How federal income tax is calculated for 2026
Federal income tax is progressive: income is sliced into brackets and each slice is taxed at its own rate. Before any bracket applies, you subtract adjustments such as 401(k) or traditional IRA contributions and then the standard deduction (or itemized deductions if they are larger). What remains is taxable income. The 2026 figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which sets the inflation-adjusted brackets and deductions for returns filed in 2027.
Formula
Taxable income = Income - Pre-tax contributions - Deduction. Tax = sum over brackets of (income in that bracket x bracket rate). Effective rate = Tax / Income. Marginal rate = the rate of the bracket that contains your last dollar of taxable income.
Worked example: $60,000, single filer
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income | $60,000.00 |
| Standard deduction (single) | -$16,100.00 |
| Taxable income | $43,900.00 |
| 10% on $12,400 ($0 to $12,400) | $1,240.00 |
| 12% on $31,500 ($12,400 to $50,400) | $3,780.00 |
| Federal income tax | $5,020.00 |
| Effective rate | 8.37% |
| Marginal rate | 12% |
The single filer's first $12,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10% ($1,240) and the remaining $31,500 at 12% ($3,780), for $5,020.00 in total. That is 8.37% of the $60,000 salary even though the marginal bracket is 12%.
Marginal versus effective rate
Brackets create two different rates. The marginal rate is the bracket your last dollar falls into and tells you what a raise or a deduction is worth: at 12%, another $1,000 of income costs $120 of federal tax, and a $1,000 401(k) contribution saves $120. The effective rate is the average across all your income and is always lower, because the standard deduction is taxed at 0% and the first brackets are taxed at 10% and 12%. Someone in the 24% bracket typically has an effective federal rate in the mid-teens.
Pre-tax contributions and your bracket
Contributions to a traditional 401(k), 403(b), HSA, or deductible IRA come off before the brackets apply. For a single filer at $60,000, a $6,000 contribution lowers taxable income to $37,900 and federal tax to $4,300, saving $720 at the 12% rate. Near a bracket edge the savings are larger: a filer with $52,000 of taxable income who contributes $2,000 removes the $1,600 sitting in the 22% bracket first, saving $352 there plus $48 at 12%, or $400 in total.
2026 standard deduction
| Filing status | Standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Married filing separately | $16,100 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
Taxpayers 65 or older or blind get an additional amount on top of these figures, and itemizers use their itemized total instead. This calculator uses whichever of the standard deduction and your itemized entry is larger.
2026 federal income tax brackets
The thresholds below are taxable income, not gross income. Married filing separately mirrors single filers up to the 35% bracket, which tops out at $384,350 instead of $640,600. Head of household gets wider 10% and 12% brackets than single filers.
Single
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 |
Married filing jointly
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $24,800 |
| 12% | $24,800 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $100,800 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $211,400 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $403,550 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $512,450 to $768,700 |
| 37% | Over $768,700 |
Married filing separately
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $384,350 |
| 37% | Over $384,350 |
Head of household
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $17,700 |
| 12% | $17,700 to $67,450 |
| 22% | $67,450 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,750 |
| 32% | $201,750 to $256,200 |
| 35% | $256,200 to $640,600 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 |
These brackets are indexed to inflation each year, so the 2026 thresholds are a few percent higher than 2025. The rates themselves were made permanent by the 2025 tax law, ending the scheduled 2026 reversion to the pre-2018 schedule.