Federal Income Tax Calculator
Estimate 2026 US federal income tax on a salary for single or joint filers taking the standard deduction, with marginal and effective rates.
Updated Formula covered by automated tests
This tool estimates how much US federal income tax you would owe for tax year 2026 on a salary, using the brackets and standard deduction the IRS published in Rev. Proc. 2025-32. It shows the tax, the share of each bracket you fill, your marginal and effective rates, and what is left of the salary after federal income tax.
The usual reason to run it is a sanity check on your paycheck. If the federal income tax line on your pay stubs, multiplied by the number of paydays, lands far from the annual figure here, your Form W-4 may be out of date and you could be heading for a surprise bill or a large refund next spring.
It covers single filers and married couples filing jointly who take the standard deduction. It is deliberately narrow: it does not compute FICA, state tax or credits, and it is not the payroll withholding formula your employer runs each pay period.
The formula
- gross income
- Annual wages or salary before any tax, in US dollars
- standard deduction
- For 2026: $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for married filing jointly
- rateᵢ
- The rate of bracket i: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% or 37%
- bracket i
- A band of taxable income; single 2026 tops are $12,400, $50,400, $105,700, $201,775, $256,225 and $640,600, and the joint tops are $24,800, $100,800, $211,400, $403,550, $512,450 and $768,700
- marginal rate
- The bracket rate that the next dollar of taxable income would pay
US income tax is progressive by bracket, not by total. Each rate applies only to the slice of taxable income inside its band, so moving into a higher bracket raises the tax on the extra dollars and leaves the tax on everything below unchanged. A raise can never reduce your after-tax pay through the brackets alone.
The IRS adjusts the bracket edges and the standard deduction for inflation every autumn for the following year. The seven rates themselves were made permanent by the 2025 tax law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which also set the 2026 standard deduction slightly higher than plain inflation indexing would have.
Worked example
Dana is single, earns a $75,000 salary in 2026, has no other income and takes the standard deduction.
- 1 Subtract the deduction: $75,000 − $16,100 = $58,900 of taxable income.
- 2 First bracket: 10% × $12,400 = $1,240.
- 3 Second bracket: 12% × ($50,400 − $12,400) = 12% × $38,000 = $4,560.
- 4 Third bracket: 22% × ($58,900 − $50,400) = 22% × $8,500 = $1,870.
- 5 Add the slices: $1,240 + $4,560 + $1,870 = $7,670, and $7,670 ÷ $75,000 = 10.23% effective.
Result: Dana’s estimated 2026 federal income tax is $7,670. Her marginal rate is 22%, but her effective rate on the whole salary is about 10.2%, leaving $67,330 before FICA and any state tax.
Before you rely on the result
- Federal income tax only, for tax year 2026. Social Security, Medicare, state and local taxes are not included.
- Assumes all income is ordinary wages. Long-term capital gains, qualified dividends and self-employment income follow different rules.
- Ignores credits (such as the child tax credit), above-the-line deductions, and the newer deductions for tips, overtime and seniors introduced for 2025 to 2028. Head of household status is not modeled. For a filing decision, check with a tax professional or the IRS tools.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my effective rate so much lower than my tax bracket?
Your bracket is the rate on your last dollars of taxable income. The first $16,100 (single) is not taxed at all because of the standard deduction, and the next slices are taxed at 10% and 12%. Averaging all of that over your full salary gives an effective rate well below the top bracket you reach.
Does this tell me what to put on my W-4?
Not directly. Employers compute each paycheck’s withholding with the IRS Publication 15-T tables and your W-4 entries, which annualize each paycheck separately. For W-4 choices, especially with two jobs, a working spouse or side income, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, which accounts for your year-to-date pay.
Why does take-home pay here look higher than my actual paycheck?
The after-tax figure removes only federal income tax. Your paycheck also loses 6.2% for Social Security (up to the annual wage cap), 1.45% for Medicare, any state and local income tax, and pre-tax deductions such as 401(k) contributions and health premiums.
Should I itemize instead of taking the standard deduction?
Only if your itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest, state and local taxes and charitable gifts, add up to more than $16,100 single or $32,200 joint for 2026. This tool always uses the standard deduction; if you itemize, your taxable income and tax will be lower than shown.