Tax Rates

• 2025 vs. 2026 current-law bracket comparison
• 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 for this page

Use this tool when you want to estimate your 2026 federal income tax bill, understand your marginal vs. effective tax rate, or see how a raise, bonus, or Roth conversion would affect your taxes. Enter your income and filing status to get instant bracket-by-bracket calculations.

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 any other ordinary income (pension, IRA distribution, etc.) plus 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 if you want Medicare-age IRMAA tiers drawn or you have an ACA SLCSP premium to model.
5. Review the bracket schedule and the calculator KPIs (federal tax, effective and marginal rates, NIIT/IRMAA/ACA when triggered) — all derived 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).

Notice the effective rate is significantly lower than the marginal rate. That's the progressive system at work.

The U.S. uses a progressive tax system where income is taxed in bands (brackets). Only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate (not your entire income). This means your effective tax rate is always lower than your marginal rate.

• Marginal Rate: the tax rate on your last dollar of income. This is the rate that applies to additional income or deductions at the margin. See the Glossary.
• Effective Rate: your total tax divided by your total income. This represents your true average tax burden.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed in 2025, extended most Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) individual rate cuts that were set to expire. Key modeled 2026 changes:

• Rate brackets preserved: the TCJA rates (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%) are extended rather than reverting to the pre-TCJA schedule.
• Standard deduction: inflation-adjusted to $16,100 (Single) / $32,200 (MFJ) for 2026.
• SALT cap raised: state and local tax deduction cap increased to $40,000 (MFJ) from the previous $10,000.
• AMT exemptions updated: higher exemption amounts and phase-out thresholds under the OBBBA.

This page always applies the standard deduction — the unified tax kernel that draws the chart does not model itemized deductions, so showing an itemized toggle would silently no-op against the chart and the calculator. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for Single, $32,200 for Married Filing Jointly. If you need to model itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable contributions, SALT, etc.) head to the AMT Calculator, which exposes those inputs.

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.