See your 2026 federal income tax, your marginal and effective rates, and how much income lands in each bracket.
Reviewed by Associate Professor Charles Lo, CPA, PhD · Updated October 13, 2026Free, no signup
Estimate ordinary federal income tax and see exactly how taxable income fills each bracket.
Estimate of 2026 ordinary federal income tax: entered income less adjustments and the selected deduction, then tax stacked across brackets. Effective rate uses gross income. Deduction eligibility is not checked. Credits, payroll/state taxes, capital-gain rates, AMT, NIIT and special deductions are excluded. Full method · IRS 2026 tables.
| Bracket | Income in bracket | Tax from bracket |
|---|
Educational estimate only. Tax year 2026 rules shown. Returns filed in 2027 can involve credits, special income, additional deductions and other provisions not modeled here.
Save and Restore require Preferences consent and keep five inputs locally. Links contain filing status, ordinary income, pre-tax adjustments, deduction method and itemized deduction amount. Use hypothetical examples for public sharing. Account identifiers, holdings, tax documents and form fields are excluded; keep real financial details in local storage or a private CSV.
A tax bracket is a band of income that is taxed at one rate, and each higher band pays a higher rate only on the dollars inside it.
US federal income tax is progressive. Your first slice of taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, then 22%, and so on up to 37%. Taxable income is your pay minus pre tax deductions and either the standard deduction or your itemized deductions.
This calculator uses the tax year 2026 brackets and standard deductions written into its code. It subtracts your deduction, fills each bracket in order, and shows the tax from every bracket in a table, so you can see why your average rate is lower than your top rate.
Dana and Marcus are married, file jointly and earn $150,000 together. The calculator takes off the $32,200 joint standard deduction, leaving $117,800 of taxable income. The first $24,800 is taxed at 10%, the next $76,000 at 12% and the last $17,000 at 22%. Their tax is $15,340. Their top rate is 22%, but their effective rate is only 10.2%.
For anyone checking what a raise is really worth, weighing a pre tax 401(k) deposit, or finally making sense of the phrase “moving into a higher bracket.” New to a term on this page? The investment glossary defines it in a sentence.
A single filer earning $100,000 who takes the $16,100 standard deduction has $83,900 of taxable income, which puts their top dollar in the 22% bracket. Your bracket depends on taxable income, not salary, so subtract your deduction first. That filer’s total tax is $13,170, an effective rate of 13.2%. Enter your income and filing status above to find yours.
Your gross income minus the pre tax adjustments you entered and your deduction. Brackets apply to this number, not your salary.
Marginal is the bracket your last dollar falls in. Effective is total tax divided by gross income. At $100,000 single, that is 22% and 13.2%.
Your gross income minus the adjustments you entered and the federal income tax. It is not take home pay, because Social Security, Medicare and state tax are not taken out.
The calculator subtracts your deduction itself. If you type $83,900 because that is your taxable income, it takes the $16,100 standard deduction off again and shows $9,628 of tax instead of $13,170. Enter your gross ordinary income from your pay stubs or last return and let the tool do the subtraction.
It starts with your gross ordinary income, subtracts your pre tax adjustments, then subtracts either the 2026 standard deduction for your filing status or the itemized amount you typed. It follows the method you pick and only notes which deduction is larger.
Then it fills the brackets in order. Each bracket takes the dollars between its lower and upper limit and multiplies them by its rate. The tax from every bracket is added up. Your marginal rate is the rate of the last bracket that holds any income.
| Taxable income | $100,000 − $16,100 standard deduction | $83,900 |
| 10% bracket | $12,400 × 10% | $1,240 |
| 12% bracket | ($50,400 − $12,400) × 12% | $4,560 |
| 22% bracket | ($83,900 − $50,400) × 22% | $7,370 |
| Total federal tax | $1,240 + $4,560 + $7,370 | $13,170 |
Tax of $13,170 on $100,000 is an effective rate of 13.2%, even though the top rate is 22%.
Single filers taking the 2026 standard deduction, with no other adjustments.
| Gross income | Federal tax | Marginal rate | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | 12% | 6.6% |
| $66,500 | $5,800 | 12% | 8.7% |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | 22% | 13.2% |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | 24% | 16.5% |
| $250,000 | $51,304 | 32% | 20.5% |
The marginal rate jumps in steps, but the effective rate climbs slowly. No one pays their top rate on every dollar.
Long term capital gains and qualified dividends use their own lower rates, which this tool does not apply. For a stock sale, use the capital gains tax calculator.
Tax credits such as the child tax credit can cut your bill a lot. Social Security, Medicare and state income tax are not included either, so your total tax is higher than this number.
The tool uses whatever itemized amount you type and does not test whether you qualify. It also skips special rules such as the alternative minimum tax. Use IRS forms or a tax preparer when you file.
This calculator uses seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. For single filers the 10% bracket ends at $12,400 of taxable income, 12% at $50,400, 22% at $105,700, 24% at $201,775, 32% at $256,225 and 35% at $640,600. Joint filers have wider bands, with the 12% bracket ending at $100,800.
The calculator uses $16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. You subtract it from your income before any bracket applies.
Yes, at least a little. The IRS adjusts the bracket thresholds and the standard deduction for inflation each fall for the following year, so the same salary usually sits slightly lower in the brackets over time. This calculator uses the 2026 figures. Use it for 2026 income and check the IRS announcement before you plan for 2027.
No. Only the dollars above the bracket line are taxed at the higher rate. A single filer going from $66,500 to $68,500 pays $440 more tax on the $2,000 raise and keeps the other $1,560 before payroll and state tax.
Marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of taxable income. Effective rate is your total tax as a share of gross income. A single filer on $150,000 has a 24% marginal rate but a 16.5% effective rate in this calculator.
Pre tax deposits, such as to a traditional 401(k), come off your income before tax. In the calculator, $10,000 in the pre tax adjustments box saves a single filer on $100,000 exactly $2,200. Itemizing only helps if your deductions beat the standard deduction.
No. It covers ordinary federal income tax only. It leaves out credits, capital gains rates, payroll tax, state tax and special rules such as the alternative minimum tax. Use it to understand brackets, then file with IRS forms, tax software or a preparer.
Copy link preserves five inputs: filing status, ordinary income, pre-tax adjustments, deduction method and itemized deduction amount. Use hypothetical examples for public sharing; account identifiers, holdings, tax documents and form fields are excluded. Save and Restore keep these inputs locally with Preferences consent. CSV includes inputs, method, tax summary and bracket breakdown; keep it private.
Learn how investment tax differs from ordinary-income brackets, then check the rules for your own situation.
Primary sources and original reference material for the concepts discussed on this page.
References added 14 October 2026.
Optional email copy
Email yourself a copy of this result and receive occasional updates about the StockEducation $1M simulator challenge. Your result stays visible either way.
Get instant educational answers about
stocks, investing, and StockEducation.com.
Educational support only. Not personal financial advice. AI responses may contain errors.
Powered by AI ●
A beginner friendly guide that covers the essential lessons and concepts every new investor should understand.
Inside You'll Learn
I can explain how investing works. I cannot tell you what to buy or what is right for your situation.
I can be wrong. Check anything important against a primary source. For decisions about your own money, speak to someone licensed.
