Skip to content

Income Tax Calculator

Estimate your US federal income tax for tax year 2026 (the return you file in 2027) using the IRS brackets and standard deductions, and see your take-home pay after Social Security and Medicare.

Wages and other ordinary income for 2026, before anything is taken out.

Optional. Traditional 401(k) or 403(b), deductible traditional IRA and HSA contributions for the year.

Deduction

As an employee: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $184,500 and 1.45% Medicare, plus 0.9% on high wages.

Result

Federal income tax for 2026

$8,550.00

Effective rate 10.06% · 22% tax bracket

Gross income
$85,000.00
Pre-tax contributions
− $6,000.00
Adjusted gross income
$79,000.00
Standard deduction
− $16,100.00
Taxable income
$62,900.00
Federal income tax
$8,550.00
Effective tax rate
10.06%
Marginal tax bracket
22%
Social Security (6.2%)
$5,270.00
Medicare (1.45%)
$1,232.50
Total FICA
$6,502.50
Estimated take-home pay per year
$63,947.50
Per month
$5,328.96
Show the working
  1. Adjusted gross income = gross income − pre-tax contributions$85,000.00 − $6,000.00 = $79,000.00
  2. Taxable income = AGI − deduction$79,000.00 − $16,100.00 = $62,900.00
  3. Tax = tax below your bracket + bracket rate × income above its start$5,800.00 + 22% × ($62,900.00 − $50,400.00) = $8,550.00
  4. Effective rate = tax ÷ gross income$8,550.00 ÷ $85,000.00 = 10.06%

Uses the IRS 2026 rate schedules. Tax credits, state and local taxes, capital gains rates and the new deductions for seniors, tips and overtime are not included.

Your tax, bracket by bracket

2026 federal tax brackets for your filing status and the tax in each. Scroll sideways to see all columns.
RateTaxable incomeYour income taxed at this rateTax
10%$0 – $12,400$12,400.00$1,240.00
12%$12,400 – $50,400$38,000.00$4,560.00
22%$50,400 – $105,700$12,500.00$2,750.00
24%$105,700 – $201,775$0.00$0.00
32%$201,775 – $256,225$0.00$0.00
35%$256,225 – $640,600$0.00$0.00
37%Over $640,600$0.00$0.00
Total$62,900.00$8,550.00

Where your gross income goes

  • Take-home pay$63,947.50(75%)
  • Federal income tax$8,550.00(10%)
  • Social Security and Medicare$6,502.50(8%)
  • Pre-tax contributions$6,000.00(7%)

Results are estimates for planning and education, not financial, tax or legal advice. Lenders, tax authorities and products apply their own rules and rounding.

How federal income tax is worked out

The calculation follows the order of Form 1040:

  1. Gross income — your wages and other ordinary income for the year.
  2. Adjusted gross income (AGI) — gross income minus pre-tax retirement and HSA contributions. These are taxed later (or, for HSAs used on medical costs, not at all).
  3. Taxable income — AGI minus either the standard deduction or your itemized deductions, whichever you choose. It pays to choose the larger of the two.
  4. Tax — taxable income run through the brackets for your filing status.

US income tax is progressive: each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its bracket. Moving into a higher bracket never makes your earlier income cost more; only the dollars above the threshold pay the higher rate. The table under the calculator shows each slice.

With the FICA box ticked, the calculator also estimates the Social Security and Medicare tax taken from an employee’s pay and your take-home pay: gross income minus pre-tax contributions, income tax and FICA, before any state or local tax.

2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction

These figures apply to income earned from January 1 to December 31, 2026, reported on the return you file in 2027. They come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which includes the changes made by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21). Taxable income ranges:

RateSingleMarried filing jointlyMarried filing separatelyHead of household
10%$0 – $12,400$0 – $24,800$0 – $12,400$0 – $17,700
12%$12,400 – $50,400$24,800 – $100,800$12,400 – $50,400$17,700 – $67,450
22%$50,400 – $105,700$100,800 – $211,400$50,400 – $105,700$67,450 – $105,700
24%$105,700 – $201,775$211,400 – $403,550$105,700 – $201,775$105,700 – $201,750
32%$201,775 – $256,225$403,550 – $512,450$201,775 – $256,225$201,750 – $256,200
35%$256,225 – $640,600$512,450 – $768,700$256,225 – $384,350$256,200 – $640,600
37%Over $640,600Over $768,700Over $384,350Over $640,600
Standard deduction$16,100$32,200$16,100$24,150

A qualifying surviving spouse uses the married-filing-jointly brackets and standard deduction. Each range includes its upper figure: income of exactly $12,400 for a single filer is still all in the 10% bracket.

The formulas

The IRS publishes each bracket as a fixed amount plus a percentage of the income above the bracket’s start:

Tax = B + R × (T − L)

T
taxable income = gross income − pre-tax contributions − deduction
L
where your top bracket starts
R
the rate of that bracket
B
the tax on all income below L (for a single filer in the 22% bracket, $5,800)

The effective rate is tax ÷ gross income, the share of everything you earned that goes to federal income tax. The marginal rate is R, the rate on your next dollar.

For an employee, FICA is worked out on gross wages:

FICA = 6.2% × min(wages, $184,500) + 1.45% × wages + 0.9% × (wages − threshold, if positive)

The Additional Medicare Tax threshold is $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately and $200,000 for everyone else. On a joint return the $184,500 Social Security limit applies to each spouse’s wages separately. Traditional 401(k) deferrals are still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax, so pre-tax contributions don’t lower FICA here.

From 2026, itemized deductions of people in the 37% bracket are reduced by 2/37 of the smaller of the deductions and the income above the start of that bracket. The effect is that each itemized dollar saves at most 35 cents of tax. The calculator applies this limit when you itemize.

Worked example

A single filer earns $85,000 in 2026, puts $6,000 into a traditional 401(k) and takes the standard deduction.

  1. Adjusted gross income: $85,000 − $6,000 = $79,000
  2. Taxable income: $79,000 − $16,100 = $62,900
  3. Tax: $5,800 + 22% × ($62,900 − $50,400) = $5,800 + $2,750 = $8,550. Bracket by bracket that is $1,240 at 10%, $4,560 at 12% and $2,750 at 22%.
  4. Effective rate: $8,550 ÷ $85,000 = 10.06%, in the 22% bracket
  5. FICA: Social Security $85,000 × 6.2% = $5,270 and Medicare $85,000 × 1.45% = $1,232.50
  6. Take-home: $85,000 − $6,000 − $8,550 − $5,270 − $1,232.50 = $63,947.50 a year, about $5,328.96 a month before state tax

What this calculator does not include

It is an estimate of the regular federal income tax on ordinary income. It leaves out:

  • Tax credits such as the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and education credits. Credits reduce the tax itself, so your bill may be lower.
  • State and local income taxes.
  • Capital gains and qualified dividends, which have their own lower rates, and the net investment income tax.
  • The alternative minimum tax (AMT).
  • Self-employment tax. The FICA figures are for employees; the self-employed pay both halves, worked out differently.
  • Age and blindness. The extra standard deduction for people 65 or older or blind ($1,650 for each condition and person in 2026, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse) and the new $6,000 deduction for seniors are not added.
  • The new deductions for tips, overtime and car loan interest, which have their own limits and income phase-outs.
  • Limits on pre-tax contributions. The field is taken as entered. A traditional IRA may not be deductible if you or your spouse have a workplace plan and your income is high, and HSA contributions made through payroll are usually free of FICA too.
  • Dependents, whose standard deduction can be smaller.

Tax Table versus rate schedule

The calculator uses the exact rate schedules. Many returns look the tax up in the IRS Tax Table instead, which lists tax for small bands of income, so the figure on a return can differ by a few dollars. To see how pay translates into take-home over a pay period, try the salary calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What tax bracket am I in for 2026?

Your bracket is the rate on the last dollar of your taxable income. For a single filer, taxable income from $50,400 to $105,700 is in the 22% bracket; for married couples filing jointly the same bracket runs from $100,800 to $211,400. The calculator shows your bracket and the tax in each one.

If I move into a higher tax bracket, is all my income taxed at the higher rate?

No. Only the income above the bracket’s starting point is taxed at the higher rate. Under the brackets, a raise that pushes you into the next one always leaves you with more money after federal income tax, not less.

What is the difference between my effective and marginal tax rate?

The marginal rate is what you pay on your next dollar of income, the rate of your top bracket. The effective rate is your total income tax divided by your gross income, which is lower because the first slices of income are taxed at 10% and 12% and the deduction is not taxed at all.

Should I take the standard deduction or itemize?

Take whichever is larger. For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $24,150 for heads of household and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. Choose Itemized and enter your total to compare. If you are married filing separately and your spouse itemizes, you must itemize too.

Why is the tax taken from my paycheck different from this estimate?

Withholding is an estimate based on your Form W-4 and each paycheck, not a calculation of your final tax. Credits, other income, bonuses and a second job all change the result. The difference is settled when you file your return, as a refund or a balance due.

Do pre-tax 401(k) contributions reduce Social Security and Medicare tax?

No. Traditional 401(k) and 403(b) deferrals lower the income subject to federal income tax, but they still count as wages for Social Security and Medicare, which is why the calculator works out FICA on your gross pay.

Sources

Last reviewed September 15, 2026