Tax year 2026

2026 federal tax brackets

The rates, the thresholds, and — more usefully — how much of your tax actually comes from each bracket.

Your top rate

22%

Applies to your next dollar earned

Your effective rate

10.23%

What you actually pay overall

Bracket by bracket (2026)

Rate	Taxable income	Tax from it
10%	$0 – $12,400	$1,240
12%	$12,400 – $50,400	$4,560
22%	$50,400 – $105,700	$1,870
24%	$105,700 – $201,775	—
32%	$201,775 – $256,225	—
35%	$256,225 – $640,600	—
37%	$640,600 and above	—

How that adds up

Gross income$75,000

Standard deduction−$16,100

Taxable income$58,900

Federal income tax$7,670

Federal income tax only, for tax year 2026, assuming the standard deduction and no credits or dependants. Social Security, Medicare and state tax are not included here — the take-home pay calculator covers those. Not tax advice.

Being “in the 22% bracket” does not mean paying 22%

This is the most common misunderstanding in personal tax, and it costs people real decisions — turning down overtime or a raise because they think it will push all their income into a higher rate.

It will not. Brackets are marginal. Only the dollars above each threshold are taxed at that bracket’s rate. A single filer with $75,000 of income has a top rate of 22% but an effective rate closer to 10%, because the first chunk is taxed at 10%, the next at 12%, and only the remainder at 22%.

Extra income never leaves you worse off. Move the income figure in the tool above and watch the two percentages diverge.

Standard deduction for 2026

Single: $16,100
Married filing jointly: $32,200
Head of household: $24,150

This comes off your income before the brackets apply. Roughly nine in ten filers take it rather than itemising.

Single — 2026

Rate	Taxable income
10%	$0 – $12,400
12%	$12,400 – $50,400
22%	$50,400 – $105,700
24%	$105,700 – $201,775
32%	$201,775 – $256,225
35%	$256,225 – $640,600
37%	$640,600 and above

Married filing jointly — 2026

Rate	Taxable income
10%	$0 – $24,800
12%	$24,800 – $100,800
22%	$100,800 – $211,400
24%	$211,400 – $403,550
32%	$403,550 – $512,450
35%	$512,450 – $768,700
37%	$768,700 and above

Head of household — 2026

Rate	Taxable income
10%	$0 – $17,700
12%	$17,700 – $67,450
22%	$67,450 – $105,700
24%	$105,700 – $201,775
32%	$201,775 – $256,200
35%	$256,200 – $640,600
37%	$640,600 and above

Payroll taxes are separate

The brackets above cover federal income tax only. On top of them, Social Security takes 6.20% of wages up to $184,500, and Medicare takes 1.45% of all wages with no cap. High earners pay an extra 0.9% above $200,000 ($250,000 joint).

These are not affected by the tips or overtime deductions, and most states add their own income tax on top. The take-home pay calculator puts all of it together.

Where these numbers come from

The IRS publishes inflation-adjusted figures each autumn for the following year. Everything on this page is taken from that release and cross-checked, with the source and verification date on our sources page. When the 2027 figures are published we will add them as a separate year rather than overwriting these — people filing late or amending a return still need them.

Figures on this page are for tax year 2026 and were last checked against the primary sources on 2026-07-31. See our sources. This is an estimate, not tax advice.