How to use the income tax calculator
Choose your filing status and the tax year, then enter your wages and the federal tax withheld from your W-2. Add any business income, investment income, Social Security and other income, and the deductions and credits that apply to you. Fields you don't need can stay at zero. The calculator shows your federal income tax, your marginal and effective tax rates, every deduction and credit it used, and whether you can expect a refund or still owe tax.
How the federal income tax is figured
- Total income: wages, business profit, interest, dividends, capital gains, the taxable part of Social Security and other income.
- Adjustments: half of the self-employment tax, deductible IRA contributions and student loan interest give your adjusted gross income (AGI).
- Deductions: the standard deduction or your itemized deductions, whichever is larger, plus the deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest, seniors and qualified business income.
- Tax: the brackets apply to the taxable income; qualified dividends and long-term gains are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%. The alternative minimum tax and the 3.8% net investment income tax are added if they apply.
- Credits: the child tax credit, the credit for other dependents, the child care credit, the American opportunity credit and the earned income credit lower the tax; some of them can be paid out as a refund.
- Refund or amount owed: the tax withheld and the estimated payments are compared with the final tax.
Income tax formula
Taxable income = AGI − deductions, and refund = tax paid during the year − (tax on taxable income − credits). The tax on taxable income is progressive: each rate applies only to the part of the income inside its bracket, not to the whole amount.
Income tax calculator example
A single filer earns $80,000 in wages in 2026 and has $9,000 of federal tax withheld. After the $16,100 standard deduction, the taxable income is $63,900. The brackets give a federal income tax of $8,770: the top rate on the last dollar, the marginal rate, is 22%, while the tax is only 11.0% of the wages, the effective rate. With $9,000 withheld, the refund is $230. These are the default inputs of the calculator.
2026 federal tax brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | up to $12,400 | up to $24,800 | up to $17,700 |
| 12% | up to $50,400 | up to $100,800 | up to $67,450 |
| 22% | up to $105,700 | up to $211,400 | up to $105,700 |
| 24% | up to $201,775 | up to $403,550 | up to $201,750 |
| 32% | up to $256,225 | up to $512,450 | up to $256,200 |
| 35% | up to $640,600 | up to $768,700 | up to $640,600 |
| 37% | over $640,600 | over $768,700 | over $640,600 |
The amounts are taxable income. Married couples filing separately use the single brackets, except that the 37% rate starts above $384,350. A qualifying surviving spouse uses the joint brackets.
Standard deduction for 2025 and 2026
| Filing status | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Single or married filing separately | $15,750 | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $31,500 | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $23,625 | $24,150 |
From age 65, or if you are blind, the standard deduction is $2,050 higher in 2026 for an unmarried filer and $1,650 higher for each qualifying spouse on a married return.
New deductions from 2025
- Tips: up to $25,000 of qualified tips, reduced above $150,000 of income ($300,000 joint).
- Overtime: up to $12,500 of overtime premium pay, or $25,000 on a joint return, with the same income limits.
- Car loan interest: up to $10,000 a year on a new U.S.-assembled car, reduced above $100,000 ($200,000 joint).
- Seniors: $6,000 for each person 65 or older, reduced above $75,000 ($150,000 joint).
- State and local taxes: the itemized SALT deduction is capped at $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026, less at very high incomes.
The tips, overtime, car loan and senior deductions are taken whether or not you itemize and apply from 2025 to 2028. Married couples must file jointly to get the tips, overtime and senior deductions.
Income tax in Excel
For a single filer whose taxable income is in cell B1 and falls in the 22% bracket, =(B1-50400)*22%+5800 gives the 2026 federal income tax before credits: $5,800 is the tax on the first $50,400. For the example, B1 = 63900 returns $8,770.
Related tax calculators
To see your tax per paycheck, with Social Security, Medicare and state tax, and the numbers for Form W-4, use the take-home paycheck calculator. The marriage tax calculator compares two single returns with one joint return, and the salary calculator converts an hourly rate into yearly pay. Pre-tax savings lower your taxable income: see how they grow with the 401(k) calculator or the IRA calculator.
What is not included
State income tax, the additional 0.9% Medicare tax, the limit on itemized deductions in the top bracket from 2026, IRA deduction limits for people covered by a workplace plan, and special rules for farm, foreign or very complex income. The qualified business income deduction is reduced to zero across the income phase-in range, as for a service business.