2026 Federal Income Tax Brackets, Explained

The federal income tax brackets decide how much of each additional dollar you earn goes to the IRS — but they are widely misunderstood. Many people believe that moving into a higher bracket subjects their whole salary to that higher rate. It does not, and the difference matters on every paycheck. This guide sets out the 2026 brackets for single filers and married couples filing jointly, explains marginal versus effective rates, and works one example in full so you can see exactly how the arithmetic runs.

The 2026 brackets: single filers

The figures below are the taxable income thresholds for tax year 2026 — that is, income after the standard deduction or itemized deductions, not your gross salary. Each rate applies only to the slice of taxable income that falls within that bracket.

The 2026 brackets: married filing jointly

For married couples filing a joint return, the thresholds for the lower and middle brackets are roughly double the single ones, which prevents two earners from being pushed into higher rates simply for combining their incomes on one return.

The IRS adjusts these thresholds each year for inflation, so last year's table should never be reused for this year's planning. Other filing statuses — head of household and married filing separately — have their own schedules; the two above cover the majority of workers.

Marginal rate versus effective rate

Two terms describe two different things, and confusing them is the root of most bracket misunderstandings:

• Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of taxable income — the highest bracket your income reaches. It is the rate that matters for decisions like taking on overtime or contributing to a traditional 401(k).
• Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income — a blended average across all the slices. Because the early slices are taxed at 10% and 12%, the effective rate is always lower than the marginal rate.

A fully worked example: $60,000 salary, single filer

Suppose you earn a $60,000 salary and file as single, taking the standard deduction of $16,100 for 2026.

Step 1 — taxable income. $60,000 − $16,100 = $43,900. This is the amount the brackets apply to.

Step 2 — tax each slice.

• First slice: $12,400 at 10% = $1,240
• Next slice: $43,900 − $12,400 = $31,500 at 12% = $3,780
• Nothing reaches the 22% bracket, which only starts at $50,400 of taxable income.

Step 3 — total and rates. Total federal income tax = $1,240 + $3,780 = $5,020. The marginal rate is 12% — that is what the last dollars earned were taxed at. The effective rate on the gross salary is $5,020 ÷ $60,000 ≈ 8.4%. Measured against taxable income instead, it is $5,020 ÷ $43,900 ≈ 11.4%. Both are "the effective rate" quoted different ways; what matters is that neither is anywhere near taxing the whole $60,000 at one high rate.

This example covers federal income tax only. FICA payroll taxes and any state income tax come on top, and tax credits would reduce the final bill below $5,020.

Why a raise never makes you poorer through brackets alone

If the worker above received a $5,000 raise, taxable income would rise to $48,900 — still inside the 12% bracket, so the whole raise is taxed at 12% and they keep $4,400 of it before other taxes. Even a raise that does cross a threshold only pushes the dollars above the line into the higher rate; every dollar below the line keeps its old, lower rate. There is no point on the schedule where earning one more dollar reduces your after-tax income. (Other parts of the tax and benefits system, such as credit phase-outs, can change the picture — but the brackets themselves never do.)

What the brackets do not cover

• Capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed under a separate set of preferential rates; they are outside the scope of this guide and of these tables.
• FICA taxes — Social Security and Medicare — are payroll taxes with their own rates and rules, applied to gross wages rather than taxable income.
• State income taxes use each state's own brackets or flat rates and are not reflected here.
• Credits and extra deductions are applied after the bracket calculation, or before it, respectively — the brackets are one step in the middle of working out a tax bill, not the whole of it.

Key takeaways

• For 2026, single filers move through seven brackets from 10% (up to $12,400 of taxable income) to 37% (above $640,600); joint filers' thresholds run from $24,800 to $768,700.
• Each rate applies only to the slice of income inside that bracket — never to your entire salary.
• On a $60,000 single salary, federal income tax is $5,020: a 12% marginal rate but only about an 8.4% effective rate on gross pay.
• A raise can only be taxed at the higher rate on the dollars above the threshold it crosses.

To see the brackets applied slice by slice to your own salary, try our Paycheck Calculator — it annualises your pay, applies the standard deduction and brackets, and adds FICA and state tax on top.

Keep exploring

• How Paycheck Tax Is Calculated, Step by Step
• FICA Taxes Explained: Social Security and Medicare
• The 2026 Standard Deduction, Explained
• Gross Pay vs Net Pay: What Comes Between Them

Put the numbers to work: Paycheck Calculator · No Tax on Overtime Calculator · No Tax on Tips Calculator

Last updated: 2026-10-31. Tax parameters: 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; SSA wage base; Tax Foundation state tables).