Income Tax Calculator

Income tax and withholding

Federal income tax is the amount you owe the U.S. government on your taxable income for a calendar year. It is a different thing from the money taken out of each paycheck, and the difference is the source of most confusion about refunds and bills. Your employer withholds tax during the year based on the Form W-4 you gave them, and that withholding is only a prepayment. When you file, the actual tax for the year is worked out from your income, deductions and credits, and the prepayments are subtracted. If you prepaid more than the tax, you are due a refund; if you prepaid less, you owe the difference.

This calculator estimates the actual tax side of that picture. You choose a tax year, a filing status and either your ordinary income or a taxable income you have already worked out, and it applies the federal tax rate tables to produce your regular income tax, your effective and marginal rates and the tax charged in each bracket. You can then enter credits and payments you have verified to see a model balance. It is built for planning and for checking numbers, such as testing how a raise, an adjustment or a change of filing status moves the tax.

What it deliberately is not: a tax return. It covers regular federal tax on ordinary income and leaves out state and local taxes, payroll taxes, the alternative minimum tax and most credits. If you want to see what a paycheck looks like after withholding, use the take home pay calculator, which follows the IRS withholding method rather than the annual tax rules used here. The two answers answer different questions, and comparing them is a good way to see whether your withholding is roughly on track.

A refund is money you overpaid during the year, not extra income, and a balance due is simply tax that was not fully prepaid. Neither says anything about whether your tax was fair or your withholding well chosen, only about how closely the prepayments matched the final bill.

Choose year and filing status

The tax year is the calendar year in which you earned the income, not the year in which you file. The page opens on 2026 and also offers 2027, using the inflation-adjusted figures the IRS published for each year: Revenue Procedure 2025-32 for 2026 and Revenue Procedure 2026-35 for 2027. The brackets are the same seven rates in both years, 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%, but the dollar thresholds rise with inflation. For a single filer the top of the 10% bracket moves from $12,400 to $12,800, an increase of 3.2%, and the standard deduction moves from $16,100 to $16,600, an increase of 3.1%.

A return filed in 2027 usually concerns 2026 income

If you are reading this in late 2026 or early 2027 and wondering which year to pick, the answer depends on what you are trying to estimate. Income earned in 2026 is reported on the return you file in 2027, so choose 2026 to estimate that bill or refund. Choose 2027 to plan ahead for income you expect to earn next year, with the understanding that the 2027 tables come from an IRS advance release and the law can still change before the year ends.

Filing status sets both the bracket thresholds and the standard deduction. The calculator offers the five statuses on the tax return: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying surviving spouse. Your status generally depends on your situation on the last day of the tax year, and the IRS explains the tests in Publication 501. Choose the status you know applies; the calculator does not decide it for you. A qualifying surviving spouse uses the joint brackets and the joint standard deduction, so the page asks you to confirm eligibility first. Married filing separately uses its own bracket table. It matches the single table until the 35% bracket, whose top comes much sooner for separate returns, so the 37% rate starts at a lower income and separate returns are not simply single returns for married people.

Ordinary income versus supplied taxable income

The calculator offers two ways in, because most people either know their gross income or already know their taxable income, and the two lead to different arithmetic. In ordinary-income mode you enter the ordinary income you expect for the year, wages and similar income that is taxed at regular rates, and any adjustments you have already verified. The calculator subtracts the adjustments to reach adjusted gross income, subtracts the standard deduction for your year and status, and taxes what is left. With $80,000 of ordinary income, no adjustments and a single filer in 2026, adjusted gross income is $80,000, the standard deduction is $16,100 and taxable income is $63,900.

In taxable-income mode you enter the taxable income itself, the figure after every deduction you are entitled to. Nothing is subtracted a second time. This is the mode to use if you itemize deductions, if you have deductions the calculator does not model, or if you are working from last year's return or a tax preparer's worksheet and simply want the regular tax on a known amount. The result is labelled as regular tax on the amount you entered, and the effective rate is shown as a share of taxable income instead of adjusted gross income, because the page cannot know your adjusted gross income in that mode.

No double subtraction from W-2 box 1

One mistake deserves its own warning. The wages in box 1 of your Form W-2 already leave out contributions you made to a traditional 401(k) and other pre-tax benefits taken through payroll. If you enter that box 1 figure as your ordinary income, do not subtract the 401(k) contribution again in the adjustments field, or you will understate your tax. The adjustments field is meant for adjustments that are not already reflected in your wages, such as a deductible contribution to an individual retirement account that you made on your own. When you are unsure, leave it at zero and treat the result as an estimate on the high side.

Two guardrails apply in ordinary-income mode. Adjustments cannot exceed the income they reduce, and the page asks you to confirm that you are a full-year U.S. resident, are under 65, are not blind and cannot be claimed as a dependent. Those confirmations matter because the extra standard deduction for age or blindness and the special limit for dependents change the deduction. If they do not fit you, switch to taxable-income mode and enter a figure that reflects your real deductions.

Here is the double subtraction in numbers. A single filer in 2026 whose W-2 box 1 shows $74,000 has taxable income of $57,900 and regular tax of $7,450.00. If that filer subtracted a $6,000 401(k) contribution a second time, the calculator would see $68,000, taxable income of $51,900 and tax of $6,130.00, which understates the tax by $1,320.00. The error is easy to make because the contribution really did reduce your taxable pay, but it did so before box 1 was printed.

Standard deductions and unsupported cases

The standard deduction is a fixed amount that reduces taxable income without any receipts or records. Most taxpayers take it because it is larger than what they could itemize. The alternative is itemizing deductions such as qualifying mortgage interest, state and local taxes up to the legal limit and charitable gifts, which helps only when the total is larger. The calculator does not itemize for you. Whether an expense is deductible, and how much, depends on rules and limits that vary with your income and circumstances, so building that engine here would invite wrong answers. Instead, if you itemize, work out the total yourself or with your preparer and enter the resulting taxable income in taxable-income mode.

Married filing separately has a special rule: if your spouse itemizes, you generally cannot take the standard deduction. The page shows a toggle for that case, and when it is on the standard deduction is set to zero so the estimate reflects it. Qualifying surviving spouses use the joint amount. The extra standard deduction for people who are 65 or older or blind, and the reduced standard deduction for dependents, are outside the model, which is why the page asks for the confirmations above.

Several situations change a federal return in ways this page does not calculate. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at their own rates. The alternative minimum tax and the net investment income tax can apply at higher incomes. Self-employment income brings self-employment tax and the qualified business income deduction. The deductions introduced for tax years after 2024, including the temporary deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime pay described in the IRS guidance on withholding, change taxable income for people who qualify. Child-related and education credits, the earned income credit, and state and local income taxes are also left out.

If any of those apply to you, tick the matching box under the question about your return. The calculator then hides the model balance, because a refund or amount owed computed without a tax that applies to you would be misleading. The bracket table stays visible as an illustration of regular tax on the taxable income shown, labelled that way, so you can still see how the ordinary-rate part of your tax behaves. For the full picture, use the IRS tools, a tax preparer or software that covers your whole return.

Some standard-deduction rules sit outside the model but are worth knowing. People who are 65 or older or blind get an additional standard deduction, $1,650 for each condition in 2026 or $2,050 if the person is unmarried and not a surviving spouse, and $1,700 or $2,100 in 2027. A person who can be claimed as someone else's dependent has a limited standard deduction: in 2026 it cannot exceed the greater of $1,350 or $450 plus earned income. These are the reasons the page asks you to confirm your situation before it uses ordinary-income mode.

If you are unsure which deduction is larger, one practical approach is to run the calculator twice: once in ordinary-income mode with the standard deduction, and once in taxable-income mode using the taxable income your itemized deductions would produce. The lower tax is the better method, subject to the rules you actually qualify under, which your preparer or the IRS instructions can confirm.

How progressive brackets add up

A progressive tax charges a higher rate on each additional slice of income, not a single rate on all of it. The common worry that earning a little more can push your whole income into a higher bracket and reduce your take-home pay is a myth for ordinary income tax. Only the dollars above the threshold are taxed at the higher rate. To compute the tax, split taxable income into the slices that fall in each bracket, multiply each slice by that bracket's rate and add the results.

For a single filer with $63,900 of taxable income in 2026, the slices are as follows. The calculator shows the same table for your numbers.

The marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar, here 22%. The effective rate is total tax divided by income, here 10.96% of adjusted gross income, and it is always lower than the marginal rate because the lower slices are taxed at lower rates. The IRS publishes the same tables in a second form, a base amount plus a percentage of the excess over a threshold, and the two forms always agree. The calculator uses whole cents in every step, so a figure such as $1,240.12 for a single filer with $12,401 of taxable income in 2026 is exact, not rounded early.

Boundaries behave as you would expect. Income exactly at the top of a bracket is taxed entirely at or below that bracket's rate, and the next dollar belongs to the next bracket. The calculator reports the marginal rate that applies to the next dollar, so at an exact boundary it names the higher rate.

The table shows how the effective rate trails the marginal rate as income grows, for a single filer in 2026 using the standard deduction.

The marginal rate is the useful number for decisions about the next dollar. At $80,000 of income a $1,000 raise is taxed at 22%, adding $220.00 of regular federal tax and leaving $780.00 after that tax. The effective rate answers a different question: what share of the whole income went to tax. Neither includes payroll taxes or state tax, which also take part of a raise.

Bracket thresholds apply to taxable income, after the standard deduction, not to gross income. A single filer therefore enters the 22% bracket at $50,400 of taxable income in 2026, which corresponds to $66,500 of ordinary income when the standard deduction is the only deduction.

2026 and 2027 worked examples

The table compares a few common cases using the same engine as the calculator. All use $80,000 of ordinary income, no adjustments and the standard deduction. The joint and head of household results are lower because those statuses have wider bracket thresholds and larger standard deductions, and married filing separately matches single at this income level.

For a single filer the tax falls from $8,770.00 in 2026 to $8,489.50 in 2027 on the same income, because the IRS raised the standard deduction and the bracket thresholds for inflation while the rates stayed the same, so slightly more of the same income is taxed at the lower rates. The adjustments are not identical for every threshold, so use the calculator for your own income. At higher incomes the filing status matters more: at $500,000 of income a single filer owes $138,134.25 in 2026 while married filing separately owes $140,125.25, because the separate table reaches the top rate at a lower threshold.

Two more cases show how filing status moves the answer. A married couple filing jointly in 2026 with $150,000 of ordinary income has taxable income of $117,800 and regular tax of $15,340.00, an effective rate of 10.23%. A head of household with $60,000 has taxable income of $35,850 and regular tax of $3,948.00, an effective rate of 6.58%. Compare either with a single filer on the same income by changing the filing status field.

The year-to-year view is just as informative. Between 2026 and 2027 the single standard deduction rises by $500, and the top of the 12% bracket for a single filer rises from $50,400 to $52,025. Because the thresholds are indexed to inflation, a raise that only keeps pace with inflation should not by itself push you into a higher effective rate. A raise well above inflation can, because more of the income lands in higher brackets. Use the year selector to see your own numbers for each year, and remember that the 2027 figures come from an IRS advance release.

These examples use ordinary income with the standard deduction only. If you itemize or have adjustments, switch to taxable-income mode and enter your own taxable income to see the bracket-by-bracket tax for your situation.

Credits, payments and the model balance

A deduction lowers the income that is taxed. A credit lowers the tax itself, dollar for dollar, which is why a credit is usually worth more than a deduction of the same size. Credits come in two kinds. A nonrefundable credit can reduce your tax to zero but not below it, so an unused part is lost. A refundable credit can reduce the tax below zero, and the excess is paid to you. The calculator has one field for each kind and applies them in that order: nonrefundable credits first, limited to the tax, then refundable credits.

It does not work out which credits you qualify for or how large they are, because eligibility depends on income, family situation and other rules. Enter only amounts you have verified from the credit's own instructions or from a tax professional, and leave the fields at zero if you are not sure. Withholding and estimated tax payments come next. Withholding is the federal income tax withheld from your paychecks, shown in box 2 of the W-2. Estimated payments are the quarterly payments people make when no one withholds for them.

The model balance is the tax after credits minus those payments. For the single example above with $9,000 withheld, the tax of $8,770.00 is below the withholding, so the model shows an overpayment of $230.00. If the same filer also had a $1,000 nonrefundable credit, the tax would fall to $7,770.00 and the overpayment to $1,230.00. The effective rate stays based on the tax before credits so you can compare scenarios on a like-for-like basis. This balance is a model of one slice of a return, not a promise about your refund.

A short example separates the two credit types. Suppose regular tax is $1,500. A $2,000 nonrefundable credit reduces the tax to zero, and the unused $500 is lost. A $2,000 refundable credit reduces the tax to zero and then produces a $500 overpayment, which shows up in the model balance as money coming back. Enter each credit in its own field so the order is applied correctly, and enter withholding and estimated payments separately so you can see how much of the result comes from prepayments.

Estimated tax payments matter most for people with income that has no withholding, such as self-employment or investment income. If that describes you, tick the matching box in the unsupported-situations list: the calculator then hides the balance, because it does not model those taxes.

Limits and next steps

The figures come from the revenue procedures cited below, which the IRS publishes each year, and the page shows the source for the year you choose. Tax law changes, and the 2027 figures in particular should be rechecked against the IRS when you file. Nothing here is tax, legal or investment advice, and the tool cannot see your whole situation. Our disclaimer explains the limits in more detail.

Use the result as a starting point. To see how this year's tax compares with what your employer withholds, run the take home pay calculator. To see whether marriage changes a couple's regular tax, try the marriage tax calculator. To turn pay into annual gross income first, use the hourly to salary calculator. For the official numbers and tools, the IRS publishes the Revenue Procedure 2025-32 tables for 2026, the Revenue Procedure 2026-35 tables for 2027, Publication 501 on filing status and the Tax Withholding Estimator.

A sensible way to check your own numbers is to work from the paperwork you already have. Use your last pay stub of the year, or your W-2 once it arrives, to enter ordinary income and federal tax withheld. Compare the model balance with what your preparer or software shows, and if the two differ, look at the items the calculator leaves out, such as credits, investment income and self-employment tax. A gap is usually explained by one of those, not by arithmetic.

If the model suggests you are paying far more or far less than the tax, you can change your withholding by giving your employer a new Form W-4. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is built for that job, and the take home pay calculator on this site shows how the W-4 entries change each paycheck. Revisit the numbers after any life change, such as marriage, a new job or a new child, because each can change your filing status and withholding.

Income tax calculator questions

Does this include state income tax?

No. It estimates regular federal income tax only. State and local income taxes follow different rules and rates, and several states have no income tax. Add your state's tax separately, using that state's own tax agency tables.

Is the top tax rate charged on all my income?

No. Only the slice of taxable income above the top bracket's threshold is taxed at the top rate. Lower slices are taxed at the lower rates, which is why the effective rate is lower than the marginal rate.

Does the withholding on my paycheck equal my final tax?

Not necessarily. Withholding is a prepayment based on your Form W-4 and your pay, and it can be higher or lower than the tax you actually owe. The difference is your refund or balance due when you file.

Should I subtract my 401(k) contribution from my W-2 wages again?

No. Box 1 of the W-2 already leaves out traditional 401(k) contributions. Enter box 1 as ordinary income and use the adjustments field only for adjustments that are not already reflected in your wages.

Which tax year should I choose if I file next year?

Choose the year in which the income was earned. A return filed in 2027 usually reports 2026 income, so pick 2026 for that estimate and 2027 only to plan for income you expect to earn next year.

Does the calculator include every tax credit?

No. It does not calculate credits or decide whether you qualify. You can enter nonrefundable and refundable credit amounts that you have verified yourself, and the calculator applies them in the correct order. Leave them at zero if you are unsure.