Federal Income Tax Estimator
Last updated July 2, 2026
The federal income tax system works through seven progressive brackets applied to taxable income — not gross income — and the difference between those two numbers is where most of the planning happens. For 2026, the brackets are 10 percent, 12 percent, 22 percent, 24 percent, 32 percent, 35 percent, and 37 percent, with rates now permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025. The 37 percent top rate applies only to taxable income above $640,600 for single filers and $768,700 for married couples filing jointly, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Most households interact with a much smaller portion of the bracket table than the top rate suggests.
The standard deduction is the first and most important number in any federal income tax estimate. In 2026, it rises to $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. Taxpayers 65 or older get an additional $6,000 senior deduction available under the OBBBA, subject to income phase-outs beginning at $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers. Above-the-line deductions — retirement contributions, student loan interest, half of self-employment tax, health savings account contributions — reduce adjusted gross income before the standard deduction is applied, further compressing taxable income. A single filer earning $75,000 in wages who contributes $7,000 to a traditional IRA and takes the standard deduction has taxable income of $51,900, putting the marginal rate at 22 percent with an effective rate of roughly 12 to 13 percent on total gross income.
Estimate your federal income tax by starting with gross income, subtracting above-the-line deductions to get AGI, subtracting the standard deduction (or itemized total if higher) to get taxable income, then applying the bracket table to each income layer — not a single rate to the full amount. The marginal rate and the effective rate are two very different numbers, and confusing them is the most common source of tax misunderstanding.