), and the Social Security wage base was $176,100. Marginal rates themselves are unchanged between the two years - the OBBB made the 2017 TCJA rate schedule permanent, which was the main structural change from the original sunset date of December 31, 2025.

What This Calculator Does Not Include

This tool estimates federal income tax plus FICA. Your full tax burden often includes more layers:

• State income tax: Ranges from 0% in nine states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming) to 13.3% top rate in California and 10.9% in New York. See the state-specific tool later if needed.
• Local taxes: Some cities (New York City 3.08-3.876%, Philadelphia 3.75% resident rate, parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania) add their own income tax.
• Capital gains: Long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% plus a possible 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax on high earners. Short-term gains use ordinary brackets.
• Self-employment tax: Schedule SE layers 15.3% FICA on net self-employment profit, with half deductible above the line.
• Alternative Minimum Tax: Still applies to a small slice of high earners, especially those with large incentive stock option exercises or deductions.

For a fuller take-home picture, pair this with the salary calculator to break down hourly, monthly, and annual pay, the employee cost calculator for employer-side payroll modelling, and the mortgage affordability calculator if you are using take-home pay to plan a home purchase. UK readers can use the UK income tax calculator for PAYE, National Insurance and student loan deductions.

This tool is for educational and estimation purposes only. It does not constitute tax advice. Tax laws change, including mid-year legislation like the OBBB. Consult a qualified tax professional - or a CPA registered with the IRS Directory - for advice specific to your situation. All calculations run in your browser; no data is sent to any server.

Sources

• IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 - 2026 Inflation Adjustments
• IRS - 2026 Inflation Adjustments and OBBB Amendments
• SSA - Social Security Contribution and Benefit Base
• IRS Topic No. 751 - Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
• US Census Bureau - Income in the United States 2024
• BLS - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
• Tax Foundation - 2026 Tax Brackets