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Income Tax Calculator

✦ Finance & Money

Use this free income tax calculator to estimate your 2026 federal and state income tax from gross income and filing status, bracket by bracket. It shows your effective tax rate and marginal rate side by side.

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  • ✓ Formula and sources shown

The formula

Marginal-bracket income tax

Taxable income = Gross income − Pre-tax contributions − Deduction  (standard, or itemised if larger)
Tax = Σ over brackets of (income inside the band) × (that band's rate)
State taxable = Gross income − Pre-tax contributions − State deduction − State exemption
Effective rate = Total tax ÷ Gross income

Each rate applies only to the slice of taxable income inside its own band. Federal tax uses the IRS standard deduction and brackets for your filing status; state tax uses that state's own deduction, exemption and brackets — or its flat rate — from the same dated dataset the paycheck calculator reads. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 (single), $32,200 (married filing jointly) and $24,150 (head of household), per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The effective rate on this page is total tax divided by gross income.

Calculating it by hand

  1. Enter your gross income for the year (wages, salary, self-employment, interest, ordinary dividends) and pick your filing status.
  2. Optionally open Advanced and enter pre-tax contributions (401(k), HSA, deductible IRA) and your itemised total; the larger of that total and the standard deduction is used.
  3. Subtract the deduction from income to get federal taxable income, then walk up the brackets: the first band at 10%, the next at 12%, and so on until your taxable income runs out.
  4. Add the bracket amounts together — that is your federal income tax before credits.
  5. For a verified state, subtract its standard deduction and personal exemption, then apply its brackets or flat rate the same way.
  6. Divide total tax by gross income for your effective rate; the rate of the highest band you reached is your marginal rate.

Worked examples

$85,000, single, federal only (the defaults)

  1. Federal taxable: 85,000 − 16,100 (standard deduction) = 68,900
  2. 0–12,400 × 10% = 1,240; 12,400–50,400 × 12% = 4,560; 50,400–68,900 × 22% = 4,070
  3. Federal tax = 1,240 + 4,560 + 4,070 = 9,870

Federal tax $9,870.00 — effective rate 11.6% of gross income, marginal rate 22%, income after tax $75,130.00

$85,000, single, New York (enter 85000, Single, State: New York)

  1. Federal tax as above = 9,870.00
  2. New York taxable: 85,000 − 8,000 (NY standard deduction, single) = 77,000
  3. 0–8,500 × 3.9% = 331.50; 8,500–11,700 × 4.4% = 140.80; 11,700–13,900 × 5.15% = 113.30; 13,900–77,000 × 5.4% = 3,407.40
  4. New York tax = 331.50 + 140.80 + 113.30 + 3,407.40 = 3,993.00

New York tax $3,993.00; total $13,863.00; overall effective rate 16.3% of gross income; marginal rate 22% federal + 5.4% New York

$150,000, married filing jointly, federal only

  1. Federal taxable: 150,000 − 32,200 (MFJ standard deduction) = 117,800
  2. 0–24,800 × 10% = 2,480; 24,800–100,800 × 12% = 9,120; 100,800–117,800 × 22% = 3,740
  3. Federal tax = 2,480 + 9,120 + 3,740 = 15,340

Federal tax $15,340.00 — effective rate 10.2%, marginal rate 22%. The $32,200 MFJ deduction removes a large slice before the first bracket applies.

Methodology

How income tax is actually calculated

Almost no one pays their top bracket rate on their whole income. Each bracket taxes only the dollars inside its own band, and the standard deduction removes a substantial slice of income before the first dollar is taxed — which is why a single filer on $85,000 pays 11.6% federal, not 22%.

Read sources and limits

What an income tax calculator works out

An income tax calculator works out the federal income tax you owe for a year from your gross income and filing status: it subtracts the standard deduction (or your itemised total, if larger), applies the marginal bracket rates to the taxable income that remains, and adds state income tax from that state's own deduction and brackets.

The result is a liability before credits, shown with your effective rate — total tax divided by gross income — and your marginal rate, the rate on your next dollar. This one reads every figure — brackets, standard deduction, state schedules — from a dated 2026 dataset verified against the IRS and each state's revenue department, and shows the bracket-by-bracket working so you can check it against Form 1040 line by line.

Effective tax rate versus marginal tax rate

The single most common misunderstanding about income tax is that "being in the 22% bracket" means paying 22% of your income. It does not. The 22% rate applies only to the dollars above that bracket's threshold; every dollar below it is taxed at the lower rates of the bands it falls in. The average you actually pay across all your income — total tax divided by gross income — is the effective rate, and for most earners it is substantially lower than the marginal rate. A single filer on $85,000 is in the 22% bracket but pays $9,870 of federal income tax: an effective rate of 11.6%.

This calculator shows both. The bracket-by-bracket bar chart and table make the difference concrete: you can see exactly how many dollars fell into each band and what each band cost. The marginal rate is the number that matters when you are deciding whether to earn or defer extra income; the effective rate is what matters when you are comparing your overall tax burden to prior years or to what you hear others say they pay.

How the standard deduction works in 2026

Before any bracket is applied, the IRS lets you subtract a standard amount from your income. For 2026 that amount is $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. These numbers are adjusted each year by the IRS through a Revenue Procedure that applies an inflation index (the Chained CPI-U); the amounts in this calculator come from that official announcement.

The alternative is to itemise: add up qualifying deductions (mortgage interest, state and local taxes up to the SALT cap, charitable contributions, medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI) and take the larger of that total or the standard deduction. Itemising only helps when your deductible expenses exceed the standard deduction, which for a wage earner without a mortgage or large medical bills is rare. Enter your itemised total under Advanced and the calculator uses whichever is larger for the federal estimate; pre-tax contributions such as a 401(k) or HSA come off income before either deduction.

What counts as income — and what is taxed separately

The ordinary-income brackets apply to wages, salaries, tips, self-employment income, freelance payments, most interest, ordinary dividends, rental income, and short-term capital gains (assets held one year or less). These are all added together, the deduction subtracted, and the brackets applied to what remains.

Some income is taxed differently and is not modelled here. Long-term capital gains (assets held more than one year) are taxed at preferential federal rates of 0%, 15% or 20% depending on your total income, not at your ordinary marginal rate; qualified dividends follow the same schedule. Social Security benefits may be partially included in taxable income depending on your provisional income. This calculator estimates the ordinary-income bracket tax only; the Capital Gains Tax Calculator on this site stacks a gain on top of ordinary income across the 0/15/20% layers.

FICA is not income tax

Social Security and Medicare taxes — together called FICA — appear on every payslip and are frequently confused with income tax. They are separate. Social Security is a flat 6.2% on wages up to $184,500 (the 2026 wage base); Medicare is a flat 1.45% on all wages, with an additional 0.9% above $200,000 for single filers ($250,000 for married filing jointly). These rates do not depend on your filing status, they do not interact with the brackets, and they are charged on your gross wages before any deduction is taken.

Including FICA alongside the income tax would give an accurate picture of total employment taxes, but the two pieces move independently — a pre-tax 401(k) deferral reduces income tax but not FICA, for instance. The Paycheck Calculator on this site combines income tax and FICA in a single take-home estimate, and the Marginal Tax Rate Calculator stacks all three on your next dollar; this page focuses on income tax liability alone so the bracket-by-bracket comparison is clear.

Income tax calculator by state: which states it covers

Nine states levy no tax on wage income at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Pennsylvania uses a single flat rate of 3.07% with no deductions. California and New York run graduated schedules: California's 2026 brackets climb from 1% to 12.3% (plus a 1% surcharge above $1 million) after a $5,900 standard deduction, so a single filer on $85,000 owes $3,673.86 of California tax on $79,100 of taxable income; New York's 2026 schedule starts at 3.9% and reaches 10.9% at the highest incomes.

This calculator computes state tax only for the states whose 2026 figures have been confirmed against the state's own revenue department — the twelve listed as verified in the State menu. The other states appear in the menu greyed out until they are verified, rather than being estimated from a secondary table. Deductions and exemptions differ as much as the rates: several states replace the personal exemption with a small tax credit that this calculator does not model, and local income taxes (New York City, Pennsylvania municipalities) add another layer. Each state's result lists what it does and does not model.

What this estimate leaves out

This calculator applies the standard deduction (or your itemised total), pre-tax contributions and the ordinary-income brackets. It does not model the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, the child and dependent care credit, education credits, the alternative minimum tax, long-term capital-gains and qualified-dividend rates, the net investment income tax, self-employment tax, or local income taxes. For most straightforward wage earners the result is a close estimate of the federal income tax line before credits; anyone with significant investment income, dependants or itemisable expenses should treat this figure as a starting point.

The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator (irs.gov) is the right tool if you want to know whether your employer is withholding the correct amount and whether you are on track for a refund or a balance due. This calculator shows your liability; your refund or amount owed is that figure minus what has already been withheld from your paychecks.

Income Tax questions

How much income tax will I pay in 2026?

A single filer earning $60,000 owes $5,020 of federal income tax for 2026 (8.4% effective, 12% marginal); a married couple earning $120,000 combined owes $10,040 (8.4% effective, 12% marginal); a single filer on $85,000 owes $9,870 (11.6% effective, 22% marginal). Enter your own income and filing status above for the exact figure. Your actual liability also depends on credits, other income and deductions not modelled here.

What is the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate charged on your last dollar of income — the top bracket you reach — and your effective rate is total tax divided by gross income, an average across every bracket. Because the lower brackets are taxed at lower rates, the effective rate is always below the marginal rate. A single filer at $85,000 is in the 22% marginal bracket but pays only 11.6% effective.

What is the standard deduction for 2026?

For 2026 the federal standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses, and $24,150 for heads of household (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation and are taken off your income before any bracket is applied, per IRS Topic 551.

Does moving into a higher tax bracket cost me money?

No. Only the income above the new bracket's threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Earning one more dollar can never leave you with less after tax under a marginal bracket system. If you cross from the 22% bracket into the 24% bracket, only the dollars in the 24% band are taxed at 24%.

What tax bracket am I in for 2026?

Your bracket depends on your taxable income (gross income minus the standard deduction) and filing status. For 2026 the 22% bracket starts at $50,400 of taxable income for single filers and $100,800 for married filing jointly; the 24% bracket starts at $105,700 (single) and $211,400 (MFJ). The full bracket table, with your row marked, is in the calculator above and on the Tax Bracket Calculator.

Can this calculator tell me my tax refund?

No. A refund equals your tax liability minus what your employer has already withheld from your paychecks. This calculator shows your liability; it does not know your withholding. To estimate whether you will owe or receive a refund, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator at irs.gov, which is designed for exactly that purpose.

Should I take the standard deduction or itemise?

Take whichever is larger. Add up your deductible expenses — mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped), charitable contributions, and medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income — and compare the total with the standard deduction for your filing status. Enter the total under Advanced and this calculator uses the larger figure automatically; for a single filer, itemising only helps once the total passes $16,100.

Which states have no income tax?

Nine states levy no tax on wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Washington taxes large long-term capital gains but not wages. Several of these states recover revenue through higher sales or property taxes, so take-home pay alone is not the full cost-of-living picture.

Does this calculator include Social Security and Medicare taxes?

No. Social Security (6.2% up to the $184,500 wage base for 2026) and Medicare (1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 married filing jointly) are payroll taxes, not income taxes. They follow different rules, do not interact with the income brackets, and are not affected by your filing status. The Paycheck Calculator on this site includes both alongside income tax in a single take-home estimate.

Does the calculator handle married filing jointly?

Yes. Select "Married filing jointly" and the calculator applies the wider MFJ brackets and the $32,200 standard deduction for 2026: a couple on $150,000 owes $15,340 federal (10.2% effective). It does not model the marriage penalty (when both spouses earn high incomes and the combined MFJ brackets are narrower than two single schedules) or the marriage bonus (when incomes are unequal).

How do pre-tax 401(k) contributions change my income tax?

Every dollar of traditional 401(k), 403(b), HSA or deductible IRA contribution comes off your income before the standard deduction, so it is taxed at your marginal rate — a $10,000 contribution saves a single filer on $100,000 exactly $2,200 of 2026 federal income tax (22% bracket), taking the bill from $13,170 to $10,970. Enter the contribution under Advanced. It does not reduce Social Security or Medicare tax.

Why can I not select my state?

Because its 2026 figures have not yet been confirmed against the state's own revenue department. This site computes state tax only from primary-verified data; the twelve verified states are selectable and the rest are listed greyed out until they are checked, rather than estimated from a secondary table. The federal estimate works for every state.

Source notes

Method, sources & limitations

Every figure on this page comes from the formula above applied to the values you enter. Nothing is estimated from market data, and no result is a forecast. These are the sources behind the method and any fixed figures it uses:

Written and maintained by CalculatorManager Editorial, Editorial team. Figures last verified .

Educational information only. Results are estimates produced from the assumptions you enter, and are not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Check anything that matters against a qualified professional and the cited sources.

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