Wages, business profit, interest and short-term gains — before the standard deduction.
$
Income
$120,000
Standard deduction (2026)
$16,100
Taxable income
$103,900
Federal income tax
$17,570
Marginal rate
22.0%
Effective rate
14.6%
Marginal is the rate on your next dollar. Effective is the tax divided by your income — it is lower because the bands underneath your top one are taxed at their own rates. Ordinary federal income tax only: payroll tax, state tax, credits and the alternative minimum tax are not in these figures.
The ladder
2026 brackets, and where your income lands
Taxable income only — the figure after your standard deduction. The right-hand column is what each band costs at the income you entered, and the rows add up to the federal income tax above.
| Rate | Taxable income | Tax from this band |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $12,400 | $1,240 |
| 12% | $12,401 – $50,400 | $4,560 |
| 22% | $50,401 – $105,700Your top band | $11,770 |
| 24% | $105,701 – $201,775 | $0 |
| 32% | $201,776 – $256,225 | $0 |
| 35% | $256,226 – $640,600 | $0 |
| 37% | $640,601 and up | $0 |
Before the ladder
The 2026 standard deduction
This comes off your income before any bracket applies, and you take the larger of it or your itemized deductions. Most filers take the standard amount.
| Filing status | Standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
Not sure whether to itemize instead? Compare the two.
Which rate should you plan with?
- A deduction is worth your MARGINAL rate. A dollar of retirement contribution, business expense or charitable gift comes off the top of the ladder, so it saves tax at the rate of your highest band — not at your effective rate.
- Extra income is taxed at your MARGINAL rate too, right up to the top of the band it fills, and at the next rate after that.
- Your EFFECTIVE rate describes the year you had. It is the right number for "what share of what I earned went to federal income tax", and the wrong one for deciding what one more dollar costs.
- Neither includes payroll tax. Social Security and Medicare are charged separately, on wages and on self-employment profit, and they do not use these bands.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What are the 2026 federal income tax brackets?
For a single filer, 2026 taxable income is taxed in bands: 10% on $0–$12,400; 12% on $12,401–$50,400; 22% on $50,401–$105,700; 24% on $105,701–$201,775; 32% on $201,776–$256,225; 35% on $256,226–$640,600; 37% on taxable income above $640,600. Married filing jointly: 10% on $0–$24,800; 12% on $24,801–$100,800; 22% on $100,801–$211,400; 24% on $211,401–$403,550; 32% on $403,551–$512,450; 35% on $512,451–$768,700; 37% on taxable income above $768,700. These are TAXABLE income figures, not gross pay — subtract your standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household) or your itemized total before you read them.
What is the difference between my marginal rate and my effective rate?
Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of income — the band your last dollar of taxable income lands in. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, which is always lower, because the bands below your top one are taxed at their own lower rates. Marginal rate is the one to use when you are deciding whether to earn or defer another dollar; effective rate is the one that describes the year you actually had.
Does moving into a higher bracket tax all of my income at that rate?
No. Only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. A raise that carries you into the next band is charged the higher rate on the part above the threshold and changes nothing about the income beneath it. There is no point on the ordinary federal ladder at which taking more pay leaves you with less after tax.
What is the 2026 standard deduction?
$16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 married filing jointly and $24,150 for head of household in 2026. You take the larger of that or your itemized deductions, and what is left after it is the taxable income the brackets on this page apply to.
Do long-term capital gains use these brackets?
No — long-term gains and qualified dividends run on their own, lower three-step schedule, and it is read against the same taxable income. For 2026 a single filer stays in the bottom step up to $49,450 of taxable income and the middle step up to $545,500; married filing jointly, $98,900 and $613,700. Above those thresholds the top step applies. The ordinary bands on this page still apply to wages, business profit, interest and short-term gains.
When do these figures change?
The IRS publishes the next year's brackets and standard deduction each autumn, in a revenue procedure, and they apply to the tax year that starts the following January. This page reads that table directly, so it re-titles and re-renders itself when the new figures land rather than being re-typed. Until a year's figures are published, anything shown for it is projected forward from the last year that was, and every figure here says so.
See what your bracket is actually costing you
Brackets are the last step. The full optimizer works back from them — retirement contributions, business deductions, entity choice and rental property — to show what moves your taxable income and by how much.
Open the full calculator