Tax Bracket Calculator
Enter your taxable income and filing status to see which federal tax bracket you fall into. View a detailed breakdown of how your income is taxed at each marginal rate, and compare your marginal rate to your effective rate.
The U.S. federal income tax uses a progressive bracket system: your income is divided into "slices," and each slice is taxed at a different rate. The bracket that contains your last dollar is your marginal bracket. Confusingly, that marginal rate isn't what you actually pay on all your income — only on the portion in that top bracket.
This calculator takes taxable income and filing status and returns your bracket-by-bracket tax breakdown, marginal rate, and effective rate. It uses the current IRS brackets and shows exactly how each dollar from $0 up to your income gets taxed.
The marginal-vs-effective distinction matters in real decisions. If you're in the 24% bracket, a $1,000 raise nets you about $760 federal. But your overall federal tax bill is probably closer to 17–18% of your taxable income (the effective rate), not 24%. Confusing these two leads to bad reasoning about everything from job offers to deduction strategies.
Inputs
Results
Total Federal Tax
$13,753
Marginal Rate
22%
Effective Rate
16.18%
After-Tax Income
$71,247
Tax by Bracket
Bracket-by-Bracket Breakdown
| Bracket | Rate (%) | Taxable Amount | Tax | Cumulative Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0 - $11,600 | 10.00% | $11,600.00 | $1,160.00 | $1,160.00 |
| $11,600 - $47,150 | 12.00% | $35,550.00 | $4,266.00 | $5,426.00 |
| $47,150 - $100,525 | 22.00% | $37,850.00 | $8,327.00 | $13,753.00 |
Formula
How to use this calculator
- Enter your taxable income — that's your AGI minus the standard deduction (or itemized deduction). Not your gross W-2 number.
- Select your filing status. Married Filing Jointly has the widest brackets; Single is the narrowest. Married Filing Separately uses brackets at half MFJ values.
- Review the bracket-by-bracket breakdown. The marginal rate is the rate on your "next dollar"; the effective rate is your overall federal tax burden as a percentage of taxable income.
- Use marginal rate when reasoning about: should I make a deductible contribution? what's the after-tax value of a raise? worth converting to Roth?
- Use effective rate when comparing total tax burden across years or to other countries.
Worked examples
Middle-income single filer
Taxable income: $75,000, single. 10% × $11,925 = $1,193 12% × $36,550 = $4,386 22% × $26,525 = $5,836 Total federal tax: $11,414 Effective rate: 15.2%, Marginal rate: 22% A $1,000 raise to $76K would add 22% × $1,000 = $220 to federal tax, netting $780 before payroll/state taxes.
High earner
Taxable income: $400,000, married filing jointly. At MFJ 2025 brackets, total federal tax ≈ $74,000. Effective rate: ~18.5% Marginal rate: 32% Even at the 32% bracket, only the income above $206,700 is taxed at 32% — most income is at lower rates. The progressive structure consistently produces effective rates well below marginal rates.
When to use this calculator
Use this calculator any time you need to know your marginal or effective rate — typically for one of three decisions:
1. **Deductibility decisions**: A traditional 401(k) contribution's tax benefit is your marginal rate × the contribution. At 22% marginal, $6,000 contributed saves $1,320 in federal tax.
2. **Roth vs Traditional**: Compare your current marginal rate to your expected retirement marginal rate. If retirement rate < current, traditional is usually better; if retirement rate > current, Roth wins.
3. **Income timing**: Pushing income to a low-tax year (job loss, sabbatical) vs a high-tax year matters at bracket boundaries.
This is federal-only. State income tax operates on its own bracket schedule (or is flat in some states, or doesn't exist in others). Combine for a full marginal/effective view.
Bracket thresholds adjust annually for inflation. Major bracket changes require legislation. Use the most recent IRS-published values.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Believing you "get pushed into a higher bracket" by a raise and end up worse off. Only the marginal dollars get the higher rate; everything below stays at lower rates. A raise always leaves you with more after-tax income.
- Quoting marginal rate as "my tax rate." Effective rate is the share of income actually paid; marginal is the rate on the next dollar.
- Using gross W-2 income instead of taxable income. Standard/itemized deductions and pre-tax contributions reduce taxable income.
- Forgetting state and FICA taxes. Federal marginal might be 22%, but with 5% state and 7.65% FICA, your true marginal on earned income is closer to 34–35%.
- Treating capital gains and ordinary income on the same brackets. Long-term capital gains use a separate schedule with much lower rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & further reading
- Federal income tax rates and brackets — Internal Revenue Service
- 2024 federal tax brackets explained — Tax Foundation