Income Tax Estimator

An income tax estimator tells you roughly what you will owe in federal income tax and what your take-home pay looks like after it. Enter your gross income and filing status, and it applies the current tax brackets and standard deduction to show your estimated federal tax, your marginal tax bracket, and your effective tax rate.

This free online tool is for W-2 employees, freelancers, and anyone planning around a raise, a job change, or next April’s filing: it answers the follow-up question every filer has after hearing the bracket numbers — “what do I owe?” It takes your income, filing status, and optionally pre-tax deductions or tax credits, then walks through the graduated bracket calculation. The output shows your taxable income, federal tax, marginal bracket, effective rate, after-tax income, and a bracket-by-bracket breakdown of how the tax was computed. It covers federal income tax only; state taxes vary too much to estimate here. It runs instantly in your browser with no sign-up and no data stored.

A note on the figures: this page uses the 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction, published by the IRS in release IR-2025-103 (Oct. 9, 2025) under Revenue Procedure 2025-32. These figures apply to income earned in calendar year 2026, reported on the return you file in 2027.

Worked example

Inputs: single filer, $90,000 gross income, no pre-tax deductions or credits, 2026 figures.

Taxable income: 90,000 − 16,100 = $73,900
10% on the first $12,400 = $1,240.00
12% on the next $38,000 ($50,400 − $12,400) = $4,560.00
22% on the next $23,500 ($73,900 − $50,400) = $5,170.00
Federal tax: 1,240.00 + 4,560.00 + 5,170.00 = $10,970.00

Marginal rate: 22% — but the effective rate is only 10,970 ÷ 90,000 = 12.2%. After-tax income: 90,000 − 10,970 = $79,030. This is why a raise that pushes you into a higher bracket never costs you money: only the dollars above each threshold are taxed at the higher rate.

Related tools

How to use it

Enter your Gross annual income — total wages before any deductions.
Select your Filing status — Single, Married Filing Jointly, or Head of Household.
Enter Pre-tax deductions (optional) — 401(k) contributions and similar items that reduce taxable income.
Enter Tax credits (optional) — credits like the Child Tax Credit, which reduce the tax owed dollar for dollar.
Read your result: taxable income, federal tax owed, marginal bracket, effective rate, and after-tax income.

The formula behind it

The estimator follows the IRS graduated-rate method: taxable income = gross income − standard deduction − pre-tax deductions Then tax is computed bracket by bracket, and any tax credits are subtracted from the resulting tax. This estimator always applies the standard deduction; it does not calculate itemized deductions. The 2026 federal brackets (taxable income, per IRS IR-2025-103): - 10%: Single $0–$12,400 · Joint $0–$24,800 · HoH $0–$17,700 - 12%: Single $12,401–$50,400 · Joint $24,801–$100,800 · HoH $17,701–$67,450 - 22%: Single $50,401–$105,700 · Joint $100,801–$211,400 · HoH $67,451–$105,700 - 24%: Single $105,701–$201,775 · Joint $211,401–$403,550 · HoH $105,701–$201,750 - 32%: Single $201,776–$256,225 · Joint $403,551–$512,450 · HoH $201,751–$256,200 - 35%: Single $256,226–$640,600 · Joint $512,451–$768,700 · HoH $256,201–$640,600 - 37%: Single over $640,600 · Joint over $768,700 · HoH over $640,600 The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 (Single), $32,200 (Married Filing Jointly), and $24,150 (Head of Household). Your marginal rate is the bracket your last dollar falls in; your effective rate is total tax ÷ gross income, and it is always lower.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between my marginal and effective tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income — 22% in the $90,000 example above. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income — 12.2% in that example. Only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, so your effective rate is always below your marginal rate.

Should I take the standard deduction or itemize?

Take whichever is larger. For 2026, the standard deduction is $16,100 (single), $32,200 (joint), or $24,150 (head of household), per IRS IR-2025-103. Itemizing only wins if your deductible expenses — mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped), charitable gifts — total more than that. This estimator applies the standard deduction, so itemizers may owe slightly less.

Does this estimator include state income taxes?

No — it estimates federal income tax only. State taxes range from zero (Texas, Florida, and several others levy no income tax) to over 13% at the top in California, with different brackets and deductions in every state. Use the federal estimate here as your starting point, then add your state's tax separately.

Does the estimate include Social Security and Medicare taxes?

No. Those payroll taxes (FICA) are separate from income tax: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to the annual wage base, plus 1.45% Medicare on all wages. The estimate here covers federal income tax only, which is why your actual paycheck withholdings are higher than this number.

When do these 2026 figures apply to my taxes?

The 2026 brackets and standard deduction apply to income you earn in calendar year 2026 — the return you file in 2027. The IRS published them in IR-2025-103 (October 2025) under Revenue Procedure 2025-32, which is also why the estimator already reflects 2026: you are planning this year's income, not last year's return.