Tax Bracket Calculator 2026

In plain English: this person isn’t paying 22% on everything. They pay 10% on their first $12,400, 12% on the next $38,000, and 22% on just the last $39,600. If they get a $5,000 raise, only those new dollars are taxed at 22%. They owe $1,100 more and keep $3,900, and the tax on their first $90,000 stays the same.

Marginal vs. effective tax rate

In the example above, the marginal rate, the rate on the last dollar, is 22%. But the effective rate, the share of income actually paid, is much lower: 16.1% of taxable income, or 13.7% of the $106,100 of total income before the standard deduction. The calculator reports the second one.

Your marginal rate is what matters for decisions. In the 22% bracket, a $5,000 deduction saves $1,100 in income tax. In the 32% bracket, the same deduction saves $1,600, as long as all of it falls in that bracket.

If you’re self-employed, a business write-off saves you two taxes: income tax and self-employment tax. Here’s what a $5,000 expense saves a freelancer in the 22% bracket:

In plain English: spending $5,000 on your business doesn’t cut your taxable income by the full $5,000. Two deductions are figured from your profit, so when profit goes down, they shrink a little too. Your taxable income drops by $3,717, which saves $818 in income tax. Self-employment tax is figured on the full $5,000, so you save another $706. That’s $1,524 in all, which means the $5,000 expense really costs you about $3,476. Write-offs are worth claiming for what your business needs, but they don’t make an expense free.

What tax bracket am I in?

1. Add up your income for the year: wages, freelance profit, interest, and other taxable income.
2. Subtract adjustments, like deductible traditional IRA contributions, half of your self-employment tax, and HSA contributions you made outside of payroll. Pre-tax 401(k) and payroll HSA contributions are already left out of the wages in box 1 of your W-2.
3. Subtract the standard deduction, or your itemized deductions if they’re bigger.
4. If you’re self-employed, subtract the qualified business income (QBI) deduction: up to 20% of your business profit after half of self-employment tax, but no more than 20% of your taxable income.
5. Find the result, your taxable income, in the table for your filing status.

Deductions can move you down a bracket. A single filer who earns $65,000 would be in the 22% bracket based on that alone. After the $16,100 standard deduction, their taxable income is $48,900, which is in the 12% bracket.

Tax brackets for self-employed people

Freelancers, gig workers, and other 1099 earners use the same brackets as everyone else. But the brackets only cover income tax. You also owe self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of your net profit, for Social Security and Medicare.

• The Social Security part (12.4%) stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Any W-2 wages you have count toward it.
• The Medicare part (2.9%) has no cap.
• Under $400: you don’t owe it if your net earnings from self-employment are under $400.
• High earners: above $200,000 of combined wages and self-employment earnings ($250,000 if married filing jointly), you also owe a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.

Two deductions soften it:

• Half of your self-employment tax comes off your income before the brackets apply.
• The QBI deduction takes up to 20% of your business profit off your taxable income, capped at 20% of your taxable income. In 2026, it can shrink or disappear once taxable income is over $201,750 ($403,500 if married filing jointly), depending on your type of business and the wages it pays. From 2026, it’s at least $400 if you actively run a business with $1,000 or more of qualified business income.

Take a single freelancer with $60,000 of profit in 2026 and no other income. After half of self-employment tax, the standard deduction, and QBI, their taxable income is $31,729, in the 12% bracket. Their income tax is $3,559, but their self-employment tax is $8,478. That’s why business write-offs matter so much: each one lowers both. Enter your 1099 income in the calculator above to see your own numbers, or read more about 1099 tax brackets.

No tax is withheld from 1099 income. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file, you generally need to pay quarterly estimated taxes.

New deductions that lower your taxable income

The 2025 tax law added four deductions for 2025 through 2028. You can take them even if you don’t itemize, so they lower your taxable income on top of the standard deduction:

• Tips: up to $25,000 of qualified tips in a job where tipping is customary (see taxes on tips).
• Overtime: up to $12,500 of the extra “half” in time-and-a-half pay ($25,000 if married filing jointly).
• Seniors: $6,000 per person 65 or older.
• Car loan interest: up to $10,000 a year on a loan taken out after 2024 for a new car, SUV, truck, or motorcycle for personal use that had its final assembly in the US.

Each one phases out at higher incomes, and married couples have to file jointly to claim the tips, overtime, and senior deductions. They don’t lower your adjusted gross income, so they don’t help with credits or limits based on it. Our income tax calculator includes the tips, overtime, and senior deductions.

How to lower your taxable income

• Contribute to a traditional 401(k). The 2026 limit is $24,500, plus $8,000 if you’re 50 or older ($11,250 if you’re 60 to 63). In the 22% bracket, maxing it out saves up to about $5,390 in income tax. Starting in 2026, if you earned more than $150,000 in Social Security wages from that employer in 2025, your catch-up contributions have to go in as Roth, so they won’t lower your taxable income.
• Contribute to a traditional IRA. You can put in up to $7,500 for 2026 ($8,600 if you’re 50 or older). Your deduction may be limited if you or your spouse have a workplace plan.
• Fund an HSA. With a high-deductible health plan, you can deduct up to $4,400 for self-only coverage or $8,750 for family coverage in 2026 ($1,000 more if you’re 55 or older), and qualified medical withdrawals are tax-free.
• Use a dependent care FSA if your employer offers one. From 2026, a household can set aside up to $7,500 a year for childcare before tax ($3,750 if married filing separately), up from $5,000.
• If you’re self-employed, claim every business expense and consider a solo 401(k) or SEP IRA. Common write-offs include your home office, phone, and car. See our list of freelancer tax deductions.
• Time your income. If you’re close to the next bracket in December, a tax pro can help you decide whether to delay billing or pull deductions into this year. Once you’ve received a payment, or it’s available to you, it counts as this year’s income, so timing only works before that.

2025 federal income tax brackets

Use these for your 2025 return, including if you’re filing late or amending it. They come from Revenue Procedure 2024-40.

Will the brackets change in 2027?

The rates will stay the same. The 2025 tax law made the seven rates permanent, so they won’t go back up as once scheduled. The income ranges will rise with inflation. The IRS usually announces them in October or November, and we’ll add them to this page when it does.

What the brackets don’t cover

• Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends have their own rates of 0%, 15%, and 20%. See our capital gains tax calculator.
• State income tax is separate. Most states have their own brackets or a flat rate, and nine have no tax on wages.
• Credits, like the child tax credit, come off your tax after the brackets are applied. The calculator doesn’t include them.
• Other federal taxes, like the 3.8% net investment income tax, the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, and the alternative minimum tax, are figured separately from the brackets.

This guide is for general education and isn’t personalized tax advice. Tax laws change, and your situation may differ, so check with a tax professional before making decisions.