US Income Tax Calculator

How US Federal Income Tax Brackets Work

The United States uses a progressive federal income tax system with seven marginal tax brackets for 2026: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. "Progressive" means only the portion of your income that falls inside a given bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate — not your entire salary. This is the single most misunderstood part of how federal income tax actually works: moving into a higher tax bracket does not mean all of your income suddenly gets taxed at the higher rate, only the slice above the threshold does.

Your bracket thresholds depend on your filing status. A Single filer's 2026 brackets start at 10% on the first $12,400 of taxable income and climb to 37% above $640,600. Married Filing Jointly roughly doubles each threshold (37% starts above $768,700), reflecting two combined incomes. Head of Household, for an unmarried taxpayer supporting a qualifying dependent, gets wider brackets than Single but narrower than Married Filing Jointly. Married Filing Separately mirrors Single through the lower and middle brackets but compresses sharply at the top, reaching 37% above just $384,350 — a deliberate design to discourage high earners from splitting income between spouses to dodge the top rate.

Because of this bracket structure, your effective tax rate (total tax divided by total income) is always lower than your top marginal tax rate — the rate that applies only to your last dollar earned.

Standard Deduction vs. Itemized Deductions

Before your income tax is calculated, the IRS lets you subtract a deduction from your gross income. Nearly every taxpayer chooses the Standard Deduction because it is simple, requires no receipts, and for 2026 has grown large enough that itemizing rarely pays off. For 2026 it is $16,100 for Single and Married Filing Separately filers, $32,200 for Married Filing Jointly, and $24,150 for Head of Household.

Itemizing means adding up specific deductible expenses — mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped), charitable donations, and large medical expenses above a threshold — on Schedule A instead. It only makes sense if your itemized total exceeds your standard deduction; homeowners with a large mortgage or people who make substantial charitable gifts are the ones who typically benefit.

Pre-Tax 401(k) and HSA Contributions Explained

Two of the most effective ways to lower your tax bill happen automatically through payroll. A traditional 401(k) or 403(b) contribution is deducted from your paycheck before federal income tax is calculated, directly shrinking your taxable income — but it is still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax, since FICA tax applies to money as soon as you earn it, deferral or not.

A Section 125 Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution goes a step further: it is excluded from both federal income tax and FICA tax entirely, making it one of the few triple-tax-advantaged accounts available (also tax-free growth and tax-free qualified withdrawals). Note that a Traditional IRA contribution is different from both — since it isn't run through payroll, it never reduces the wages on your paycheck; it only lowers your taxable income when you file your return, so it isn't included in a paycheck-based take-home pay estimate like this one.

Social Security and Medicare (FICA) Taxes

Separately from federal income tax, every paycheck is also subject to FICA payroll tax: 6.2% Social Security tax (officially OASDI) and 1.45% Medicare tax, both matched equally by your employer. Unlike income tax, Social Security tax only applies up to an annual wage base — $184,500 for 2026 — after which it stops for the rest of the year; income above that point is completely free of Social Security tax.

Medicare tax has no upper limit at all, and high earners pay more: an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 (Single/Head of Household), $250,000 (Married Filing Jointly), or $125,000 (Married Filing Separately) — fixed dollar thresholds that, unlike the income tax brackets, are not adjusted for inflation.

Why State Income Tax Isn't Included Here

This calculator estimates federal income tax and FICA tax only. State income tax is deliberately excluded because it varies enormously — nine states (including Texas, Florida, and Washington) charge no state income tax at all, while others tax income at rates approaching double digits, and most use entirely different brackets, deductions, and rules than the federal system. Because of this variation, a single national calculator cannot reliably estimate a state tax figure, so treat your actual take-home pay as this result minus whatever your specific state (and, in some cities, local) income tax withholding turns out to be.

Worked Example: $85,000 Salary, Single Filer

Consider a single filer earning $85,000 a year, contributing $5,000 to a traditional 401(k) and $1,500 to a Section 125 HSA, and taking the standard deduction.

Step 1 — Federal taxable income. The 401(k) and HSA are both excluded from federal taxable wages: $85,000 − $5,000 − $1,500 = $78,500. Subtracting the 2026 Single standard deduction of $16,100 gives taxable income of $62,400.

Step 2 — Federal income tax. Applying the 2026 brackets progressively: 10% on the first $12,400 ($1,240), 12% on the next $38,000 up to $50,400 ($4,560), and 22% on the remaining $12,000 up to $62,400 ($2,640). Total federal income tax: $8,440 a year — $703.33 a month.

Step 3 — FICA taxes. Social Security wages exclude only the HSA, not the 401(k): $85,000 − $1,500 = $83,500, which is well under the $184,500 wage base, so Social Security tax is $83,500 × 6.2% = $5,177 a year. Medicare tax is $83,500 × 1.45% = $1,210.75 a year (no Additional Medicare Tax applies, since $83,500 is under the $200,000 threshold).

Step 4 — Total deductions and net pay. Adding it up: $8,440 federal income tax + $5,177 Social Security + $1,210.75 Medicare + $5,000 401(k) + $1,500 HSA = $21,327.75 a year in total outflows — 25.09% of gross pay. Subtracting that from $85,000 leaves a net take-home pay of $63,672.25 a year — $5,306.02 a month, from a $7,083.33 monthly gross salary.