U.S. Tax Brackets 2026: The federal income tax rates are varying from 10% to 37% in 2026. The majority of taxpayers will be filing federal tax returns in 2027.
Your tax bracket depends on two main factors:
The IRS adjusts bracket thresholds periodically for inflation. For 2026, the seven ordinary income tax rates remain 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.
The brackets apply to your regular (taxable) income, such as wages and salaries, taxable retirement plan distributions, net short-term capital gains and other types of income.
| Tax rate | Single | Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse | Married filing separately | Head of household |
|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $24,800 | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $17,700 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 | $24,801 to $100,800 | $12,401 to $50,400 | $17,701 to $67,450 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 | $100,801 to $211,400 | $50,401 to $105,700 | $67,451 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 | $211,401 to $403,550 | $105,701 to $201,775 | $105,701 to $201,750 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 | $403,551 to $512,450 | $201,776 to $256,225 | $201,751 to $256,200 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 | $512,451 to $768,700 | $256,226 to $384,350 | $256,201 to $640,600 |
| 37% | $640,601 or more | $768,701 or more | $384,351 or more | $640,601 or more |
These are MARGINAL tax brackets. The rates only apply to this row of the taxable income, and not the taxpayer’s overall income.
The standard deduction is the part of income that is not subject to federal income taxes. The Standard Deduction or Itemized Deductions are given to most taxpayers, whichever gives them the greater deduction.
| Filing status | 2026 standard deduction |
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse | $32,200 |
| Married filing separately | $16,100 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
Other deduction amounts or special rules may apply to taxpayers who are age 65 or older, are blind, who can be claimed as a dependent, or to those that are subject to other tax provisions.
The rates of the taxes are unchanged for 2026 but income levels are increased.
For example:
Annual inflation adjustments prevent bracket creep, the phenomenon of a taxpayer’s nominal income increasing into a higher bracket but his/her purchasing power not increasing by the same amount.
In the U.S., the system of income taxes is progressive. Income is divided into layers, and each layer taxed at the rate given for its layer.
By entering into a higher tax bracket, you do not enter into a higher tax rate for all income; only for what you earn above the lower tax bracket. The new rate only applies to the amount of the income over the threshold amount.
Your marginal tax rate is the tax rate that applies to the last dollar of income earned, and often to the next dollar earned, that you have and is taxable.
Suppose a single filer has $90,000 of taxable income in 2026. That taxpayer is in the 22% tax bracket because the final portion of the income falls between $50,401 and $105,700.
The taxpayer does not owe 22% of the full $90,000. Instead:
Assume that you, as a single filer, make an increase in your taxable income from $50,400 to $50,500.
The additional $100 is taxed at 22%. The income below that threshold remains taxed at the lower 10% and 12% rates.
If you move to a higher bracket you will be charged more tax on any income over the threshold, but you won’t be worse off just because you exceed the threshold. Part of every extra dollar is still yours, except for any credits, benefit phaseouts, state taxes or other factors that may impact the total.
The highest ordinary federal income tax rate which is imposed on a portion of your taxable income is called the marginal tax rate.
The average rate of federal income tax is the effective income tax rate. This can be worked out as:
Federal income tax liability ÷ taxable income × 100
Income in lower brackets as a whole will generally have lower marginal rates due to the lower effective rates of these lower brackets.
In comparing rates, make sure to determine which number is the denominator. If gross income is divided by federal tax, then the result is a percentage of gross income on which federal tax is levied. Taxable income is divided by federal tax to get effective tax rate based on taxable income.
The five federal filing statuses are:
Certain tax benefits, filing requirements, filing status and standard deductions are influenced by filing status.
It’s important to remember that the bracket table is not a comparison of salary, unless your salary and taxable income are exactly the same.
A simplified calculation is:
Gross income
minus eligible adjustments
equals Adjusted Gross Income
Adjusted gross income
minus the standard deduction or itemized deductions
equals taxable income
There are some tax situations, deductions and income that need extra calculations. When determining your bracket, use that on your tax return or a good estimate of your tax bracket.
Look for the column in which you need to enter your filing status. Next find the line with your taxable income.
The percentage in the row is your marginal federal income tax rate. This doesn’t necessarily mean the average percentage you will be charged.
To calculate the tax without credits, multiply the amount of income in each bracket by each rate. Include the tax of all applicable layers.
Assume a taxpayer:
The calculation is:
| Income layer | Calculation | Tax |
| First $12,400 | $12,400 × 10% | $1,240 |
| Next $38,000 | $38,000 × 12% | $4,560 |
| Remaining $39,600 | $39,600 × 22% | $8,712 |
| Total | $14,512 |
The taxpayer’s marginal rate is 22%.
The effective rate based on taxable income is:
$14,512 ÷ $90,000 = approximately 16.1%
This example is purposely kept as simple as possible. Does not count tax credits, alternative minimum tax, net investment income tax, self-employment tax, additional Medicare tax or state and local taxes.
Instead, assume that the gross income of one taxpayer is just $90,000 and they qualify for the maximum $16,100 standard deduction and no other deduction.
Simplified taxable income would be:
$90,000 − $16,100 = $73,900
The estimated ordinary federal income tax before credits would be:
Estimated total: $10,970
This is one reason why gross income shouldn’t be the sole determinant or measure of a taxpayer’s ultimate federal tax bill.
A single filer is in the following:
For 2026, a single filer enters the:
If you are a married couple filing a joint federal tax return, you will file one federal tax return, and they will report their combined income, deductions and credits. Usually, a surviving spouse will be subject to the same tax rate schedule as a single person.
If filing a joint return, the joint filers enter the:
The federal government tax rates may be lower for a married couple filing together than for married couples filing separately, but not all the time. Couples should consider the full tax implications in the event that they are able to file separately and, perhaps, should.
Married filing separately has the same thresholds as being single for most of the schedule with the exception of the top brackets.
This provides a married taxpayer filing separately with a 2026 taxable income of $384,350 with a 37% tax rate on the excess.
However, it might be appropriate if the spouses wish to have separate tax liability, or if the entire calculation yields a more favorable result.
Single status tends to have lower brackets for the lower rates than head of household, and a lower standard deduction.
There may be a special residency rule that will apply to a dependent parent.
For 2026, a head-of-household filer enters the:
The normal income brackets listed on this page don’t apply to all capital gains.
| Filing status | 0% rate through | 15% rate through | 20% rate begins above |
| Single | $49,450 | $545,500 | $545,500 |
| Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse | $98,900 | $613,700 | $613,700 |
| Married filing separately | $49,450 | $306,850 | $306,850 |
| Head of household | $66,200 | $579,600 | $579,600 |
Ordinary income and long term capital gain may mean that the final calculation is more complex than putting the gain into one row. There may be other special rates for collectibles, for some small-business stock, and for unrecaptured real-estate gains.
Deductions and credits work differently. This can include standard deductions, qualified itemized deductions, and specific qualified adjustments and/or business expenses.
In general a tax credit is a credit that lowers the amount of taxable income that you will owe. Some of the credits are refundable, which implies that they can get a refund after deducting any eligible tax amount to zero.
A credit can reduce your overall taxes, but not your tax rate.
Depending on eligibility, taxpayers may be able to reduce taxable income through:
Not all contributions or expenses are deductible, and there are income restrictions and/or other eligibility requirements.
Tax Planning should be geared toward the total tax payable, not keeping the tax below a certain amount. This seldom pays to turn down a job or to refuse a raise because some of the extra money will boost income into a higher marginal tax rate.
Mostly, federal brackets are used for taxable income, rather than just salary or business profits.
Only the portion within each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate.
The 2026 brackets apply to income earned in 2026.
They do not ordinarily reduce taxable income or change the marginal bracket.
Long-term gains may qualify for separate rates.
Self-employment tax, payroll tax, state income tax, net investment income tax and other taxes do not necessarily get included in the ordinary federal income tax calculation.
Joint filing usually is a good thing, but the proper comparison will be based on both spouses’ full facts.
The federal income tax will have 7 ordinary tax rates from 10% to 37% in 2026.
Fill in the filing status properly, use a reasonable approximation of taxable income and compute tax bracket by bracket. Separately report any deductions, credits, capital gains, self-employment income and any other provisions that may pertain to your return.
The information given in this article is of an educational nature. Individual results would depend on the particular facts and federal tax rules may vary. For information on an individual return, please seek guidance from current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and/or a tax professional.
The 2026 tax bracket will be based on your taxable income and filing status. Look in the 2026 Taxable Income column to find your filing status column, and refer to the row that contains your taxable income. In that row, the number is your marginal (or highest) federal income tax rate.
The seven ordinary federal income tax rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.
There is a layering of income.
The new threshold only affects the income that is above it.
The highest federal income tax rate (ordinary) is 37%. It starts at over $640,600 for single income earners, $768,700 for married couples who file together, $384,350 for married tax filers filing separately and $640,600 for heads of household.
For 2026, the 24% bracket applies to taxable income:
Joint filers pay ordinary federal income tax at rates from 10% to 37%. The 10% bracket covers taxable income through $24,800, while the 37% bracket begins above $768,700.
There isn’t a single rate for heads of households. The rate is the “marginal” rate of taxation depending on taxable income. The thresholds range from a 10% bracket through $17,700 to a 37% bracket above $640,600.
The amount of taxable income is the amount of income after eligible deductions and adjustments, and will generally be less than gross income such as salary or your business’s total receipts.
The marginal rate is the tax rate that is levied on a dollar of your marginal income.
The tax rate for net short term capital gains is typically regular income tax rates. The majority of the net long-term capital gains can receive different rates of 0%, 15%, or 20% tax rates.
Generally income in tax year 2026 will be reported on federal income tax return for tax year 2027.