Tax Rates

• Comparison of the 2025 and 2026 current-law brackets
• Marginal and effective rate curves from the unified tax kernel, including Social Security §86 taxability, NIIT, IRMAA, and ACA subsidy effects
• Cliff annotations on the chart for every threshold the curves cross
• All four filing statuses
• Optional resident-state tax overlay (latest published state schedule)
• Always uses the standard deduction. The unified kernel does not model itemized deductions on this page

Enter your income and filing status to estimate 2026 federal tax and compare marginal and effective rates. Change an income amount to model a raise, bonus, or Roth conversion.

1. Select your filing status: Single, Married Filing Jointly (MFJ), Married Filing Separately (MFS), or Head of Household (HoH). Optionally pick a resident state for the state-tax overlay.
2. Enter your W-2 wages and other ordinary income, such as a pension or IRA distribution. Then enter short-term and long-term capital gains.
3. In the Additional income panel, enter qualified dividends, gross Social Security, and tax-exempt interest if applicable. Each shifts the rate curves and moves the cliff annotations.
4. Open IRMAA and ACA cliffs to draw Medicare-age IRMAA tiers or model an ACA SLCSP premium.
5. Review the bracket schedule and the calculator KPIs: federal tax, effective and marginal rates, and NIIT/IRMAA/ACA when triggered. All of them come from the same kernel that draws the chart, so the cards and the curve agree at your income point.

Scenario: Married filing jointly with $180,000 gross income, standard deduction.

1. Select MFJ. Enter $180,000 income. Use standard deduction ($32,200).
2. Taxable income = $180,000 − $32,200 = $147,800.
3. The bracket breakdown shows: first $24,800 taxed at 10% ($2,480), next $76,000 taxed at 12% ($9,120), next $47,000 taxed at 22% ($10,340).
4. Total tax: approximately $21,940.
5. Marginal rate: 22% (the bracket your last dollar falls in). Effective rate: ~12.2% ($21,940 / $180,000).

Each bracket's rate applies only to income in that bracket.

Federal income tax applies different rates to successive bands of taxable income, not one rate to all income.

• Marginal rate: the rate on the next dollar of taxable income. See the Glossary.
• Effective rate: total tax divided by total income.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law in 2025. It extended most Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) individual rate cuts that were due to expire. This page reflects these 2026 changes:

• Rate brackets preserved: the TCJA rates continue. They do not revert to the pre-TCJA schedule.
• Standard deduction: inflation-adjusted to $16,100 (single) / $32,200 (MFJ) for 2026.

This page uses the standard deduction: $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married filing jointly. To model itemized deductions such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions, or SALT, use the AMT Calculator.

Your filing status determines your bracket thresholds and standard deduction amount. The tool supports all four federal filing statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, and head of household.