Calculate federal income tax by filing status, gross income and deductions, then see taxable income, effective rate and marginal bracket.
Estimate federal income tax from gross income, filing status and deductions, then see taxable income, effective rate and marginal bracket.
Taxable income = AGI − the greater of standard or itemized deductions. Each bracket rate applies only to the income inside that bracket.Federal ordinary-income estimate before withholding. Credits and special taxes can change the final result.
IRS 2025 and 2026 rate schedules reviewed August 6, 2026
Income included in this planning estimate
Subtract eligible above-the-line amounts entered by you
Use the larger entered itemized amount or standard deduction
Apply each progressive band to taxable income
Subtract simple credits, never below zero
Federal ordinary-income estimate before withholding
Taxable income = AGI − the greater of standard or itemized deductions. Each bracket rate applies only to the income inside that bracket.
Choose the year and filing status, then enter gross income, adjustments and deductions. The calculator applies the official standard deduction unless your itemized amount is higher.
The result is a planning estimate, not a tax return. It excludes many credits, surtaxes, phaseouts, alternative minimum tax and special income categories unless you enter a simple credit amount.
Result: $9,210 estimated federal income tax before credits and taxes outside this simplified model; the marginal rate is 22%, not 22% of every dollar earned.
Tax law depends on facts this tool cannot collect. Do not use the result as the sole basis for filing, withholding or payment decisions.
No. Federal brackets are marginal: only the layer of taxable income inside the higher bracket receives the higher rate.
A refund compares final tax with withholding and payments. This calculator estimates tax liability and does not predict all credits or payments.
Yes. The 2026 schedules and standard deductions use IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 as modified after the 2025 federal tax law changes.
Each guide answers a different question and links back to the same transparent calculation.
Follow one single-filer example through adjustments, the standard deduction, three marginal brackets, and the final planning estimate.
Read the guide →Understand why your top bracket, total tax divided by taxable income, and total tax divided by gross income answer different questions.
Read the guide →Map the three income layers to a federal tax calculator and see why using gross pay in every field can materially overstate tax.
Read the guide →Compare the two deduction paths without simply adding them together or assuming the larger raw total is automatically allowable.
Read the guide →Turn annual salary into per-paycheck federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and estimated take-home pay.
Estimate federal tax on a short- or long-term capital gain after stacking the gain above ordinary taxable income.
Estimate 2025 California taxable income and state income tax using current FTB rate schedules and standard deductions.