What federal tax do I owe, and what are my marginal and effective rates?
Find your 2026 federal tax bracket, the tax you owe, your marginal and effective rates, and how much more income fits in your bracket.
Filing status
You are 65 or older by December 31, 2026
Adds the extra standard deduction and, through 2028, the senior deduction.
YOUR 2026 TAX BRACKET
24%
As a single filer with $145,000 of income ($4,350 of it in pre-tax accounts), taking the $16,100 standard deduction, your taxable income is $124,550. Your next dollar of ordinary income is taxed at 24%, and you owe $22,490 in federal income tax, 15.5% of your income. Another $77,225 of taxable income fits in the 24% bracket before the 32% bracket starts.
Federal income tax
$22,490
Effective rate
15.5%
Room left in bracket
$77,225
Taxable income
$124,550
UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULT
How your income is taxed, bracket by bracket
| Rate | Taxable income in it | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $12,400 | $1,240 |
| 12% | $38,000 | $4,560 |
| 22% | $55,300 | $12,166 |
| 24% | $18,850 | $4,524 |
| Total | $124,550 | $22,490 |
Your $124,550 of ordinary taxable income is taxed in slices: only the top $18,850 falls in the 24% bracket ($4,524 of your tax), and everything below it is taxed at the lower rates above. That is why your effective rate of 15.5% is lower than your 24% bracket.
Your marginal and effective rate as income rises
Marginal rate: the next dollarEffective rate: tax ÷ income
At $145,000 your next dollar is taxed at 24%, but your average dollar at only 15.5%. The effective rate stays below the marginal rate because the lower slices are taxed at lower rates, and both rise as income grows.
Where would that money be taxed in retirement?
$25,000 a year
10%
$50,000 a year
12%
$75,000 a year
22%
$100,000 a year
22%
$150,000 a year
24%
Each $1,000 you put in a traditional account saves $240 of tax now, at your 24% rate. Withdrawn in retirement, the next dollar of pre-tax income is taxed at 10% to 24% on the incomes shown, before any Social Security, which can push those rates up, and without the extra deductions available at 65 (the additional standard deduction and the senior deduction), which change them a little; the highlighted rows are lower than today’s rate. Traditional comes out ahead where the rate in retirement is lower than today’s, Roth where it is higher.
What moves the needle
Each row re-runs the calculation with one change. Click to apply.How it's computed
FORMULA
Taxable income = income − pre-tax contributions − larger of (standard, itemized) − senior deduction
Tax = Σ (taxable income in each bracket × its rate) + gains tax at 0% / 15% / 20%, stacked on top
Marginal rate = tax on your next dollar of ordinary income
Effective rate = federal income tax ÷ income
- 2026 rules for a single filer (Rev. Proc. 2025-32): rates of 10% to 37%, a $16,100 standard deduction, and $2,050 more for each taxpayer 65 or older or blind. This page asks about age only.
- The senior deduction (Pub. L. 119-21 §70103) is $6,000 per taxpayer aged 65 or older for tax years 2025 through 2028, on top of the standard deduction. It shrinks by 6 cents for each dollar of income over $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return).
- Long-term gains and qualified dividends sit on top of ordinary income: 0% while taxable income is at or below $49,450, 15% up to $545,500, 20% above (Single). Deductions use up ordinary income first.
- Federal income tax only, before credits. Not included: Social Security and Medicare (FICA) tax, state and local tax, the alternative minimum tax, the 3.8% net investment income tax, the qualified business income deduction, and credits such as the child tax credit.
- Pre-tax contributions lower income for income tax. Traditional 401(k) deferrals still count as wages for Social Security and Medicare tax, which this page does not compute. The effective rate is federal income tax divided by your income before pre-tax contributions, including any gains.
WORKED EXAMPLE · SAMPLE NUMBERS
Single: $145,000 income − $4,350 pre-tax = $140,650. Minus the $16,100 standard deduction = $124,550 taxable. Tax: $1,240 (10% of the first $12,400) + $4,560 (12% of the next $38,000) + $12,166 (22% of the next $55,300) + $4,524 (24% of the last $18,850) = $22,490, which is 15.5% of $145,000. The next dollar is taxed at 24%.
SOURCES
[1]Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation-adjusted tax items (brackets, standard deduction, capital-gains amounts)Internal Revenue Service, 2025[2]Topic no. 409: Capital gains and lossesInternal Revenue Service[3]Check your eligibility for the new enhanced deduction for seniorsInternal Revenue Service, February 27, 2026[4]Public Law 119-21 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), §70103: deduction for seniorsU.S. Statutes at Large, July 4, 2025[5]26 U.S.C. §1: tax imposedU.S. Code, Title 26HSBuilt by Hussain Sehorewala · checked against worked examples · Sep 29, 2026
Keep this number honest as your life changes.
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Questions about this result
For 2026 the rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. For a single filer, taxable income is taxed at 10% up to $12,400, 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600, and 37% above that. The tops for married couples filing jointly are $24,800, $100,800, $211,400, $403,550, $512,450, $768,700, in the same order. These amounts apply to taxable income, after deductions, and are adjusted for inflation each year (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of income, the bracket the top of your taxable income falls in. Your effective rate is your total federal income tax divided by your income, and it is lower because the lower slices of income are taxed at lower rates. Only the part of your income above the start of a bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate.
No. Only the part of your income above the start of the higher bracket is taxed at the higher rate, so a raise cannot reduce your take-home pay through the tax brackets alone. Some benefits do end at an income limit, such as the premium tax credit for marketplace health insurance.
The standard deduction for 2026 is $16,100 for a single filer, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for a head of household. Each taxpayer who is 65 or older or blind adds $1,650 on a joint return, or $2,050 if unmarried. From 2025 through 2028 a taxpayer aged 65 or older can also take a $6,000 senior deduction, which shrinks by 6 cents for each dollar of income over $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). Whichever is larger, the standard deduction or your itemized total, reduces your taxable income.
For 2026, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% instead of your ordinary rates. They sit on top of your ordinary taxable income: the 0% rate applies while total taxable income is at or below $49,450 for a single filer ($98,900 for joint filers and $66,200 for a head of household), 15% up to $545,500 ($613,700 joint; $579,600 head of household), and 20% above that. Adding ordinary income can push gains out of the 0% band, which makes that extra income cost more than its bracket rate.
It depends on the tax rate you will pay on the money later, not on today’s bracket alone. A traditional contribution saves tax at today’s marginal rate and is taxed as income when withdrawn; a Roth contribution gets no deduction and its qualified withdrawals are tax-free. If your rate in retirement is lower than today’s, traditional comes out ahead; if it is higher, Roth does; if it is the same, they are equal. Whether the retirement rate ends up lower depends on how much taxable income you will have then: Social Security, pensions and required withdrawals can push it up.
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