2026 Federal Tax Brackets: What You’ll Actually Pay

For tax year 2026 — the return you file in early 2027 — there are still seven federal income tax brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. The rates themselves didn’t change, but the income thresholds did. The IRS bumped every bracket up by roughly 2.7% for inflation under Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which means a slightly bigger slice of your paycheck gets taxed at lower rates this year.

Here’s the part most people miss: you don’t pay one flat rate on everything you earn. A single filer making $100,000 is “in” the 22% bracket, but their actual federal income tax works out to about $13,170 — an effective rate of roughly 13%. The tables below show exactly where you land, and the worked examples show the real math.

2026 federal tax brackets by filing status

These brackets apply to taxable income — your gross income minus the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household in 2026) or your itemized deductions.

Single filers

Tax rate	Taxable income (single)
10%	$0 – $12,400
12%	$12,401 – $50,400
22%	$50,401 – $105,700
24%	$105,701 – $201,775
32%	$201,776 – $256,225
35%	$256,226 – $640,600
37%	Over $640,600

Married filing jointly

Tax rate	Taxable income (MFJ)
10%	$0 – $24,800
12%	$24,801 – $100,800
22%	$100,801 – $211,400
24%	$211,401 – $403,550
32%	$403,551 – $512,450
35%	$512,451 – $768,700
37%	Over $768,700

Head of household

Tax rate	Taxable income (HoH)
10%	$0 – $17,700
12%	$17,701 – $67,450
22%	$67,451 – $105,700
24%	$105,701 – $201,750
32%	$201,751 – $256,200
35%	$256,201 – $640,600
37%	Over $640,600

Married filing separately uses the same thresholds as single, except the 35% bracket ends at $384,350 and the 37% rate kicks in above that.

A quick note on filing status, since it moves the numbers more than most deductions do. Head of household isn’t just “single with a kid” — you need to be unmarried (or considered unmarried) at year-end, pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home, and have a qualifying person living with you for more than half the year. Get it right and you unlock the $24,150 standard deduction plus wider brackets. Married filing separately almost never beats filing jointly, but it can make sense for income-driven student loan payments or when one spouse has big medical bills. Run both ways if you’re unsure.

What’s different for 2026

Two things shaped this year’s tables. First, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025) made the seven-bracket structure from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent — the old law had those rates expiring after 2025, which would have meant a snapback to higher rates. Second, the IRS applied its normal inflation adjustment, which for 2026 came in around 2.7% for most bracket thresholds.

The result: the 12% bracket for single filers now runs to $50,400 instead of $48,475, and the joint 12% bracket stretches to $100,800. If your salary stayed flat, a few hundred dollars more of it is taxed at 12% instead of 22% this year. It’s not life-changing money, but it quietly fights “bracket creep” — the slow drift where inflation alone pushes you into higher rates without you being any richer in real terms.

Marginal vs. effective tax rate: the part everyone gets wrong

Say you get a raise and move from the 12% bracket into the 22% bracket. Did your whole paycheck just get taxed harder? No. Only the dollars above the bracket line get the higher rate.

Your marginal rate is the tax on your next dollar of income. Your effective rate is what you actually pay overall — total tax divided by total income. The effective rate is always lower, because the early dollars went through the 10% and 12% brackets first.

This is why “I don’t want a raise, it’ll push me into a higher bracket” is a myth that costs people money. A higher bracket never applies backwards. Earning more always means keeping more — you just keep a smaller share of the top slice.

What you’d actually owe: four real examples

Here’s the 2026 math at four common income levels, assuming the standard deduction and no credits:

Gross income	Filing status	Taxable income	Federal tax	Marginal rate	Effective rate
$50,000	Single	$33,900	$3,820	12%	7.6%
$75,000	Single	$58,900	$7,670	22%	10.2%
$100,000	Single	$83,900	$13,170	22%	13.2%
$150,000	Married filing jointly	$117,800	$15,340	22%	10.2%

Take the $75,000 single filer. After the $16,100 standard deduction, taxable income is $58,900. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10% ($1,240). The next chunk, up to $50,400, is taxed at 12% ($4,560). Only the last $8,500 gets hit at 22% ($1,870). Total: $7,670 — an effective rate of 10.2%, even though the marginal rate is 22%.

Notice the married couple at $150,000 pays a lower effective rate than the single filer at $75,000. That’s the wider joint brackets and the doubled standard deduction at work.

One more example, because the stacking trips people up. Say that $75,000 single filer gets a $5,000 raise. Taxable income goes from $58,900 to $63,900 — all still inside the 22% bracket. The extra tax is exactly 22% of $5,000, or $1,100. The raise didn’t touch the tax on the first $58,900 at all. After federal income tax, $3,900 of that raise lands in the filer’s pocket (before FICA and state tax).

Credits work differently from deductions, and they’re worth more. A deduction shrinks the income the brackets apply to; a credit cuts the final bill dollar for dollar. If you have kids, the Child Tax Credit for 2026 is worth $2,200 per qualifying child — that comes straight off the total after the bracket math is done.

How to drop into a lower bracket

You can’t change the bracket tables, but you can shrink your taxable income. Every dollar you shelter is a dollar taxed at 0% instead of your marginal rate.

Feed your 401(k). The 2026 elective deferral limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up if you’re 50 or older ($11,250 if you’re 60 to 63, under Notice 2025-67). A single filer earning $110,000 who contributes $10,000 drops from the 24% bracket back into the 22% bracket — and saves $2,400 in federal tax on that contribution alone.

Use an HSA if you have a high-deductible health plan. Contributions are pre-tax, growth is tax-free, and withdrawals for medical costs are tax-free too. It’s the only triple-tax-advantaged account in the code.

Don’t ignore the standard deduction. For 2026 it shelters $16,100 (single), $32,200 (joint), or $24,150 (head of household) before any bracket applies. About 9 in 10 filers take it. Our standard deduction guide for 2026 walks through the amounts — including the bigger deductions for anyone 65 or older — and the few cases where itemizing still wins.

If you’re paid hourly or want to see how bracket math hits each paycheck, our take-home pay guide for 2026 adds FICA and state tax to the picture.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 2026 federal income tax brackets?

There are seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. For single filers, the 22% bracket covers taxable income from $50,401 to $105,700, and the top 37% rate starts above $640,600. Married couples filing jointly hit 22% from $100,801 to $211,400 and 37% above $768,700.

Did income tax rates go up in 2026?

No. The seven rates are unchanged from 2025. What moved are the income thresholds — the IRS raised each bracket boundary by about 2.7% for inflation, so slightly more of your income is taxed at lower rates. The 2026 standard deduction also rose to $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for joint filers.

What is the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the tax on your last (or next) dollar of income — the bracket you’re "in." Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income. Because lower dollars are taxed at lower rates first, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. A single filer earning $100,000 in 2026 has a 22% marginal rate but only a 13.2% effective rate.

When are 2026 taxes due?

The filing deadline for 2026 federal returns is April 15, 2027. If you pay quarterly estimated taxes, those 2026 due dates are April 15, June 15, and September 15 of 2026, plus January 15, 2027 for the final quarter.

How do I figure out my exact 2026 tax bill?

Subtract the standard deduction (or itemized deductions) from your gross income to get taxable income, then apply each bracket rate to the slice of income inside it. Or skip the arithmetic and use the free Income Tax Calculator on this site — it does the bracket stacking for you and shows your effective rate.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Tax rules change, and everyone’s situation is different — confirm the details with the IRS or a qualified tax professional before you file.