2026 tax return calculator for retirees: your federal and state refund or amount owed

Enter your 2026 Social Security, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, pension, Roth conversions, interest, dividends and gains, and what was withheld. The open federal and state tax engine figures your 2026 tax and shows whether you get a refund or owe, federal and state.

An estimate from QuantCalc's open tax engine for the 2026 tax year, not a tax return and not tax advice. Nothing is filed.

Below: an example household, computed live. To see the same return line by line — every Form 1040 line and schedule and the state detail — use the 2026 Return Preview, part of the Tax Season Pass.

How do I estimate my 2026 tax refund?

Add up what was withheld from your paychecks, pension, IRA withdrawals and Social Security in 2026, plus any estimated payments, and subtract your 2026 total tax (Form 1040 line 24). If the payments are larger, the difference is your refund; if not, it is what you owe. This calculator figures the total tax from your income with QuantCalc's open federal and state tax engine and does that subtraction for you.

Is Social Security taxable in 2026?

Part of it can be. Up to 85% of benefits become taxable as your other income rises; with little other income, none is. The 2026 law did not end the tax on benefits: it added a separate deduction for people 65 and older. This calculator applies both and shows the taxable part on Form 1040 line 6b in the line-by-line preview.

Do retirees get an extra deduction in 2026?

Yes. For 2025 through 2028 each person 65 or older can take an additional deduction (on Schedule 1-A), reduced at higher incomes. It comes on top of the extra standard deduction for age 65 when you take the standard deduction, and it applies when you itemize too. The calculator takes it from your ages and your income.

Are IRA withdrawals and Roth conversions taxed in 2026?

The taxable part of a traditional IRA or 401(k) withdrawal and a Roth conversion are ordinary income on Form 1040 line 4b. Before age 59½ a withdrawal can also owe a 10% additional tax; this calculator applies it with no exceptions, so check whether one applies to you. Your state may exclude part or all of retirement income.

Why can I owe even though tax was withheld?

Withholding on Social Security and IRA withdrawals is often set low or not at all, and capital gains, dividends and Roth conversions usually have none. If the total tax is more than what was withheld and paid in estimates, the difference is due, and an underpayment penalty can apply. Enter your 2025 total tax and the calculator figures the penalty too.

Is this a tax return?

No. It is an estimate from the numbers you type, not a filing, and it is not tax advice. It leaves out several things, listed on the page: most credits, the premium tax credit for marketplace coverage, business and rental income, and local income taxes among them.

For one decision in depth: the Social Security tax calculator, the 401(k) withdrawal tax calculator, the 2026 estimated tax calculator and Year-end Tax Moves.

What this is, and what it leaves out

An estimate of your 2026 federal and state income tax from the numbers you enter, figured by QuantCalc's open tax engine. It is not a tax return: nothing is filed, and it is not tax advice. Use it to see roughly where you will land before you file, then file with tax software or a preparer.

Assumptions

Not modelled

Everything the federal engine leaves out is listed on the federal engine page; every state's list is on the state engine page. Your numbers are figured in this browser tab and are not sent to QuantCalc; the paid printable copy sends them once to QuantCalc's tax engine to confirm every line. Sources for every federal rule: federal calculation order.