Federal Tax Rate Calculator (2026)
Work out your 2026 federal tax rate from your income, filing status and deductions. See the tax you owe, your marginal and effective rate, payroll taxes and take-home pay, with the bracket math shown.
Estimate your 2026 federal tax rate and bracket
How the 2026 federal tax rate is applied to your income
Your federal rate is not a single number, it is a staircase. Income is cut into slices and each slice is charged the rate that belongs to it, from 10% at the bottom up to 37% at the top. A federal income tax rate calculator exists to untangle exactly that: it tells you which slice your last dollar lands in, and what share of your whole income actually goes to the IRS.
The walk starts with taxable income — gross income minus a deduction, which is the larger of your itemized total or the 2026 standard deduction. The schedule for your filing status is then applied slice by slice, and both rates reported on this page come out of that same walk: the marginal rate from the top slice you reach, the effective rate from the total divided by gross income.
One detail trips people up every filing season. Being "in the 24% bracket" never means 24% of everything. Lift a single filer to $105,700 of taxable income and almost all of that money was charged at 10%, 12% and 22%; only the dollars above that line meet 24%. That gap is why the effective rate is the honest number for budgeting, while the marginal rate is the one that matters for the next decision.
2026 federal tax brackets compared by filing status
| Rate | Single — taxable income over | Married filing jointly — taxable income over |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 | $0 |
| 12% | $12,400 | $24,800 |
| 22% | $50,400 | $100,800 |
| 24% | $105,700 | $211,400 |
| 32% | $201,775 | $403,550 |
| 35% | $256,225 | $512,450 |
| 37% | $640,600 | $768,700 |
Head of household sits between the two columns, with bands wider than a single filer and narrower than a married couple. The calculator reads the filing status you enter and applies that schedule, so the bracket you see is the one your return will use.
Worked example for a single filer earning $85,000: after the $16,100 standard deduction the taxable amount is $68,900. The first $12,400 is charged 10%, the next $38,000 at 12% and the remaining $18,500 at 22%, which is about $9,870 of federal income tax — an effective rate near 11.6% even though the top rate reached is 22%. Payroll taxes ride along: Social Security of about $5,270 and Medicare of about $1,233, for a total federal bill close to $16,373, or roughly 19.3% of gross income.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your gross annual income. Start with total income for the year before any deduction. Annual amounts keep the bracket math clean, so multiply a weekly wage by 52, a biweekly wage by 26 or a monthly salary by 12 before you type it in.
- Pick the filing status for your federal income tax rate calculator. Enter 1 for Single, 2 for Married filing jointly or 3 for Head of household. Each status has its own bracket widths and its own standard deduction, so two households with the same income can end up with different rates.
- Leave deductions at 0 to use the standard deduction. The calculator applies the 2026 standard deduction automatically and uses whichever amount is larger, so enter an itemized total only when it beats the standard figure for your filing status.
- Test the rate on a raise, bonus or overtime. Add the extra amount in the last field to see what share of those dollars goes to federal income tax. That is the rate you are really deciding at when you take on more hours or a new offer.
Frequently asked questions
What federal income tax rate applies to my last dollar in 2026?
The rate on your last dollar of taxable income is the bracket you have reached. For 2026 the schedule runs from 10% up to 37%, with 12%, 22%, 24%, 32% and 35% in between, and the filer status you select changes where each band starts. The result box reports that marginal rate next to your effective rate so you can see both.
Do I still need an NY income tax calculator if I live in New York?
Yes, if you want the full picture. This tool stops at the federal line: it applies the IRS schedule and payroll taxes but no state or city tax. An NY income tax calculator applies New York State's own brackets and deduction, and New York City residents pay a separate city income tax on top of the state amount.
Would a Washington income tax calculator show a different result?
It would show no state tax on wages, because Washington does not tax wage income. Federal income tax and payroll taxes still apply, so this calculator's number does not change. In a state that taxes wages you would subtract that state's bill as well, which is why the two tools are worth running together.
Why is my effective rate lower than my bracket?
Only the slice of income inside your top bracket is charged that rate. Every dollar below it was taxed at the lower rates, so total tax divided by gross income is always a smaller percentage. The distance between the two grows as income climbs through more brackets.
How much of a raise or bonus do I actually keep?
A raise is taxed at your marginal rate, not at your average rate, so it feels heavier than your usual rate. In the 22% bracket, a $5,000 bonus costs about $1,100 in federal income tax before payroll taxes. Enter the amount in the extra income field to see the exact rate applied to those dollars.
What changed in the 2026 federal brackets?
The 2026 amounts are inflation-adjusted and include the amendments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household, and the bracket thresholds moved up with it, which is why the same salary can produce a slightly smaller bill than it did for tax year 2025.
Marginal rate, effective rate and the state layer on top
Two numbers decide how you plan. The marginal rate is what the next dollar costs, so it drives overtime, a bonus or an extra contract. The effective rate is total tax divided by gross income, and because the lower slices are cheaper it always sits below the marginal rate — until you reach the very top of the schedule.
Extra income is the fastest way to see the difference. Drop $10,000 into the extra income field and the tool prices those dollars at the bracket they land in, which is often one step above the bracket your first dollar sits in.
Everything on this page is federal. Most states then add a layer of their own: a colorado income tax calculator or a michigan income tax calculator applies that state's single flat rate, while larger states run full schedules of their own. City filers can face a third layer — a new york city income tax calculator exists because the city taxes resident wages separately from New York State. A few states, Washington among them, do not tax wages at all, so there the federal figure is the whole income tax story. Run your state's tool next to this one to see the combined picture before you accept an offer or move.