Federal Income Tax Brackets
The U.S. federal income tax uses a progressive bracket system — meaning higher income is taxed at a higher rate, but only the income within each bracket is taxed at that rate. Understanding which bracket you're in, and where your income sits within it, is foundational to almost every tax-planning decision: Roth vs. traditional contributions, timing of income, and whether itemizing beats the standard deduction. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1, Congress sets seven marginal rates ranging from 10% to 37%. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 restructured these rates and thresholds, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made them permanent, eliminating the 2026 sunset that prior-law planning had been built around.
Current Law (2026)
The federal income tax uses a progressive bracket system with seven marginal rates. All thresholds are inflation-indexed annually per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
Single Filers
| Taxable Income | Marginal Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 - $12,400 | 10% |
| $12,400 - $50,400 | 12% |
| $50,400 - $105,700 | 22% |
| $105,700 - $201,775 | 24% |
| $201,775 - $256,225 | 32% |
| $256,225 - $640,600 | 35% |
| Over $640,600 | 37% |
Married Filing Jointly
| Taxable Income | Marginal Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 - $24,800 | 10% |
| $24,800 - $100,800 | 12% |
| $100,800 - $211,400 | 22% |
| $211,400 - $403,550 | 24% |
| $403,550 - $512,450 | 32% |
| $512,450 - $768,700 | 35% |
| Over $768,700 | 37% |
Married Filing Separately
| Taxable Income | Marginal Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 - $12,400 | 10% |
| $12,400 - $50,400 | 12% |
| $50,400 - $105,700 | 22% |
| $105,700 - $201,775 | 24% |
| $201,775 - $256,175 | 32% |
| $256,175 - $384,350 | 35% |
| Over $384,350 | 37% |
Head of Household
| Taxable Income | Marginal Rate |
|---|---|
| $0 - $17,700 | 10% |
| $17,700 - $67,450 | 12% |
| $67,450 - $105,700 | 22% |
| $105,700 - $201,750 | 24% |
| $201,750 - $256,200 | 32% |
| $256,200 - $640,600 | 35% |
| Over $640,600 | 37% |
Legal Authority
- 26 U.S.C. § 1 — Tax imposed
- 26 U.S.C. § 2 — Definitions and special rules
- 26 U.S.C. § 63 — Taxable income defined
- IRC Section 1(f) — inflation adjustment methodology (chained CPI-U since TCJA)
Implementing Regulations
- 26 CFR Part 1 — Income tax withholding regulations (section 1.1441: requirement for deduction and withholding of tax on income)
How It Works
The bracket tables above apply to taxable income — not gross income. Under 26 U.S.C. § 63, taxable income is what remains after above-the-line deductions (IRA contributions, student loan interest, HSA contributions, self-employment tax deduction) and your standard or itemized deduction. A single filer with $80,000 in wages who contributes $7,000 to a traditional IRA and takes the $14,600 standard deduction has taxable income of $58,400 — sitting firmly in the 22% bracket, not the 24%.
Only income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate — crossing a threshold never raises the rate on income below it. A single filer earning $60,000 in taxable income pays 10% on the first $11,600 or so, 12% on the next tranche, and 22% only on the amount above that bracket floor, producing an effective rate well below 22%. Filing status determines which bracket table applies: Congress defined four categories in 26 U.S.C. § 2 — single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, and head of household. Married-filing-jointly thresholds are exactly double the single thresholds at the 10% and 12% brackets, creating no marriage penalty at those income levels. At the 32% and 35% tiers, however, MFJ thresholds are not doubled, which does create a marriage penalty for high-earning dual-income couples. See Filing Status Rules for when filing separately might reduce your combined bill.
The TCJA switched the annual inflation adjustment from traditional CPI-U to chained CPI-U under IRC § 1(f). Chained CPI-U grows slightly slower than traditional CPI-U, so bracket thresholds rise a bit less each year — a subtle form of bracket creep that quietly pushes more income into higher brackets over time compared to the pre-2018 indexing method. The 2026 thresholds in this table reflect adjustments published in IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
How It Affects You
Your tax bracket is defined by your taxable income — gross income minus above-the-line deductions (like IRA contributions and student loan interest), minus your standard or itemized deduction. Two people with the same W-2 income can be in different brackets depending on their deductions and filing status.
If you're making marginal decisions about your bracket — what you do with the next dollar of income or deduction matters most. A single filer with $95,000 in taxable income sits squarely in the 22% bracket. Contributing another $6,000 to a traditional IRA saves $1,320 in federal tax (22% × $6,000). The same $6,000 from a filer at $205,000 in taxable income saves $1,440 (24%). That difference in marginal rate should inform whether you prioritize traditional or Roth contributions each year.
If you're planning Roth conversions: They are most efficient when your bracket is lower than it will be in the future — typically in early retirement years before Social Security and RMDs push income up. A retiree with $50,000 in taxable income converting $50,000 from a traditional IRA to Roth pays 22% on the top slice ($50,400 threshold), well below the 32% or 37% their heirs or future-self might face. The brackets above make these numbers concrete.
If you believe in the "bracket cliff" misconception: Many people believe earning one more dollar will "bump them into a higher bracket" and cause all their income to be taxed at the higher rate. That's wrong. Only the income above the bracket threshold is taxed at the new rate. A single filer who earns $106,000 doesn't pay 24% on all $106,000 — they pay 24% only on the ~$300 above the $105,700 threshold.
If you're concerned about the "marriage penalty": Married filing jointly brackets are exactly double the single brackets at the lower end (10% and 12%), so dual-income couples at similar income levels face no marriage penalty there. But at higher incomes — particularly the 32% and 35% brackets — the MFJ thresholds are not double the single thresholds, creating a penalty for high-earning dual-income couples. For decisions about whether to file jointly or separately, see Filing Status Rules.
State Variations
Federal brackets are uniform nationwide. However, 41 states plus D.C. impose their own income tax with separate bracket structures. Nine states have no income tax: AK, FL, NV, NH (interest/dividends only until 2025), SD, TN, TX, WA, WY. See State Income Tax Rates.
Pending Legislation
- HR 5427 (Rep. Cohen, D-TN) / S 2845 (Sen. Wyden, D-OR) — Billionaires Income Tax Act: mark-to-market taxation for billionaires, expanded reporting for trusts and pass-throughs. Status: Introduced.
- S 1443 (Sen. Thune, R-SD) — Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act: 30-day threshold before a non-home state can tax or withhold on wages. Status: Introduced.
- HR 2655 (Rep. Thanedar, D-MI) — Eliminate federal income tax on unemployment compensation for payments after Dec 31, 2024. Status: Introduced.
Recent Developments
- Current seven-rate structure locked in: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the 10% through 37% individual rate schedule permanent, eliminating the scheduled 2026 reset that many older tax references still discuss.
- IRS published 2026 thresholds: Revenue Procedure 2025-32 set the 2026 bracket cutoffs shown above, including the top 37% bracket starting at $640,600 for single filers and $768,700 for married couples filing jointly.
- TCJA permanence and the fiscal cost: The OBBBA extended TCJA's individual rates permanently at a 10-year cost CBO estimated at $3.8+ trillion. The alternative — allowing the rates to revert in 2026 — would have raised taxes on nearly every American taxpayer (the 22% bracket would have reverted to 25%, the 24% to 28%, and so on). The permanence debate was never really about whether to raise rates on middle-income earners; it was about the deficit impact of locking in lower rates indefinitely.
- SALT deduction cap raised slightly: The OBBBA increased the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap from $10,000 to $30,000 for most filers — a partial victory for high-tax-state Republicans (NY, NJ, CA) who had blocked earlier versions. The increased cap primarily benefits filers with $200K-$500K in income in high-tax states; those above about $400K face a phaseout of the deduction under the OBBBA formula.
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption preserved: The OBBBA maintained TCJA's AMT exemption increases — $137,000 for single filers, $220,700 for married couples in 2026 — preventing the pre-TCJA AMT from recapturing millions of upper-middle-class taxpayers into higher effective rates. Before TCJA, the AMT ensnared filers who would otherwise benefit from certain deductions; the higher exemptions effectively neutered it for most non-very-wealthy taxpayers.
- IRS enforcement and compliance (2025): The DOGE-driven IRS workforce reductions and budget uncertainty affected IRS enforcement capacity heading into the 2025 filing season. The IRS had hired 80,000+ additional staff under the Inflation Reduction Act's $80 billion 10-year funding; a portion of that funding was rescinded in OBBBA and earlier legislation. Reduced enforcement staffing raises questions about the tax gap (estimated $600B+ annually in unpaid taxes) and whether bracket structure improvements generate the expected revenue with reduced compliance enforcement.