How do I calculate my federal income tax for 2026?

Subtract the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly) or your itemized deductions from your income, apply the 2026 brackets to the taxable income that is left, and subtract your credits (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). A single filer earning $75,000 has $58,900 of taxable income and owes $7,676.

What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?

10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. For a single filer the 12% bracket starts at $12,400 of taxable income and the 22% bracket at $50,400; for a married couple filing jointly at $24,800 and $100,800 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

What is my effective tax rate?

Your federal income tax divided by your total income. A single filer earning $75,000 in the 22% bracket pays $7,676, an effective rate of 10.2%.

Is this the same as the IRS tax calculator?

The IRS publishes the brackets, the Tax Table and the forms; this calculator applies them to your numbers with QuantCalc’s open federal tax engine, which follows Form 1040 line by line (the Tax Table, the deductions, the child tax credit and the earned income credit). It is an estimate, not a filed return, and not affiliated with the IRS.

Does the calculator include Social Security and Medicare tax?

No: it figures federal income tax, Form 1040 line 24. Social Security and Medicare (FICA) tax is withheld from wages separately; the FICA tax rate page shows the 2026 rates and wage base.

How much does the child tax credit lower my tax?

Up to $2,200 for each child under 17 in 2026, reduced above $200,000 of modified AGI ($400,000 joint) (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). A married couple earning $150,000 with two children takes the full $4,400 and owes $10,940.

Federal Income Tax Calculator 2026

Enter your 2026 income, your filing status and your children. The tax engine applies the 2026 standard deduction, the IRS brackets, the new overtime, tips and senior deductions and the child tax credit, and shows your federal income tax, your bracket and your effective rate, with your state income tax if you pick a state. Want the refund? The tax refund calculator adds what was withheld.

Your 2026 federal income tax

Filing status Your age on Dec 31, 2026 State (optional) 2026 wages, all jobs ($) Form W-2 box 1, including overtime and tips; both spouses on a joint return

Children and other dependents

Children under 17 at the end of 2026 Child tax credit Children 17 or 18, or students under 24 Credit for other dependents and the earned income credit Other dependents A parent or relative you support

More income and deductionsovertime, tips, interest, gains, retirement income, itemized deductions

Qualified overtime premium ($) The “half” of time and a half (one third of overtime pay); W-2 box 12, code TT Qualified tips ($) Tips in a tipped occupation, part of your wages Taxable interest ($) Dividends, total ordinary ($) … of which qualified dividends ($) Net long-term capital gains ($) Social Security benefits ($) Box 5 of Form SSA-1099 IRA / 401(k) withdrawals, taxable ($) Pension or annuity, taxable ($) Mortgage interest ($) Itemized deductions: the calculator keeps whichever is larger, these or the standard deduction Property tax ($) State and local income tax paid ($) Cash gifts to charity ($)

Example: single, 30, $75,000 of wages — enter your numbers

Retired, or filing without dependents? The paid 2026 Return Preview lays your return out line by line — every Form 1040 line and schedule, your state return and the refund or amount owed: 2026 Return Preview: every Form 1040 line, your state and your refund or amount owed →

An estimate from QuantCalc’s open tax engine (federal 2.5.1, state 1.17.1) for the 2026 tax year. Not tax advice: your return depends on facts this page does not ask about, so check a move with your tax preparer or custodian before acting. The state line leaves out dependent exemptions and state child credits (the state engine does not take dependents yet) and taxes overtime and tips as ordinary wages. How the engine computes each line, with its official source: federal, state.

How is federal income tax calculated for 2026?

Start from your total income, subtract the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household) or your itemized deductions, plus the 2026 overtime, tips and senior deductions you qualify for: that is your taxable income (IRC §63). The 2026 brackets tax each slice of it at its own rate, from 10% to 37% (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); long-term gains and qualified dividends have their own 0%, 15% and 20% rates. Credits such as the child tax credit then come off the tax. Example: a single 30-year-old earning $75,000 has $58,900 of taxable income, $8,500 of it in the 22% bracket, and a 2026 federal income tax of $7,676: an effective rate of 10.2%.

The worked examples, computed by the tax engine (2026 federal return, Form 1040 line 24).
Key number	2026
Single, $75,000 of wages: taxable income (standard deduction)	$58,900
… federal income tax (Tax Table)	$7,676
… effective rate	10.2%
Married, two children under 17, $150,000 of wages: federal income tax (Schedule 8812)	$10,940
… after a child tax credit of (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)	$4,400
Single, 67, $28,000 Social Security + $40,000 IRA withdrawals: federal income tax (IRC §151)	$4,237

Run your own numbers in the calculator above.

The 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction

2026 federal income tax brackets (taxable income) and standard deduction, as the tax engine applies them (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Married filing separately uses the single brackets up to 35%, with 37% over $384,350.
Rate	Single	Married filing jointly	Head of household
10%	$0 – $12,400	$0 – $24,800	$0 – $17,700
12%	$12,400 – $50,400	$24,800 – $100,800	$17,700 – $67,450
22%	$50,400 – $105,700	$100,800 – $211,400	$67,450 – $105,700
24%	$105,700 – $201,775	$211,400 – $403,550	$105,700 – $201,750
32%	$201,775 – $256,225	$403,550 – $512,450	$201,750 – $256,200
35%	$256,225 – $640,600	$512,450 – $768,700	$256,200 – $640,600
37%	over $640,600	over $768,700	over $640,600
Standard deduction	$16,100	$32,200	$24,150

Each rate applies only to the taxable income inside its bracket, so moving into a higher bracket never raises the tax on the income below it. Taxpayers 65 or older or blind add to the standard deduction, and from 2025 through 2028 each person 65 or older can also deduct up to $6,000 more, reduced above $75,000 of modified AGI ($150,000 joint) (IRC §151; senior deduction calculator). Below $100,000 of taxable income Form 1040 line 16 comes from the IRS Tax Table, which figures the tax at the middle of each income row ($50 wide for most incomes), so the calculator’s tax can differ by a few dollars from the brackets applied by hand (Form 1040 instructions). The full tables for every filing status: 2026 tax brackets.

Effective rate vs. tax bracket

Your tax bracket is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income; your effective rate is your whole tax divided by your income. The single earner above is in the 22% bracket but pays 10.2% of their $75,000, because the standard deduction is untaxed and the first $50,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10% and 12%. Children lower it further: the married couple earning $150,000 with two children pays $10,940, 7.3% of their income, after a $4,400 child tax credit. A retiree can pay less still: a single 67-year-old with $28,000 of Social Security and $40,000 of IRA withdrawals has $21,500 of the benefits taxed, deducts $6,000 as the senior deduction and owes $4,237. For the marginal rate on your next dollar — which can be higher than your bracket when Social Security or a deduction phase-out is involved — use the tax bracket calculator.

Common questions

How do I calculate my federal income tax for 2026?: Subtract the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly) or your itemized deductions from your income, apply the 2026 brackets to the taxable income that is left, and subtract your credits (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). A single filer earning $75,000 has $58,900 of taxable income and owes $7,676.
What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. For a single filer the 12% bracket starts at $12,400 of taxable income and the 22% bracket at $50,400; for a married couple filing jointly at $24,800 and $100,800 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
What is my effective tax rate?: Your federal income tax divided by your total income. A single filer earning $75,000 in the 22% bracket pays $7,676, an effective rate of 10.2%.
Is this the same as the IRS tax calculator?: The IRS publishes the brackets, the Tax Table and the forms; this calculator applies them to your numbers with QuantCalc’s open federal tax engine, which follows Form 1040 line by line (the Tax Table, the deductions, the child tax credit and the earned income credit). It is an estimate, not a filed return, and not affiliated with the IRS.
Does the calculator include Social Security and Medicare tax?: No: it figures federal income tax, Form 1040 line 24. Social Security and Medicare (FICA) tax is withheld from wages separately; the FICA tax rate page shows the 2026 rates and wage base.
How much does the child tax credit lower my tax?: Up to $2,200 for each child under 17 in 2026, reduced above $200,000 of modified AGI ($400,000 joint) (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). A married couple earning $150,000 with two children takes the full $4,400 and owes $10,940.