Income Tax Calculator
Estimate federal income tax, marginal and effective rates from progressive brackets.
About Income Tax Calculator
The US federal income tax is progressive: your income is sliced across brackets and each slice is taxed at its own rate. That's why your marginal rate — the rate on your last dollar — is always higher than your effective rate, which is the total tax divided by taxable income. This calculator subtracts pre-tax contributions first, then applies the larger of your standard or itemized deduction, then walks the brackets for your selected tax year and filing status. Figures depend on the selected tax year; choose the year you are filing for.
Formulas
Taxable income
Taxable income = Gross income − Pre-tax contributions − Deduction
- G
- Gross annual income
- C
- Pre-tax contributions (401k, HSA)
- D
- Standard or itemized deduction
- T
- Taxable income
Progressive tax
Tax = Σ (income falling in each bracket × that bracket's rate)
- l_i
- Lower bound of bracket i
- u_i
- Upper bound of bracket i
- r_i
- Marginal rate of bracket i
Worked example
With the default values below, Income Tax Calculator returns Federal Income Tax of $9,870. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Tax yearone of 2026, 2025, 2024
- 2026
- Gross Annual Incomeaccepts 0–2,000,000 $
- 85,000 $
- Filing Statusone of Single, Married filing jointly, Head of household
- Single
- Deductionone of Standard, Itemized
- Standard
- Itemized Deductionsaccepts 0–500,000 $
- 20,000 $
- Pre-tax Contributions (401k, HSA)accepts 0–100,000 $
- 0 $
Results
- Federal Income Tax
- $9,870
- After-Tax Income
- $75,130
- Monthly Take-Home
- $6,261
- Taxable Income
- $68,900
- Marginal Tax RateThe rate applied to your last dollar earned.
- 22%
- Effective Tax RateTotal tax as a share of taxable income.
- 14.33%
- Deduction Applied
- $16,100
- Tax Year
- 2026
Step by step
- 1Using 2026 tax year rules2026 figures from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, reflecting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- 2Start from gross income= $85,000
- 3Subtract pre-tax contributions= $85,000
- 4Subtract the deduction= $68,900
- 5Apply each bracket in turn= $9,870
- 6Effective rate on taxable income= 14.33%
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- This is an estimate for informational purposes based on the selected tax year's federal brackets. It does not account for credits, AMT, capital gains rates, state tax or FICA. Consult a tax professional for filing decisions.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
This is an estimate for informational purposes based on the selected tax year's federal brackets. It does not account for credits, AMT, capital gains rates, state tax or FICA. Consult a tax professional for filing decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my effective rate lower than my tax bracket?
Being 'in the 24% bracket' only means your last dollar is taxed at 24%. Everything below that threshold is taxed at 10%, 12% and 22% in turn, so your overall effective rate is always lower than your top marginal rate.
Does this include state, Social Security or Medicare tax?
No — this is federal income tax only. FICA taxes (6.2% Social Security up to the wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare) and any state or local income tax are separate. Use the Take-Home Paycheck Calculator for a complete picture.
Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
Take whichever is larger. This calculator does that automatically: if you select itemized but your total is below the standard deduction, it applies the standard deduction instead.
Which tax year does this use?
You can select 2024, 2025, or 2026 from the Tax Year field at the top. The calculator uses that year's brackets and standard deductions exactly. This matters because people file late, amend prior returns, and plan across years — the year selector ensures you always see the right numbers.