US federal tax brackets and standard deduction for 2026
This guide takes a salary for the 2026 tax year, which is calendar year 2026, and works out federal income tax one step at a time: the standard deduction first, then the bracket rates. The figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the IRS announcement of the 2026 inflation adjustments, and every number below is produced by the same engine as the paycheck calculator from the rates on the Sources page.
Federal income tax on wages is only one of the amounts that leave a paycheck. Social Security and Medicare are covered in the FICA guide, and a state may add its own tax. To keep the examples clean, the salaries here are for a single filer with one job and no credits, living in a state with no income tax on wages.
The order of the calculation
Federal income tax is not charged on the whole salary. First the standard deduction comes off. What remains is taxable income. Then the bracket rates are applied in slices: the first slice of taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and so on. A higher bracket never raises the tax on income that sits in a lower one. This is why moving into a higher bracket by earning one more dollar does not make the whole salary taxed at the higher rate.
The 2026 standard deduction
For tax year 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of households. The IRS announcement says these amounts reflect the changes made by Public Law 119-21, the law commonly called the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. For comparison, the same announcement gives the 2025 amounts as $15,750, $31,500 and $23,625, so the 2026 amounts are higher by $350, $700 and $525.
| Filing status | 2026 standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
The calculator always applies the standard deduction. It does not model itemized deductions, so a filer who itemizes will see a different result in practice.
The 2026 brackets
The revenue procedure prints a rate schedule for each filing status. The rates are the same seven percentages for everyone: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. What differs is where each bracket starts. The tables show the range of taxable income for each bracket and the total tax owed at the top of it, which is the figure printed in the schedule as the base amount for the next bracket.
Single
| Rate | Taxable income from | to | Tax at the top of the bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 | $12,400 | $1,240 |
| 12% | $12,401 | $50,400 | $5,800 |
| 22% | $50,401 | $105,700 | $17,966 |
| 24% | $105,701 | $201,775 | $41,024 |
| 32% | $201,776 | $256,225 | $58,448 |
| 35% | $256,226 | $640,600 | $192,979 |
| 37% | $640,601 | and above | - |
Married filing jointly
| Rate | Taxable income from | to | Tax at the top of the bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 | $24,800 | $2,480 |
| 12% | $24,801 | $100,800 | $11,600 |
| 22% | $100,801 | $211,400 | $35,932 |
| 24% | $211,401 | $403,550 | $82,048 |
| 32% | $403,551 | $512,450 | $116,896 |
| 35% | $512,451 | $768,700 | $206,584 |
| 37% | $768,701 | and above | - |
Head of household
| Rate | Taxable income from | to | Tax at the top of the bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 | $17,700 | $1,770 |
| 12% | $17,701 | $67,450 | $7,740 |
| 22% | $67,451 | $105,700 | $16,155 |
| 24% | $105,701 | $201,750 | $39,207 |
| 32% | $201,751 | $256,200 | $56,631 |
| 35% | $256,201 | $640,600 | $191,171 |
| 37% | $640,601 | and above | - |
Three salaries side by side
Take a single filer on $50,000, $100,000 and $200,000. Subtract the $16,100 standard deduction and apply the brackets.
| $50,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard deduction | $16,100 | $16,100 | $16,100 |
| Taxable income | $33,900 | $83,900 | $183,900 |
| Top bracket | 12% | 22% | 24% |
| Federal income tax | $3,820.00 | $13,170.00 | $36,734.00 |
| Share of salary | 7.6% | 13.2% | 18.4% |
Look at the $100,000 column. Taxable income is $83,900. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, which is $1,240.00. The next $38,000 is taxed at 12%, which is $4,560.00. The remaining $33,500 is taxed at 22%, which is $7,370.00. Added together that is $13,170.00, or 13.2% of the salary, even though the top bracket reached is 22%.
Marginal rate and effective rate
The top bracket rate is called the marginal rate. It is what the next dollar of salary would be taxed at. The effective rate is the total tax divided by the salary. At $100,000 the marginal rate is 22% and the effective federal rate is 13.2%.
The difference matters for a raise. If the salary goes from $100,000 to $101,000, federal income tax rises from $13,170.00 to $13,390.00, an increase of $220.00 on the extra $1,000. Social Security and Medicare take another $76.50, so in a state with no income tax the extra $1,000 leaves $703.50 in take-home pay.
Where each bracket starts in salary terms
Brackets are written in taxable income, but people think in salary. Add the standard deduction back and a bracket start becomes a salary. For a single filer the 22% bracket begins above a salary of $66,500, and the 24% bracket above $121,800. For a married couple filing jointly on one salary the same two lines are $133,000 and $243,600.
| Bracket starts above a salary of | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12% | $28,500 | $57,000 | $41,850 |
| 22% | $66,500 | $133,000 | $91,600 |
| 24% | $121,800 | $243,600 | $129,850 |
| 32% | $217,875 | $435,750 | $225,900 |
| 35% | $272,325 | $544,650 | $280,350 |
| 37% | $656,700 | $800,900 | $664,750 |
The same salary under three filing statuses
A salary of $100,000 gives a different tax bill depending on filing status. A single filer pays $13,170.00. A married couple filing jointly on that one salary pays $7,640.00, because the standard deduction is $32,200 and the 10% and 12% brackets are twice as wide. A head of household pays $9,588.00. The calculator treats the married case as one earner, so it does not cover two incomes added together.
| Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxable income | $83,900 | $67,800 | $75,850 |
| Top bracket | 22% | 12% | 22% |
| Federal income tax | $13,170.00 | $7,640.00 | $9,588.00 |
Rate schedule and Tax Table
Tax returns for incomes below a certain level use the IRS Tax Table, which gives the tax for a range of incomes in steps. The calculator uses the rate schedule printed in the revenue procedure, which is exact for the figure entered. For the same taxable income the two can differ by a few dollars. For wages that are withheld during the year, an employer uses the percentage tables in IRS Publication 15-T, which depend on the Form W-4 you give them, so a paycheck is not guaranteed to match the yearly figure. What is owed is settled when the return is filed.
What is not included
Credits such as the child tax credit and the earned income credit, itemized deductions, pre-tax payroll deductions such as 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums, the deductions for tips, overtime and seniors that apply to some taxpayers in 2025 to 2028, income other than wages, and city and county taxes are not included. Each of these can lower the figures on this page. They depend on facts that a salary alone does not show.
To see the result for your own salary and state, open the paycheck calculator. To see how the other payroll taxes are worked out, read the FICA guide.
Work out your own take-home paySources
- IRS: Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 tax rate tables, section 4.01, and standard deduction, section 4.14)
- IRS: 2026 tax inflation adjustments (IR-2025-103)
- Every rate used, with its source and check date: Sources and rates
This calculator gives general information from the rates on the Sources page. It is not a substitute for your pay stub, your Form W-4, the IRS or your state tax agency, and it does not look at your personal circumstances. Rates as at November 2, 2026.