2026 Federal Income Tax Calculator
Estimate federal income tax + FICA with full bracket-by-bracket breakdown. All four filing statuses, standard or itemized deductions, marginal vs effective rate.
Federal tax estimate
| Bracket | Income in bracket | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $11,600.00 | $1,160.00 |
| 12% | $35,550.00 | $4,266.00 |
| 22% | $12,850.00 | $2,827.00 |
How US federal income tax works
US federal income tax is progressive— different chunks of your income are taxed at different rates. The seven brackets for 2026 (single filer, approximate inflation-adjusted) are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. You don't pay your top rate on all your income; you pay each rate only on the income that falls within that bracket.
2026 brackets — single filer
- 10% on income $0 to $11,600
- 12% on income $11,601 to $47,150
- 22% on income $47,151 to $100,525
- 24% on income $100,526 to $191,950
- 32% on income $191,951 to $243,725
- 35% on income $243,726 to $609,350
- 37% on income above $609,350
Married-filing-jointly brackets are roughly double these. Head-of-household sits in between. Married-filing-separately matches single brackets up to a point, then has a lower 37% threshold to prevent gaming the system.
Marginal vs effective rate — the most-confused tax concept
Marginal rate: the rate on your next dollar of income. Effective rate: your total tax divided by total income — your overall average.
Concrete example: a single filer with $75,000 taxable income (after standard deduction). They're “in the 22% bracket” — meaning their marginal rate is 22%. But they don't pay 22% on $75,000:
- 10% on first $11,600 = $1,160
- 12% on next $35,550 = $4,266
- 22% on remaining $27,850 = $6,127
- Total: $11,553 → effective rate 15.4%
The mythical “don't take a raise — it'll bump you into a higher bracket” advice is wrong because brackets are marginal. A raise that crosses into a higher bracket only pays the higher rate on the amount above the threshold. You always net more after-tax money from a raise.
Standard deduction (2026)
- Single, married filing separately: $15,000
- Married filing jointly: $30,000
- Head of household: $22,500
- Age 65+ or blind: additional $1,550–$1,950 added on top.
About 85% of US filers take the standard deduction since the 2017 tax law nearly doubled it. Itemizing only beats standard if your specific deductible expenses (capped state/local taxes, mortgage interest, charity, large medical bills) exceed the standard amount.
FICA: federal payroll tax
FICA isn't income tax but is a federal tax on wages, paid by employees and employers:
- Social Security: 6.2% on wages up to $168,600 (2026 wage base, indexed annually). Above this you stop paying.
- Medicare: 1.45% on all wages, no cap.
- Additional Medicare: 0.9% on wages above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married). Only employees pay this surcharge — employers don't match.
Self-employed people pay both halves (15.3% combined SS + Medicare on self-employment income up to the wage base). Half of that is deductible.
Filing statuses — what to pick
- Single — unmarried as of Dec 31. Default if no other status fits.
- Married filing jointly — usually the lowest combined tax for couples. Most married couples file this way.
- Married filing separately — usually worse than joint. Used when one spouse has high income-driven student loan payments, large medical expenses to itemize, or wants separation of liability.
- Head of household — unmarried (or considered unmarried) and pays >50% of household costs for a qualifying child or relative. Lower tax than single.
- Qualifying surviving spouse — for the 2 years after a spouse's death if you have a dependent child. Uses MFJ brackets.
What's NOT in this calculator
This is a baseline federal tax estimate. Real returns also factor in:
- Tax credits — Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Saver's Credit, education credits, etc. These come off your tax bill directly (more valuable than deductions).
- State income tax — varies wildly. Use our Paycheck Calculator for state-specific take-home.
- Capital gains and qualified dividends — taxed at separate, lower rates (0%, 15%, 20% for long-term).
- Self-employment taxes — additional 7.65% beyond what's shown here.
- AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) — parallel system that catches some high-income filers.
- NIIT (Net Investment Income Tax) — 3.8% surtax on investment income above thresholds.
When to use a real tax-prep tool
This calculator answers “roughly how much will I owe?” or “does this raise actually help me?” For actual tax filing, use:
- FreeTaxUSA — free federal, $14.99 state. The cheap filer's favorite.
- IRS Free File — free if your AGI is under ~$84,000.
- TurboTax / H&R Block — easier UX, more expensive.
- A CPA — for self-employment, business income, RSU vesting, multi-state work, or any complexity. The fee usually pays for itself.