Federal income tax calculator 2026
Enter a yearly salary to see the federal income tax on it, bracket by bracket, for tax year 2026.
Results
Take home pay
$68,627.50
You keep 80.74%.
- Income tax a year
- $9,870.00
- Marginal rate
- 29.65%
- -
- -
- Employer cost a year
- $91,502.50
Side by side
| Item | A year |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | $85,000.00 |
| Federal income tax | $9,870.00 |
| Social Security | $5,270.00 |
| Medicare | $1,232.50 |
| Total deductions | $16,372.50 |
| Take home pay | $68,627.50 |
| Item | A year |
|---|---|
| Employer Social Security | $5,270.00 |
| Employer Medicare | $1,232.50 |
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages | $85,000.00 |
| Less the standard deduction | $16,100.00 |
| Taxable income | $68,900.00 |
What this does not include
- Shows the federal tax on wages from one job for tax year 2026, using the rate schedule of the filing status and the standard deduction.
- Leaves out itemized deductions, the child tax credit and other credits, and income that is not wages, such as interest, dividends or capital gains.
- A state picked in the form adds its own income tax to the totals, while the federal figures stay the same in every state.
- Gives the tax on the return, which can differ from what an employer withholds under Form W-4 and Publication 15-T.
- Married filing separately is withheld on the single table, so above $384,350 of taxable income withholding falls short of the 37% bracket on the return.
- Applies the tips, overtime and age 65 deductions as Schedule 1-A does, which needs a joint return for married people.
Your data stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
Last updated . Method checked . Rates checked 2 November 2026. Methodology
Federal income tax in the United States is charged in brackets. The standard deduction comes off your wages first, and what is left is taxed at 10% up to the first line, 12% up to the next and so on up to 37%, each rate only on the slice inside its bracket. This calculator takes a yearly salary, applies the 2026 rate schedule of your filing status and lays the result out as a table under How we calculate, with the income and the tax in each bracket. A single filer earning $85,000 has $68,900 of taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction and pays $9,870.00 of federal income tax, with 22% as the highest bracket reached. All figures are in US dollars (USD), and nothing you type leaves this browser tab.
How to use the Federal Income Tax Calculator
- Type your wages for 2026 before tax, or switch Pay per to a shorter period if you know only your paycheck.
- Choose your filing status: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately or head of household. Tip: A married couple filing jointly gets twice the single standard deduction and wider brackets.
- Add any 401(k), HSA or other pre tax deduction, because each one lowers the wages that are taxed.
- Open How we calculate to read the bracket table row by row. Tip: A bracket your income does not reach shows zero, so the whole table is always there.
Worked example
A single filer earns $85,000 in wages in 2026, takes the standard deduction and has no pre tax deductions. The state is Texas, which has no income tax. All amounts are in US dollars (USD).
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Wages for the year | $85,000 |
| Filing status | Single |
| State | Texas |
Taxable income = 85,000 - 16,100 = 68,900 10% bracket = 10% x 12,400 = 1,240 12% bracket = 12% x (50,400 - 12,400) = 12% x 38,000 = 4,560 22% bracket = 22% x (68,900 - 50,400) = 22% x 18,500 = 4,070 Federal income tax = 1,240 + 4,560 + 4,070 = 9,870 Effective federal income tax rate = 9,870 / 85,000 = 11.61%
- Income tax a year
- $9,870.00
- Federal income tax
- $9,870.00
- Take home pay a year after Social Security and Medicare
- $68,627.50
Rate schedule and standard deduction from the 2026 rates file, checked against IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 on 2 November 2026.
How it is calculated
Taxable income = wages - pre tax deductions - standard deduction - tips, overtime and age 65 deductions
Tax in a bracket = bracket rate x (the part of taxable income between the bracket start and its end)
Federal income tax = sum of the tax in every bracket
Effective federal rate = federal income tax / wages
The rate schedules of Revenue Procedure 2025-32 set seven brackets for each filing status. The rates are the same for everyone: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. Where the lines fall depends on the filing status. A head of household reaches the 12% rate only above $17,700, against $12,400 for a single filer, and a married couple filing jointly has lines twice as high as a single filer up to the 35% bracket.
The calculator starts from wages and takes off pre tax deductions first: a traditional 401(k), an HSA paid through payroll up to the family limit and other pre tax amounts you enter. The result is adjusted gross income, which also sets the phase out of the new deductions. The standard deduction of the filing status comes off next, then the deductions for qualified tips, the overtime premium and people aged 65 or over, if you entered any.
Taxable income then fills the brackets from the bottom. The bracket table shows, for each rate, where the bracket starts and ends, how much of your income falls inside it and the tax on that part. Each row is rounded once to the cent, and the rows add up exactly to the federal income tax. A bracket your income does not reach shows zero.
In the worked example $85,000 of wages less the $16,100 standard deduction leaves $68,900. The 10% bracket takes $1,240, the 12% bracket $4,560 and the 22% bracket $4,070 on the $18,500 above $50,400. The total is $9,870, which is 11.61% of the wages. One more dollar of taxable income would cost 22 cents in federal income tax, plus Social Security and Medicare.
The result also shows Social Security and Medicare, because they come out of the same pay, and the state income tax if you pick a state that has one. They sit outside the bracket table. Pick Married filing jointly to see the joint brackets, or Head of household to see its wider lower brackets.
Frequently asked questions
What are the federal tax brackets for 2026?
For a single filer the rates are 10% up to $12,400 of taxable income, 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600 and 37% above. A married couple filing jointly has lines about twice as high, up to $768,700 for the 37% rate.
What is the standard deduction for 2026?
It is $16,100 for a single filer or a married person filing separately, $24,150 for a head of household and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly. A person aged 65 or over adds $2,050 if unmarried or $1,650 if married. The calculator takes the standard deduction off wages before the brackets apply.
How is the marginal rate different from the effective rate?
The marginal rate is what the next $100 of pay would cost in tax, so it shows the top bracket you reach. The effective rate is the tax divided by all of your pay. On $85,000 single, federal income tax is $9,870, an effective federal rate of 11.61%, while the top bracket reached is 22%. The rates on this page also count Social Security, Medicare and any state tax.
How much federal tax does a married couple pay on $120,000?
Filing jointly, the couple takes off the $32,200 standard deduction, leaving $87,800 of taxable income. The first $24,800 is taxed at 10% and the rest at 12%, which comes to $10,040 for the year. The same $120,000 earned by one single filer would pay $17,570, because the single brackets and deduction are about half as wide.
Are Social Security and Medicare part of federal income tax?
No. They are separate payroll taxes, charged on wages at 6.2% and 1.45% with no standard deduction, and the 401(k) does not lower them. This calculator lists them below the income tax so the whole deduction from pay is visible. They do not change the bracket table, which covers federal income tax only.
Guides for this tool
Sources
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32: tax rate schedules for 2026 (section 4.01) and the standard deduction (section 4.14) checked 2 November 2026
- IRS, Publication 15 (2026): Social Security 6.2% and Medicare 1.45%, wage base $184,500, tips and overtime still subject to both checked 2 November 2026
- IRS, Topic 560: Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% and its thresholds checked 2 November 2026
- IRS, Publication 15-T (2026): percentage method tables, used to check the bracket tax (single $60,000 gives $5,020, single $85,000 gives $9,870, married filing jointly $120,000 gives $10,040) checked 2 November 2026
- IRS, Schedule 1-A (Form 1040): how the tips, overtime and seniors deductions are worked out checked 2 November 2026