The 60-Second Answer
For tax year 2026 (the return you file in 2027), federal income tax uses seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. They apply to taxable income, which is what is left after the standard deduction of $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly, or $24,150 for a head of household. Each rate taxes only the slice of income inside its bracket, so a single filer earning $60,000 in wages has $43,900 of taxable income and owes $5,020: a 12% top bracket, but 8.4% of wages.
- The 10% bracket ends at $12,400 of taxable income for single filers and $24,800 for joint filers
- The 22% bracket starts at $50,400 single and $100,800 joint
- The 37% top rate starts at $640,600 single and $768,700 joint
- Source: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, the document that sets these figures
What Are the 2026 Tax Brackets for Single Filers?
Read the table one row at a time. The last column is the tax already owed on all the income below that bracket, as the IRS prints it, so you can compute any bill with one multiplication: the base amount plus the rate times the income above the bracket's start.
| Rate | Taxable income over | But not over | Tax at the start of the bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 | $12,400 | $0 |
| 12% | $12,400 | $50,400 | $1,240 |
| 22% | $50,400 | $105,700 | $5,800 |
| 24% | $105,700 | $201,775 | $17,966 |
| 32% | $201,775 | $256,225 | $41,024 |
| 35% | $256,225 | $640,600 | $58,448 |
| 37% | $640,600 | No limit | $192,979.25 |
Taxable income: $100,000 − $16,100 standard deduction = $83,900. That falls in the 22% bracket, which starts at $50,400 with $5,800 of tax already owed. Tax: $5,800 + 22% × ($83,900 − $50,400) = $5,800 + $7,370 = $13,170. Effective rate on wages: $13,170 ÷ $100,000 = 13.2%, even though the top bracket is 22%. (Federal income tax only: no credits, and Social Security, Medicare and state tax are separate.)
What Are the 2026 Brackets for Married Couples and Heads of Household?
| Rate | Married filing jointly | Head of household | Married filing separately |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $24,800 | $0 – $17,700 | $0 – $12,400 |
| 12% | $24,800 – $100,800 | $17,700 – $67,450 | $12,400 – $50,400 |
| 22% | $100,800 – $211,400 | $67,450 – $105,700 | $50,400 – $105,700 |
| 24% | $211,400 – $403,550 | $105,700 – $201,750 | $105,700 – $201,775 |
| 32% | $403,550 – $512,450 | $201,750 – $256,200 | $201,775 – $256,225 |
| 35% | $512,450 – $768,700 | $256,200 – $640,600 | $256,225 – $384,350 |
| 37% | Over $768,700 | Over $640,600 | Over $384,350 |
Three patterns in that table matter more than the individual numbers. First, the joint thresholds are exactly double the single ones up to $512,450. Second, the head-of-household 10% and 12% brackets are wider than the single ones ($17,700 and $67,450 against $12,400 and $50,400). Third, married filing separately is identical to single except that the 37% rate starts at $384,350, half the joint threshold.
Married filing jointly, $100,000 in wages: $100,000 − $32,200 = $67,800 taxable. Tax: $2,480 + 12% × ($67,800 − $24,800) = $7,640, or 7.6% of wages. Married filing jointly, $200,000: $167,800 taxable. Tax: $11,600 + 22% × ($167,800 − $100,800) = $26,340, or 13.2%. Head of household, $80,000: $80,000 − $24,150 = $55,850 taxable. Tax: $1,770 + 12% × ($55,850 − $17,700) = $6,348, or 7.9%.
Marginal Rate vs. Effective Rate: Which One Is Your Tax Rate?
Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of taxable income. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income. Planning decisions such as a 401(k) contribution or a side job turn on the marginal rate; comparing your tax bill with someone else's turns on the effective rate.
| Filer and wages | Taxable income | Federal income tax | Marginal rate | Effective rate on wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, $40,000 | $23,900 | $2,620 | 12% | 6.6% |
| Single, $60,000 | $43,900 | $5,020 | 12% | 8.4% |
| Single, $100,000 | $83,900 | $13,170 | 22% | 13.2% |
| Single, $250,000 | $233,900 | $51,304 | 32% | 20.5% |
| Married jointly, $100,000 | $67,800 | $7,640 | 12% | 7.6% |
| Married jointly, $200,000 | $167,800 | $26,340 | 22% | 13.2% |
| Head of household, $80,000 | $55,850 | $6,348 | 12% | 7.9% |
Crossing into a higher bracket taxes only the dollars above the line. A single filer whose wages rise from $66,500 to $67,500 moves from $50,400 to $51,400 of taxable income: the extra $1,000 is taxed at 22%, which is $220, and the other $780 stays with you before payroll and state tax. Nothing you earned below $50,400 is retaxed. (Some credits and benefits phase out with income, which is a different effect from the brackets.)
How Big Is the 2026 Standard Deduction, and Who Gets More?
| Filing status | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $15,750 | $16,100 | +$350 |
| Married filing jointly | $31,500 | $32,200 | +$700 |
| Head of household | $23,625 | $24,150 | +$525 |
| Married filing separately | $15,750 | $16,100 | +$350 |
- Age 65 or older, or blind: an extra $2,050 if you are unmarried and not a surviving spouse, or $1,650 for a married filer or surviving spouse; for a filer whose last dollars are taxed at 12%, $2,050 is worth $246
- That extra amount is separate from the temporary $6,000 senior deduction for 2025 through 2028; our senior deduction calculator handles that one
- Someone who can be claimed as a dependent gets a standard deduction of no more than the greater of $1,350 or their earned income plus $450
- The personal exemption remains $0 in 2026, as it was in 2025
Itemizing helps only when your itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest and charitable gifts, add up to more than $16,100 single, $32,200 joint or $24,150 head of household. For filers in the 37% bracket, current law also limits the tax benefit that itemized deductions can give.
Do the 2026 Brackets Penalize Married Couples?
On ordinary income such as wages, and counting only the brackets and the standard deduction, no couple with $768,700 or less of combined taxable income pays more filing jointly than the two would pay as single filers. Up to that point a joint return taxes a couple exactly as two single filers who each earn half. Because the rates only rise, that even split is the cheapest way two single filers could share the same income, so filing jointly can only match or beat it.
- Long-term capital gains are the exception: the joint 15% gains rate ends at $613,700, less than twice the single $545,500, so a couple with gains above that line can pay 20% where two single filers would pay 15%
- A head of household who marries can lose that status's wider brackets, which a comparison with single filers leaves out
Two earners at $75,000 each: as singles each has $58,900 taxable and owes $5,800 + 22% × ($58,900 − $50,400) = $7,670, so $15,340 together. Jointly, $150,000 − $32,200 = $117,800 taxable, and $11,600 + 22% × ($117,800 − $100,800) = $15,340. No change. One earner at $400,000, spouse with no income: single, $383,900 taxable and $58,448 + 35% × ($383,900 − $256,225) = $103,134.25. Jointly, $367,800 taxable and $35,932 + 24% × ($367,800 − $211,400) = $73,468. Filing jointly saves $29,666.25.
Above $768,700 of joint taxable income, the 37% rate applies to a couple while two single filers with the same split could each still be at 35%, which is where a bracket-driven marriage penalty can appear. Credits and other provisions have their own income limits and are not covered by this comparison.
How Do the Brackets Interact With Capital Gains?
Most gains on assets held more than one year are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% instead of the ordinary rates, and which rate applies depends on your overall taxable income, wages included; collectibles and a few other kinds of gain can be taxed at up to 28%. Gains on assets held one year or less are taxed as ordinary income, at the brackets above. The thresholds for long-term gains are:
| Filing status | 0% rate up to | 15% rate up to | 20% rate above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $49,450 | $545,500 | $545,500 |
| Married filing jointly | $98,900 | $613,700 | $613,700 |
| Head of household | $66,200 | $579,600 | $579,600 |
| Married filing separately | $49,450 | $306,850 | $306,850 |
Our income tax calculator applies these 2026 brackets and standard deductions to your income and filing status, and the capital gains tax calculator shows which of the 0%, 15% and 20% rates your gain falls under.