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Federal Income Tax Calculator

A federal income tax calculator estimates how much federal income tax you owe for 2026. Enter your gross annual income and your filing status, and it applies the 2026 standard deduction and the 2026 federal tax brackets to work out your taxable income, your tax, and your effective tax rate. This is federal tax only — it does not include state tax or payroll taxes.

How it works

Federal income tax is charged on your taxable income, not on your whole income. First, the standard deduction is subtracted from your gross income: for 2026 it is $16,100 for single filers, $16,100 for married couples filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. If your gross income is below the standard deduction, your taxable income is $0 and you owe no federal income tax. This calculator uses the standard deduction only; it does not include itemized deductions, credits, or adjustments to income.

What is left is taxed in slices, called brackets. Each slice of taxable income is taxed at its own rate, and only the income inside a slice gets that rate. That is the part people most often misunderstand: moving into a higher bracket does not raise the tax on all of your income, only on the part above the bracket line. Your marginal tax rate is the rate on your last dollar of income, while your effective tax rate is your total tax divided by your gross income — and the effective rate is almost always lower than the marginal rate.

The 2026 single brackets used here are: 10% up to $12,400; 12% up to $50,400; 22% up to $105,700; 24% up to $201,775; 32% up to $256,225; 35% up to $640,600; and 37% above that. The 2026 married filing jointly brackets are: 10% up to $24,800; 12% up to $100,800; 22% up to $211,400; 24% up to $403,550; 32% up to $512,450; 35% up to $768,700; and 37% above that. The 2026 married filing separately brackets match the single brackets through the 32% bracket, then reach 35% up to $384,350 and 37% above that. The 2026 head of household brackets are: 10% up to $17,700; 12% up to $67,450; 22% up to $105,700; 24% up to $201,750; 32% up to $256,200; 35% up to $640,600; and 37% above that. All four sets of brackets are from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The formula is simply the sum of each slice of taxable income times its rate.

Remember that this result is federal income tax only. It does not include state income tax, which varies by where you live and is $0 in some places, and it does not include payroll taxes such as Social Security and Medicare, which are taken from your pay separately. Your actual tax bill can also be reduced by credits, such as the child tax credit, and by deductions you itemize instead of taking the standard deduction.

Worked example

Alex is single and earns $60,000 gross in 2026. First, subtract the 2026 single standard deduction of $16,100, which leaves taxable income of $60,000 − $16,100 = $43,900.

Now apply the 2026 single brackets. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, which is $12,400 × 0.10 = $1,240. The remaining $31,500 ($43,900 − $12,400) falls in the 12% bracket, which is $31,500 × 0.12 = $3,780. Add them together: $1,240 + $3,780 = $5,020 of federal income tax.

Alex's marginal tax rate is 12%, because the last dollar of taxable income falls in the 12% bracket. The effective tax rate is $5,020 ÷ $60,000 = 8.37%, and after-tax income is $60,000 − $5,020 = $54,980, before state tax and payroll taxes. Notice how the effective rate is well below the marginal rate — that is normal, because the first $12,400 was taxed at only 10% and the $16,100 standard deduction was not taxed at all.

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