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By Tax Calculators USA Editorial Team • Last updated 2026-11-09

How Federal Tax Brackets Work

A tax bracket is a band of income with its own rate. Your income is taxed band by band, lowest rate first — so moving into a higher bracket never taxes your whole income at the higher rate.

Marginal rate vs effective rate

Two numbers matter, and people mix them up. Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income. On $80,000 a year, single, the marginal rate is 22% and the effective rate is 11.04%. The effective rate is always lower, because the first part of your income is taxed at 10% and 12%.

The 2026 brackets, single filer

For 2026, a single filer's taxable income is taxed at 10% up to $12,400, 12% to $49,800, 22% to $103,350, 24% to $197,300, 32% to $250,525, 35% to $626,350, and 37% above that. Married filing jointly and head of household have the same rates with wider bands — the full tables are on the tax brackets calculator. These are simplified 2026 brackets from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Before the brackets apply, the standard deduction comes off: $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household.

Worked example — $80,000, single

$80,000 a year, single: take off the $16,100 standard deduction and taxable income is $63,900. The tax is 10% on the first $12,400 ($1,240), 12% on the next $37,400 ($4,488), and 22% on the last $14,100 ($3,102). Total: $8,830. Effective rate: 11.04%. Marginal bracket: 22%. Only $14,100 of the $80,000 is taxed at 22%.

Worked example — $120,000, single

$120,000 a year, single: taxable income is $103,900 after the $16,100 standard deduction. The tax is $1,240 at 10%, $4,488 at 12%, $11,781 at 22%, and $132 at 24% — $17,641 in total, an effective rate of 14.70% and a marginal bracket of 24%. Only $550 of the income is taxed at 24%.

The mistake to avoid

The common mistake is thinking a raise that crosses a bracket line costs you money. It cannot: only the dollars above the line are taxed at the new rate, and the dollars below it keep their old rates. A raise always leaves you with more after tax than before — the bracket only decides how much of the raise you keep.

When brackets matter most

Brackets matter when you make a choice that changes your taxable income: a 401(k) contribution, extra withholding, or a bonus. Each dollar you move out of taxable income saves tax at your marginal rate — 22 cents on the dollar at the 22% bracket. That is why the same 401(k) contribution saves a high earner more tax than a low earner.

One honest note about timing: searches for "tax calculator" rise sharply from January to May, when people file, and fall away in November and December. Brackets do not change with the season, but demand does — if you are reading this in tax season, you are in good company.