Income Tax Calculator (US Federal)
Estimate your federal tax bill, effective tax rate, and take-home pay. Includes a visual breakdown of your tax bill by bracket.
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Income & Filing Details
Self-employment tax note: about half of your self-employment tax is generally deductible when computing your actual federal taxable income — a real tax benefit not modeled here as a downstream reduction to taxable income, so the Federal Tax figure below is a slight overestimate with this box checked.
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Where Your Gross Income Goes
Every dollar of gross income splits into what you keep (green) and three separate deductions: federal tax, Social Security, and Medicare — plus an optional state/local tax slice if you entered a rate above 0 in the State/Local Tax Rate field. Federal tax alone often understates your real tax burden — FICA (and, if entered, state/local tax) is what usually closes the gap.
Tax Bracket Breakdown
| Bracket | Rate | Income in Bracket | Tax in Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
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How US Federal Income Tax Brackets Work
The US uses a progressive tax system, which means you don't pay a single flat rate on all your income. Instead, your income is divided into "brackets," and each bracket is taxed at its own rate — only the portion of your income that falls within a bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. Moving into a higher bracket doesn't retroactively raise the tax on income you already earned in lower brackets; it only applies the higher rate to the additional income above that threshold.
Standard Deduction vs. Itemized Deductions
Every taxpayer can subtract the standard deduction from their gross income before tax brackets are applied — it's a flat amount based on filing status, no receipts required. Itemizing means listing out specific deductible expenses (mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable donations, and more) instead, which only makes sense if your itemized total exceeds the standard deduction. Most taxpayers come out ahead with the standard deduction.
What Is FICA? Social Security and Medicare Explained
FICA taxes fund Social Security and Medicare and are calculated separately from federal income tax, on your gross income rather than your taxable income after deductions. Social Security tax applies only up to an annual wage cap — earnings above that cap aren't subject to it. Medicare tax has no cap, and an additional Medicare tax kicks in on income above a threshold that depends on your filing status.
Estimating State and Local Tax (Optional, Approximate)
This calculator's bracket math is federal-only, but the optional State/Local Tax Rate field lets you add a rough estimate on top of it: enter an approximate flat percentage and it's applied to your taxable income (the same base the federal brackets use), producing a separate "Estimated State/Local Tax" line that's subtracted from your take-home pay without touching the federal figures at all. Real state and local tax systems vary enormously — many states use their own progressive brackets, credits, and deductions, and some cities and counties layer on additional local tax — so a single flat rate is only ever a rough approximation, not a substitute for your actual state's tax tables. Leave the rate at 0 for a federal-only estimate.
The Progressive Tax Formula
Federal Tax: your total federal income tax owed.
Taxable Income in Bracket i: the slice of your taxable income that falls within a given bracket i.
Rate i: that bracket's tax rate.
Each bracket only taxes the slice of income that falls inside it, then the results are added up. FICA is calculated separately, on gross income rather than taxable income: Social Security is 6.2% up to an annual wage cap, and Medicare is 1.45% with no cap (plus an extra 0.9% above a filing-status-dependent threshold).
Worked Example: 60,000-Dollar Single Filer
Using this year's single-filer brackets and the 16,100-dollar standard deduction, a 60,000-dollar salary leaves 43,900 dollars in taxable income. The first 12,401 dollars is taxed at 10% (1,240.10 dollars), and the remaining 31,499 dollars falls in the 12% bracket (3,779.88 dollars), for 5,019.98 dollars in federal income tax — a 12% marginal rate.
Add FICA — 3,720 dollars in Social Security (6.2% of the full 60,000) and 870 dollars in Medicare (1.45%) — and total tax comes to 9,609.98 dollars, for an effective rate of about 16.0%. That's a useful illustration of why marginal and effective rates diverge: federal income tax alone is only 8.4% of gross income here, well below the 12% bracket — but once FICA is added on top, the total effective rate climbs past the federal marginal rate entirely.
Effective vs. Marginal Tax Rate — Why It Matters
Your marginal tax rate is the rate on your last dollar earned — the bracket you're "in." Your effective tax rate is your total tax divided by your total income, blending every bracket rate you actually paid along the way. Because only your top dollars are taxed at your marginal rate, your effective rate is always lower — often significantly — which is why "I'm in the 24% bracket" doesn't mean you pay 24% of your total income in tax.
A Brief History of the Progressive Income Tax
The United States first introduced a federal income tax to fund the Civil War in 1861, but it was repealed in 1872. A peacetime income tax passed in 1894 was struck down by the Supreme Court the following year for being an unapportioned direct tax, which required a constitutional fix: the 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, explicitly granted Congress the power to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states. The original 1913 tax topped out at a 7% marginal rate on the highest incomes; rates have swung dramatically since, briefly exceeding 90% on top earners during and after World War II, before settling into the lower, multi-bracket structure familiar today. FICA payroll taxes were introduced separately, in 1935, to fund the newly created Social Security program.
Common Income Tax Mistakes
Assuming your entire income is taxed at your top marginal rate is probably the most widespread misconception, leading some people to decline a raise for fear it will "push them into a higher bracket" and somehow leave them with less money overall — it never does, since only the income above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Forgetting that FICA is calculated on gross income, not taxable income after deductions, is another frequent source of confusion when a paycheck's withholding doesn't match a back-of-envelope bracket calculation. Under-withholding throughout the year and being surprised by a large bill (and potentially a penalty) at filing time is also common, particularly for freelancers or anyone with significant income outside a regular paycheck.
Income Tax Terms You Should Know
Gross Income — your total income before any deductions or taxes are subtracted.
Taxable Income — gross income minus deductions, the amount tax brackets are actually applied to.
Withholding — the portion of each paycheck your employer sends directly to the government as an estimated prepayment of your tax bill.
Tax Credit vs. Deduction — a deduction reduces your taxable income before tax is calculated; a credit reduces your final tax bill dollar for dollar, making credits generally more valuable than an equal-sized deduction.
Filing Status — a category (such as single, married filing jointly, or head of household) that determines your standard deduction and bracket thresholds.
These calculations are based on federal tax brackets, with an optional flat-rate approximation for state and local tax. Real state tax systems vary widely and are often progressive with their own brackets and deductions, so treat any state/local figure shown here as a rough estimate, not an exact calculation. Tax situations vary — this is an estimate for planning purposes. Consult a tax professional for advice specific to your situation. Brackets shown are approximate for tax year 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do tax brackets work?
US federal income tax is progressive, not flat — each dollar is taxed at the rate for the bracket it falls into. Moving into a higher bracket only raises the rate on the income above that threshold, not on everything you earn.
What is the standard deduction for 2026?
The standard deduction varies by filing status and is applied automatically in this calculator based on the status you select. It reduces your taxable income before tax brackets are applied.
Why is my effective tax rate lower than my bracket?
Your marginal rate only applies to your last dollar of income. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, so it blends the lower rates on your earlier income with the higher rate on your top dollars.
Does this include state taxes?
This calculator's core bracket math is federal-only, but there's an optional State/Local Tax Rate field — enter an approximate flat percentage and an estimated state/local tax line is added to your results. Real state tax systems vary enormously (many are progressive with their own brackets and deductions), so treat that figure as a rough approximation, not an exact calculation.
If I'm self-employed or have 1099 income, does this reflect what I'd really owe?
Check the Self-Employed / 1099 Income box to switch Social Security and Medicare to the combined self-employment tax rate. Self-employed people pay both the employee and employer shares themselves — 12.4 percent Social Security up to the wage cap plus 2.9 percent Medicare, roughly double the standard W-2 employee-side rate used by default, with the same 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax above the income threshold either way. Note that about half of your self-employment tax is generally deductible when computing your actual federal taxable income, a real benefit this calculator does not model as a downstream reduction to taxable income, so the Federal Tax figure is a slight overestimate with the box checked.