Tax Calculator
Estimate your federal income tax for 2024, 2025, and 2026. Enter your income and filing status to calculate your tax bracket, effective rate, and take-home pay.
Estimated Federal Tax
$0
Federal Tax Brackets
This is an estimate for federal income tax only. State taxes, FICA, and credits are not included.
Frequently Asked Questions
- US federal income tax is progressive. For 2026, the standard deduction for single filers is $16,100. Taxable income = Gross income โ Deductions. Brackets range from 10% to 37%. Example: Single filer, $75,000 income โ $16,100 deduction = $58,900 taxable. Tax = $12,400 (10%) + $38,000 (12%) + $8,500 (22%) = ~$7,670.
- Effective tax rate = Total tax paid รท Gross income ร 100. If you owe $7,670 on $75,000 income, your effective rate = 10.2%. This is different from your marginal rate (the rate on your last dollar of income). Most people confuse these โ your entire income is NOT taxed at your top bracket rate.
- For 2026: Single = $16,100; Married Filing Jointly = $32,200; Married Filing Separately = $16,100; Head of Household = $24,150. These are increased from 2025 due to inflation adjustments. The standard deduction reduces your taxable income dollar-for-dollar.
- Your tax bracket is determined by your taxable income (after deductions), not your gross income. Find where your taxable income falls in the IRS bracket table for your filing status. You only pay the higher rate on the income above the bracket threshold, not your entire income.
- MAGI = Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) + certain deductions added back (student loan interest, IRA deductions, foreign income exclusions, etc.). MAGI is used to determine eligibility for Roth IRA contributions, ACA health insurance subsidies, and various tax credits. Start with your AGI from line 11 of Form 1040.
- Sales tax = Purchase price ร Tax rate. If an item costs $50 and the sales tax rate is 8.5%, the tax = $4.25, and total cost = $54.25. To find the pre-tax price from a total: Pre-tax price = Total รท (1 + tax rate). Sales tax rates vary by state, county, and city in the US.
- VAT (Value Added Tax) is used in most countries outside the US. To add VAT: Price ร (1 + VAT rate). To remove VAT from a VAT-inclusive price: Price รท (1 + VAT rate). Example: ยฃ100 item with 20% UK VAT = ยฃ120 including VAT. VAT-exclusive price of ยฃ120 item = ยฃ120 รท 1.20 = ยฃ100.
- If you're self-employed or have income not subject to withholding, you typically pay estimated taxes quarterly. Use the safe harbor method: pay 100% of last year's tax liability in 4 equal installments (110% if prior year AGI > $150,000). Or estimate this year's liability and pay 90% of it quarterly.
- Net income = Gross income โ Federal income tax โ State income tax โ FICA (Social Security + Medicare). FICA = 7.65% of gross wages (6.2% Social Security up to $184,500 + 1.45% Medicare). Example: $75,000 gross โ ~$7,670 federal โ ~$5,737 FICA = approximately $61,000+ take-home (before state tax).
- Start with gross annual salary. Subtract: federal income tax (use bracket calculation), state income tax (varies by state, 0%โ13.3%), Social Security (6.2% up to wage base), and Medicare (1.45%). Many states also have local taxes. Use our take-home pay calculator for a more precise breakdown by state.