See your marginal tax bracket, effective tax rate, and total federal tax for any income.
Free 2026 tax bracket calculator. Enter your income and filing status to see exactly how much falls into each federal bracket — and what your marginal vs. effective rate really is.
Direct answers to the most common questions, in plain language. Skim if you're in a hurry; dig deeper below.
A range of income taxed at a single marginal rate.
A federal tax bracket is a band of income that gets taxed at a specific marginal rate. The U.S. uses a progressive system: your first dollars are taxed at 10%, the next chunk at 12%, and so on up to 37%. Only the income that falls inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.
Marginal is the rate on your last dollar; effective is the average across all your income.
Your marginal rate is the bracket your top dollar falls into — useful for deciding whether an extra dollar is worth earning. Your effective rate is total tax divided by total income — a more honest picture of what you actually paid. The effective rate is always lower than the marginal rate.
No. Only the income above the bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate.
This is the single most common tax misconception. If you cross from the 22% to the 24% bracket, only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at 24%. Everything below stays at the lower rates it was already in. A raise can never lower your take-home pay.
Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household.
Filing status changes your bracket thresholds, standard deduction, and many credits. Most married couples save more filing jointly. Head of household is for unmarried filers with a qualifying dependent — it offers wider brackets than single.
The mechanics in short answers — no jargon, no upsell.
Your taxable income is divided into the IRS bracket ranges for your filing status. Each band is taxed only at its own rate.
For each band, we multiply the income inside it by that band's rate. Total federal tax is the sum across every band you partially or fully fill.
Your marginal rate is the rate on the last dollar you earned — useful for deciding whether to defer income or accelerate deductions.
Effective rate = total tax / total income. It's what you actually paid on average, and it's always lower than your marginal rate.
Designed so anyone can model their situation in under a minute, with or without a finance background.
Stop confusing the two. We show both clearly so you can plan deductions, raises, and bonuses with the right number.
See exactly how much income lands in each bracket and how much tax each one contributes to your total bill.
Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, and head of household — switch instantly to compare.
Toggle the 2026 standard deduction on or off, or enter your own number to model itemizing.
Calculations run locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, nothing is stored.
See total federal tax owed and what you keep — the number that actually matters.
Everything you might ask before, during, or after using this tool.
This calculator uses the 2026 federal tax brackets and the 2026 standard deduction amounts ($15,750 single / $31,500 MFJ / $23,625 head of household). Brackets are indexed for inflation each year, so they shift slightly from year to year.
No. This calculator is federal-only. State income taxes range from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington, and others) to over 13% (California top bracket). Add your state's tax separately for a full picture.
No. This tool focuses purely on federal income tax brackets. Social Security (6.2% up to the wage base) and Medicare (1.45% on all wages) are payroll taxes assessed separately on W-2 wages. See our paycheck calculator for the full picture.
This calculator handles the standard deduction. For a more complete model — itemized deductions, 401(k) and HSA contributions, child tax credit, long-term capital gains — use our Federal Income Tax Calculator. This tool is intentionally focused on understanding brackets.
The top federal bracket is 37%. For single filers, it applies to taxable income above $626,350. For married filing jointly, it kicks in above $751,600.
Effective rate = total federal tax / total income. If you earned $100,000 and paid $13,400 in federal tax, your effective rate is 13.4%. This is the number to use when comparing your tax burden to averages or other countries.
No. Only the income above each bracket threshold is taxed at the higher rate. A raise can never reduce your take-home pay because of brackets alone. (It can affect phase-out thresholds for certain credits or deductions, but not the bracket math itself.)
Take whichever is larger. The 2026 standard deduction is $15,750 single and $31,500 MFJ. If your mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped at $10,000), and charitable giving add up to more than that, itemize. Otherwise, take the standard.
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Almost every tax mistake people make comes from confusing their marginal rate with their effective rate. The marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar — the top of your stack. The effective rate is the average across your entire stack.
A single filer earning $100,000 of taxable income in 2026 lands in the 22% bracket. But their effective rate is closer to 14% because most of their income was taxed at 10% and 12% before it reached the 22% band. The 22% number is only useful for decisions about whether to earn or defer the next dollar.
Use marginal for decisions about the next dollar. Use effective when judging the overall burden.
The U.S. federal income tax is progressive: as income rises, additional income is taxed at progressively higher rates. But — and this is the part people miss — only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate.
Imagine your income as water filling a series of buckets. The first bucket (10%) is small. Once it overflows, water spills into the 12% bucket, then the 22% bucket, and so on. Each bucket only taxes the water inside it. Crossing into a higher bracket never re-taxes the water already in the lower buckets.
Before your tax brackets even apply, you get to subtract a deduction. In 2026 the standard deduction is $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for married filing jointly. Most filers take this and move on.
You should itemize only if your deductible expenses — primarily mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped at $10,000), and charitable contributions — exceed the standard amount. For most renters and people without large charitable giving, the standard wins easily.
Itemizing is more common at higher incomes and in high-tax states. Run both numbers and take the larger one.
Two short notes worth reading before you trust any number on this page.
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Results are not financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before any decision about your loan, investments, or personal finances. Actual loan terms and charges depend on your bank and individual circumstances.
