Income Tax Calculator
Estimate your 2026 US federal income tax by entering annual gross income, filing status and your deduction. The calculator subtracts the deduction and applies the full 2026 progressive bracket schedule for your filing status.
Last updated: September 2026
Formula below · 1 source (IRS) · Updated Sep 2026
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About this calculator
The formula is tax = progressive 2026 bracket tax on max(0, income − deduction). Taxable income is taxed in slices: each bracket's rate applies only to the dollars inside that bracket. 2026 single brackets (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32): 10% up to $12,400, 12% to $50,400, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,775, 32% to $256,225, 35% to $640,600 and 37% above. Married filing jointly: 10% to $24,800, 12% to $100,800, 22% to $211,400, 24% to $403,550, 32% to $512,450, 35% to $768,700, 37% above. Head of household: 10% to $17,700, 12% to $67,450, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,750, 32% to $256,200, 35% to $640,600, 37% above. Married filing separately uses the single thresholds except that 35% ends at $384,350. Enter your 2026 standard deduction ($16,100 single or married filing separately, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household, plus $2,050 unmarried or $1,650 married for each person 65+ or blind) or your itemized total if larger. Treat the income field as income after above-the-line deductions (traditional 401(k) and IRA contributions, HSA, half of self-employment tax, student-loan interest). Not modeled: tax credits (Child Tax Credit, EITC, education credits), the preferential 0/15/20% rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends, the 2025–2028 senior deduction and other below-the-line deductions such as QBI, FICA payroll tax, state tax, AMT and NIIT. Edge cases: income below the deduction returns zero tax.
How to use
Example 1 — Single filer at a modest income. You earn $30,000 in 2026 and take the $16,100 standard deduction. Enter income = 30000, filingStatus = single, standardDeduction = 16100. Result: $1,420. Verify: taxable income = 30,000 − 16,100 = 13,900; 10% × 12,400 = 1,240; 12% × (13,900 − 12,400) = 180; total = $1,420. ✓ Example 2 — Married filing jointly. You earn $100,000 combined and take the $32,200 standard deduction. Enter income = 100000, filingStatus = marriedJoint, standardDeduction = 32200. Result: $7,640. Verify: taxable income = 67,800; 10% × 24,800 = 2,480; 12% × (67,800 − 24,800) = 5,160; total = $7,640 (an effective rate of 7.6% of gross income, with a 12% marginal rate). ✓ At $200,000 combined the same inputs give $26,340.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my effective rate so much lower than my bracket?
Because US federal income tax is progressive. Only the dollars inside each bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate. A 2026 single filer with $80,000 of taxable income pays 10% on the first $12,400, 12% on the next $38,000 and 22% on the last $29,600, for $12,312 in total: a 22% marginal rate but a 15.4% effective rate on taxable income. Moving into a higher bracket never lowers take-home pay, because only the dollars above the threshold get the higher rate. This calculator applies the full bracket schedule for your filing status, so the result is the regular income tax before credits.
What is the standard deduction and should I take it?
The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount subtracted from your income before tax is calculated. For 2026: $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household and $16,100 married filing separately, plus an extra $2,050 (unmarried) or $1,650 (married) for each person who is 65 or older or blind. The alternative is itemizing on Schedule A: state and local taxes (capped at $40,400 for 2026, phased down toward $10,000 once modified AGI exceeds $505,000), mortgage interest on up to $750k of acquisition debt, charitable contributions, medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI and a few smaller categories. Take whichever is larger and enter it in the deduction field. Most filers take the standard deduction. Charitable bunching (concentrating several years of donations into one year so you can itemize that year) is a planning move that comes from this threshold.
What is gross income vs taxable income?
Gross income is all the money you received during the year from every source — wages (W-2 box 1), self-employment net earnings, interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, retirement distributions, Social Security (partially), unemployment, gambling winnings, alimony from pre-2019 divorces, business income, royalties, etc. The IRS includes some surprising items (the value of barter exchanges, illegal income, treasure-trove finds — see Pub 17) and excludes others (gifts, inheritances, life insurance proceeds, qualified scholarship aid, employer-paid health insurance premiums, Roth distributions in retirement, return of capital). Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is gross income minus above-the-line deductions: traditional 401(k) contributions (employer-side already excluded from box 1, but Schedule C self-employed contributions are above-the-line), traditional IRA contributions (income-limited), HSA contributions (income-unlimited), half of self-employment tax, student-loan interest up to $2,500, educator expenses up to $300. Taxable income is AGI minus the standard deduction (or itemized) minus the qualified business income deduction. This calculator subtracts only the deduction you enter, so enter income after above-the-line items (that is, your AGI) for an accurate result.
What is missing from this calculator vs. real tax?
Several things. (1) Tax credits: the Child Tax Credit ($2,200 per child for 2026, up to $1,700 refundable), EITC (up to $8,231 for 2026), education credits, the Saver's Credit and others reduce the tax this calculator shows dollar-for-dollar. (2) Payroll tax (FICA): Social Security 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 for 2026 plus Medicare 1.45%, and 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200k single / $250k MFJ. (3) Self-employment tax for 1099 income (15.3% on 92.35% of net SE earnings, with the same wage base). (4) State and local income tax. (5) Net Investment Income Tax (3.8% for high earners). (6) AMT. (7) Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends, which are taxed at 0/15/20% rather than the ordinary brackets used here. (8) The QBI deduction for pass-through business income and the 2025–2028 senior deduction. (9) Phaseouts of deductions and credits. The result is regular income tax before credits, not a full tax return.
When should I not use this calculator?
Skip it if a large part of your income is long-term capital gains or qualified dividends, which use the separate 0/15/20% rates; this calculator taxes everything at ordinary rates and will overstate tax on that income. Skip it for self-employed filers unless you also add self-employment tax, which is 15.3% of 92.35% of net earnings and often exceeds the income tax at moderate incomes. Retirees should first work out how much of their Social Security is taxable (0%, 50% or 85% depending on combined income). It does not handle credits, AMT or phaseouts. For a full return use IRS Free File, tax software or a CPA; for a quick check of the regular income tax on ordinary income, this calculator applies the exact 2026 brackets.