About this calculator
US federal income tax is progressive: your income is sliced into brackets, and each slice is taxed at its own rate. Only the dollars that reach a bracket are taxed at that bracket's rate — which is why a raise never reduces your take-home pay, a persistent myth this calculator's bracket table disproves at a glance.
This estimate uses the 2026 federal brackets and standard deductions ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household; IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32) and assumes your income is wages. It leaves out FICA taxes, state taxes, credits such as the child tax credit, and pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions — all of which move a real tax bill, usually downward.
How to use it
- Enter your gross annual income before any taxes.
- Choose your filing status.
- If you itemize, enter how much your itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction as extra deductions (leave 0 otherwise).
- Read your tax, then check the bracket table to see where your top dollar lands.
The formula
First subtract the standard deduction (plus any extra deductions) from gross income to get taxable income. Then walk up the brackets: the first $12,400 of a single filer's taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and so on. Your marginal rate is the rate on your highest slice; your effective rate is total tax divided by gross income — always lower.
Worked example
A single filer earning $100,000 in 2026 takes the $16,100 standard deduction, leaving $83,900 taxable. The tax is $1,240 at 10%, $4,560 at 12% and $7,370 at 22% — $13,170 in total. The marginal rate is 22%, but the effective rate is just 13.17% of gross income, because most dollars were taxed at the lower rates.
Sources: IRS federal income-tax brackets and standard deduction for the 2025 tax year; FICA rates 7.65% (Social Security wage base $176,100). Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?
Your marginal rate is the rate on your last (highest) dollar of income — the bracket you top out in. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, blending all the lower brackets beneath it. Effective rate is the honest measure of your overall federal burden; marginal rate is what an extra dollar of income or deduction is worth.
What are the 2026 standard deductions?
$16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Taxpayers 65 or older, or who are blind, get additional amounts. Most filers (roughly 9 in 10) take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. This page does not model married filing separately; separate filers face different brackets and standard deductions.
Why is my actual tax bill different from this estimate?
Common reasons: pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions reduce taxable wages; tax credits (child tax credit, education credits) reduce the tax itself; and capital gains are taxed at special lower rates. This calculator covers the wage-income core that applies to most filers.
Does this include Social Security and Medicare (FICA)?
No. FICA adds 7.65% on wages up to the Social Security wage base ($184,500 in 2026) and 1.45% beyond it. It is a separate tax from federal income tax, which is why your paycheck withholding is larger than the income tax alone.
What formula does this income tax calculator use?
Tax = Σ (income falling in each bracket × that bracket's rate) First subtract the standard deduction (plus any extra deductions) from gross income to get taxable income. Then walk up the brackets: the first $12,400 of a single filer's taxable income is taxed at 10%, the next slice at 12%, and so on. Your marginal rate is the rate on your highest slice; your effective rate is total tax divided by gross income — always lower. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.