Income Tax Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

Does crossing into a new bracket reduce my take-home?

No. Only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate, so a raise always increases take-home pay.

Standard deduction or itemize?

Itemize when SALT (capped at $40,000), mortgage interest, charitable gifts, and large medical bills together exceed $16,100 single, $32,200 MFJ, or $23,850 HoH. Otherwise the standard deduction wins.

Why is my effective rate so much lower than my bracket?

The standard deduction is subtracted first and only the top slice of income is taxed at your marginal rate. A middle-income single filer in the 22% bracket typically pays an effective rate near 11–13%.

Does this include Social Security and Medicare tax?

No, FICA is a separate 7.65% payroll tax. Add it to estimate true W-2 take-home.

What about the Child Tax Credit?

The CTC is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 for 2026, with up to $1,700 refundable. It reduces tax after this calculation, so your real liability is lower if you have children.

How accurate is this estimate?

For a wage earner with no unusual income, no credits, and the standard deduction, the federal number is typically within a few dollars of the IRS calculation. Credits, capital gains, AMT, self-employment, and state tax can move the real number meaningfully.

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General information only. Not tax advice.

Tax Disclaimer: General information only. Not tax advice.

This calculator provides general tax information for educational purposes and is not tax advice. Tax laws change and vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult a qualified tax professional or CPA for advice on your specific situation.

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How This Calculator Works

This tool estimates US federal income tax using the 2026 brackets in IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 as adjusted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025. It subtracts your deduction (the standard deduction of $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, or $23,850 head of household by default, or a custom amount if you itemize) to get taxable income, then applies the progressive brackets one slice at a time. The output shows total tax, your marginal rate (the bracket your last dollar lands in), your effective rate (tax ÷ gross income), and take-home pay.

Progressive Brackets, Marginal vs Effective Rate

The federal system is progressive, not flat: income is sliced into bands and each band is taxed at its own rate. A single filer with $60,000 of taxable income pays 10% on the first $12,400, 12% on the next $38,000, and only 22% on the final $9,600. Crossing into a higher bracket can never reduce take-home pay because only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. Your marginal rate is what an extra dollar would be taxed at (use it for overtime, bonuses, Roth conversions, or pre-tax 401(k) sizing). Your effective rate is your true average and is always lower: a single filer earning $80,000 sits in the 22% bracket but pays an effective federal rate closer to 11–12% after the standard deduction.

2026 Head-of-Household Brackets

10%: up to $18,650

12%: $18,651 to $64,850

22%: $64,851 to $105,750

24%: $105,751 to $201,775

32%: $201,776 to $256,225

35%: $256,226 to $640,600

37%: above $640,600

Head of household is for unmarried taxpayers who pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying child or dependent. The larger standard deduction and wider 10% and 12% bands can save several hundred to a few thousand dollars versus filing single.

Standard Deduction vs Itemizing

The standard deduction is a flat amount subtracted from gross income before brackets apply. Itemize only when your eligible expenses exceed it: state and local taxes (capped at $40,000 under OBBBA for 2026, phasing down above $500,000 of MAGI to a $10,000 floor), mortgage interest on up to $750,000 of acquisition debt, charitable contributions, and medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI. To model itemizing here, enter your itemized total in the Deductions field. Above-the-line adjustments such as traditional 401(k), HSA, and deductible IRA contributions are subtracted before AGI and stack on top of either choice.

Credits: Refundable vs Non-Refundable

Credits reduce tax dollar-for-dollar after the bracket math, making them more valuable than a deduction of the same size. The Child Tax Credit under OBBBA is $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 for 2026, with up to $1,700 refundable. A non-refundable credit can only zero out your bill; a refundable credit (EITC, the refundable CTC portion, 40% of the American Opportunity Credit) can produce a refund larger than the tax owed. This calculator does not subtract credits.

Capital Gains, FICA, and State Tax

Long-term capital gains (held over a year) and qualified dividends use a preferential 0% / 15% / 20% schedule. For 2026 the 0% bracket runs to $49,450 single / $98,900 MFJ / $66,300 HoH and the 15% bracket runs up to $553,850 single / $622,050 MFJ / $586,300 HoH. High earners also owe a 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ. Short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income.

FICA is a separate payroll tax: employees pay 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500 and 1.45% Medicare on all wages, plus a 0.9% Medicare surtax above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ. Self-employed filers pay both halves (15.3%) and deduct half. Add roughly 7.65% to this estimate for true W-2 take-home. State tax is on top: nine states (Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Washington, and others) have no broad income tax, while California and New York can add 10%+ at the top.

Withholding, Retirement, and AMT

Your W-4 controls how much your employer withholds each paycheck, which is a prepayment toward the liability this calculator estimates. Over-withholding produces a refund; under-withholding can trigger an underpayment penalty. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to fine-tune.

Pre-tax contributions reduce taxable income before brackets apply, so a dollar deferred is worth your marginal rate in immediate savings. In 2026 the employee 401(k) limit is $23,500 ($31,000 age 50+, with a SECURE 2.0 super catch-up for ages 60–63). The traditional/Roth IRA limit is $7,500 ($8,600 with catch-up). HSAs are triple tax-advantaged: deductible going in, untaxed growth, tax-free for qualified medical expenses. Roth contributions do not lower this year's tax but produce tax-free retirement withdrawals.

The Alternative Minimum Tax applies a 26% / 28% rate to a broader income base after a large exemption ($88,100 single / $137,000 MFJ for 2026). You pay whichever is higher: regular tax or AMT. After TCJA and OBBBA the AMT now affects few filers, mostly large ISO exercises or unusual deductions. This calculator does not compute AMT.

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