2025 / 2026 Federal Income Tax Calculator

US federal income tax is calculated in brackets, not as a flat percentage. The bracket you're 'in' is your marginal rate — the rate on your last dollar earned. Your effective rate — total tax divided by total income — is always lower because lower brackets are taxed at lower rates.

How federal tax brackets work

Each portion of your income is taxed at the rate of the bracket it falls into. For 2026, single filers pay 10% on the first ~$11,925, 12% on the portion from there up to ~$48,475, 22% from there to ~$103,350, and so on. The standard deduction (~$15,000 for single, ~$30,000 for married jointly in 2026) reduces taxable income before bracket calculations begin.

When to use this calculator

Use it for take-home pay estimates after a salary change. Use it before December to see whether a Roth conversion makes sense at your current bracket. Use it before a year-end bonus to understand whether the bonus moves you into a higher bracket — it almost always doesn't move enough income to matter, despite the common myth.

Worked example

A single filer earning $80,000 in 2026, taking the standard deduction. Taxable income: $65,000. Tax: 10% on the first $11,925 ($1,193) + 12% on $36,550 ($4,386) + 22% on $16,525 ($3,635) = about $9,214. That's a 14.2% effective rate even though they're 'in the 22% bracket.'

Limits and assumptions

The estimate applies the 2025 federal brackets and standard deduction for a single or married-filing-jointly filer to the gross income you enter: taxable income is gross minus the standard deduction, and the bracket table is applied to that. Tax owed and net income are rounded to whole dollars and the effective rate to one decimal place.

Only the standard deduction is modelled. Itemised deductions, credits such as the child tax credit, adjustments to income, self-employment tax, and state or local tax are all outside the calculation, as are Social Security and Medicare withholding, so real take-home pay will be lower than the net figure shown. Head-of-household and married-filing-separately statuses are not available.

Frequently asked questions