This income tax calculator estimates what you will owe for tax year 2026 across every layer of the system: federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, your state’s income tax, and any city or county tax that applies where you live. Enter your salary, filing status and location, and it returns your take-home pay per paycheck, your effective and marginal rates, and a line-by-line breakdown you can use for planning.
The numbers behind it come from the IRS inflation adjustments for 2026, including the changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, plus the current rate schedules for all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and more than 200 local jurisdictions. We update the tables every year when the agencies publish new figures, the same way we maintain our federal tax brackets page.
- The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, with a further $6,000 deduction for filers 65 and older.
- Social Security tax stops at $184,500 of wages; Medicare never stops and adds 0.9% above $200,000.
- Nine states tax no wages at all, 15 use a flat rate, and about one worker in six also owes a city or county income tax.
- A single filer earning $75,000 owes $7,670 in federal income tax for 2026, a 10.2% effective rate at a 22% marginal rate.
How This Income Tax Calculator Works
Start with your annual wages and filing status. Pick your state, and if it has local income taxes the calculator adds a second menu for your county or city. Add children and other dependents to apply the child tax credit, and enter your age so the calculator can apply the larger standard deduction and the new senior deduction for filers 65 and older.
The section labeled “Retirement, HSA and deductions” is where planning happens. Enter a 401(k) percentage, a traditional IRA contribution, an HSA contribution or other pre-tax payroll deductions and the calculator recomputes your taxable income, your FICA wages and your take-home pay on the spot. If your itemized deductions beat the standard deduction, enter the total and it uses the larger figure automatically.
Results show annually by default. Switch the view to monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly, weekly or hourly to see what lands in each paycheck. The comparison table at the bottom runs your exact inputs through every state so you can see what a move would change.
2026 Federal Income Tax Brackets
The United States uses a progressive system. Each rate applies only to the income that falls inside its tax bracket, so moving into a higher bracket never reduces your after-tax income. These are the 2026 brackets from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, applied to taxable income after deductions.
| Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Head Of Household | Married Filing Separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | $0 to $24,800 | $0 to $17,700 | $0 to $12,400 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $24,800 to $100,800 | $17,700 to $67,450 | $12,400 to $50,400 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $100,800 to $211,400 | $67,450 to $105,700 | $50,400 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $211,400 to $403,550 | $105,700 to $201,750 | $105,700 to $201,775 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $403,550 to $512,450 | $201,750 to $256,200 | $201,775 to $256,225 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 | $512,450 to $768,700 | $256,200 to $640,600 | $256,225 to $384,350 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 | Over $640,600 | Over $384,350 |
Bracket thresholds rose about 2.7% from 2025, which is why a worker whose raise matched inflation pays roughly the same effective rate this year. That indexing is also one reason tax refunds are expected to be larger in 2026 for filers whose withholding did not adjust.
The 2026 Standard Deduction
Most filers subtract the standard deduction before the brackets apply. For 2026 it is $16,100 for single filers and married couples filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. Filers who are 65 or older or blind add $2,050 each if unmarried, or $1,650 each if married.
Filers 65 and older also get a separate $6,000 deduction for tax years 2025 through 2028, or $12,000 for a couple where both spouses qualify. It shrinks by 6 cents for every dollar of income above $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers, and it applies whether you itemize or not. The calculator applies both automatically when you enter an age of 65 or older.
Itemizing only helps when your deductible expenses exceed those amounts. The cap on state and local tax deductions rose to $40,400 for 2026, which brings itemizing back into play for homeowners in high-tax states. Our comparison of the standard deduction and itemizing walks through when each one wins.
The expenses that count are narrower than most people expect: mortgage interest, state and local taxes up to the cap, charitable gifts, and medical costs above 7.5% of income. Our list of the most common tax deductions covers each one and the records you need.
How Federal Income Tax Is Calculated
The calculator follows the same order as Form 1040. Gross wages minus pre-tax contributions such as a 401(k), traditional IRA or HSA gives adjusted gross income. Subtracting the standard or itemized deduction gives taxable income, which is what the brackets tax. Credits come off last, dollar for dollar.
A single filer earning $75,000 in 2026 with no other adjustments has $58,900 of taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%, the next $38,000 at 12% and the remaining $8,500 at 22%, for a federal income tax bill of $7,670. That is an effective federal rate of 10.2% on gross pay, even though the filer’s marginal rate is 22%.
Credits matter more than deductions because they reduce the bill itself rather than the income the bill is based on. A $1,000 deduction saves a 22% bracket filer $220, while a $1,000 credit saves the full $1,000; our explainer on tax credits versus tax deductions shows the math.
The child tax credit is $2,200 per child under 17 for 2026, with up to $1,700 of it refundable, plus $500 for each other dependent. It phases out by $50 for every $1,000 of income above $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers.
Lower earners with children can also qualify for the earned income tax credit, which the calculator does not model. Add it to your estimate separately if your income is under the credit’s limits.
Social Security And Medicare Taxes
Payroll taxes come out of every paycheck regardless of deductions, and for many workers they cost more than federal income tax. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in 2026, a maximum of $11,439 per worker. Medicare takes 1.45% of all wages with no cap, and an additional 0.9% applies to wages above $200,000 for single filers, $250,000 for joint filers and $125,000 for married filers who file separately. Your employer matches the 6.2% and 1.45% but not the 0.9% surtax; our page on the Medicare tax covers the surtax thresholds in detail.
Two planning details are easy to miss. Traditional 401(k) contributions lower your income tax but not your FICA tax, because payroll taxes are assessed before the deferral. HSA contributions made through payroll and Section 125 premiums for health insurance do reduce FICA wages, which is why an HSA saves a few hundred dollars more than the same money put in a 401(k). The calculator treats each one correctly.
Freelancers and side-hustlers pay both halves themselves through the self-employment tax, 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings, with half of it deductible.
This calculator is built for W-2 wages. If you have 1099 income, read our article on handling side hustle taxes, estimate the self-employment tax separately, and add it to the total here.
State Income Taxes In 2026
Nine states tax no wage income at all: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. New Hampshire joined the list when its tax on interest and dividends ended in 2025, and Washington taxes only large capital gains, not salaries. Everywhere else you owe a state income tax return, and the differences are large.
Fifteen states use a single flat rate for 2026, and several of them cut it this year:
| State | 2026 Flat Rate | State | 2026 Flat Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2.5% | Kentucky | 3.5% (down from 4.0%) |
| Colorado | 4.4% | Louisiana | 3.0% |
| Georgia | 4.99% (down from 5.19%) | Massachusetts | 5.0% plus 4% above $1,107,750 |
| Idaho | 5.3% above a zero bracket | Michigan | 4.25% |
| Illinois | 4.95% | Mississippi | 4.0% above $10,000 (down from 4.4%) |
| Indiana | 2.95% (down from 3.0%) | North Carolina | 3.99% (down from 4.25%) |
| Iowa | 3.8% | Pennsylvania | 3.07% |
| Utah | 4.45% (down from 4.5%) |
The remaining states use graduated brackets. California’s top rate of 13.3% is the highest in the country, followed by Hawaii at 11%, New York at 10.9%, and New Jersey and Washington, D.C. at 10.75%. Our ranking of how much you really pay in state income tax compares every state at typical incomes.
Several graduated states also changed for 2026. South Carolina replaced its old schedule with two rates of 1.99% and 5.21%, Ohio moved to a single 2.75% rate above $26,050, Oklahoma cut its top rate to 4.5%, Nebraska’s fell to 4.55%, Montana’s dropped to 5.65%, Arkansas trimmed its top rate to 3.7%, West Virginia cut every rate by 5%, and New York lowered its five lowest rates by a tenth of a point.
Rates are only part of the picture. States set their own standard deductions and exemptions, some start from your federal taxable income while others start from adjusted gross income, and Alabama, Missouri and Oregon let you deduct some or all of your federal income tax. Many states also give a deduction for 529 plan contributions that the federal return does not. The calculator applies each state’s actual rules rather than a flat percentage, and it shows the steps under “State details” so you can see what it did.
Workers who live in one state and work in another, or who moved during the year, should read our article on filing taxes in multiple states. The calculator assumes you live and work in the state you select.
Local Income Taxes
About one worker in six also pays an income tax to a city, county or school district, and payroll calculators that skip this layer can be off by thousands of dollars. Every Maryland county and Baltimore City charge between 2.25% and 3.30% of state taxable income. All 92 Indiana counties levy between 0.5% and 3.0%. New York City residents pay a separate city tax that tops out at 3.876%, and Yonkers adds a 16.75% surcharge on the state tax.
Ohio has more than 600 municipal income taxes, with Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati at 2.5%, 2.5% and 1.8% of wages. Pennsylvania’s earned income tax runs 1% in most towns and 3.74% in Philadelphia, dropping to 3.735% in July 2026.
Twenty-four Michigan cities tax residents, including Detroit at 2.4%. Louisville charges 2.2% and Lexington 2.25% in Kentucky, Kansas City and St. Louis charge 1%, and the Portland area layers two county and regional taxes on higher earners. The calculator includes all of these and lets you enter your own rate when your town is not on the list, with local taxes shown as their own line.
Effective Tax Rate Versus Marginal Tax Rate
Your marginal rate is the tax on your next dollar of income. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your total income, and it is always lower under a progressive system because your first dollars are taxed at the lowest rates or not at all. The calculator reports both, with the effective rate covering every tax it computes and the marginal rate combining federal, state and local income taxes. Our article on effective tax rates shows how far apart the two numbers are at different incomes.
Use the marginal rate to evaluate decisions at the edge: whether a raise, a bonus, overtime or a Roth conversion is worth it, and how much a 401(k) contribution saves. A single filer in the 22% federal bracket living in Maryland with a 3.2% county tax and a 4.75% state rate keeps about 70 cents of each additional dollar. The effective rate is the budgeting number, because it tells you what share of your gross pay never reaches your account.
The gap between brackets is also an opportunity. A filer with room left in the 12% or 22% bracket can convert traditional retirement money to Roth at that rate instead of a higher one later, a strategy we cover in how to fill your tax brackets with Roth conversions. The calculator’s federal bracket table shows exactly how much room you have.
Ways To Lower Your 2026 Tax Bill
The fastest way to see the effect of any of these is to enter it in the calculator and watch the take-home line change.
- Max the 401(k), 403(b) or TSP. The 2026 limit is $24,500, plus an $8,000 catch-up at age 50 and an $11,250 catch-up for ages 60 through 63. A worker in the 22% bracket who contributes the full amount cuts federal income tax by $5,390 before state savings. Details are in our 401(k) contribution limits article.
- Fund an HSA if you have a high-deductible plan. The 2026 limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, with a $1,000 catch-up at 55. Contributions through payroll avoid income tax and FICA tax, and withdrawals for medical costs are never taxed. See the HSA contribution limits for the eligibility rules.
- Consider a traditional IRA. The 2026 limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 at age 50, per our IRA contribution and income limits page. The deduction phases out at higher incomes when a workplace plan covers you, so check our Roth versus traditional IRA decision tree before choosing.
- Use a dependent care or health FSA. Both come out of pay before income and FICA taxes, the same treatment as a payroll HSA. Our HSA versus FSA comparison explains which one fits your plan.
- Deduct student loan interest. Up to $2,500 of interest paid comes off your income even if you take the standard deduction, subject to income limits explained in our student loan interest deduction article. Enter it as other pre-tax income adjustments to see the effect.
- Claim the new tips and overtime deductions if they apply. Workers in 68 occupations eligible for the no-tax-on-tips deduction can deduct up to $25,000 of reported tips for 2025 through 2028, and hourly workers can deduct the premium portion of overtime pay. Both reduce federal taxable income but not FICA.
- Check whether itemizing now beats the standard deduction. With the SALT deduction cap at $40,400 for 2026, a homeowner in a high-tax state with mortgage interest and charitable gifts can clear the $32,200 joint standard deduction.
- Fix your withholding. If the calculator’s federal tax is far from what your pay stubs project for the year, update your W-4 so you are not lending the IRS an interest-free loan or facing a bill in April. Our walkthrough on how to fill out your W-4 covers each step, and our article on legal ways to increase your tax refund covers the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Accurate Is This Income Tax Calculator?
It uses the published 2026 federal brackets, standard deductions, credits and payroll tax thresholds, and the current rate schedules, deductions and exemptions for every state and the local jurisdictions listed. It models the situations that cover most wage earners. It does not compute the alternative minimum tax, capital gains stacking, the earned income credit, or state credits beyond personal exemption credits, so filers with those items should treat the result as a planning estimate rather than a return.
Does The Calculator Include Social Security And Medicare Taxes?
Yes. It applies the 6.2% Social Security tax up to the $184,500 wage base for each earner, the 1.45% Medicare tax on all wages, and the 0.9% additional Medicare tax above $200,000 for single filers or $250,000 for joint filers. Those taxes are listed separately in the breakdown and included in the total.
What Is The Difference Between My Marginal And Effective Tax Rate?
The marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of income, and it is the number to use when deciding whether extra income or a deduction is worth it. The effective rate is total tax divided by total income, and it is the number to use for budgeting. For a single filer earning $75,000 in 2026, the federal marginal rate is 22% while the effective federal income tax rate is 10.2%.
Which States Have No Income Tax In 2026?
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming do not tax wages. Washington does tax long-term capital gains above an inflation-adjusted deduction, and residents of these states still pay federal income tax and FICA. Select any of them in the calculator to see the state line drop to zero and compare the result with your current state.
Does This Calculator Handle City And County Income Taxes?
Yes. It includes every Maryland and Indiana county, New York City and Yonkers, 30 Ohio cities, Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania cities, all 24 Michigan cities with an income tax, the major Kentucky jurisdictions, Kansas City, St. Louis, the Portland-area taxes, Wilmington, Birmingham and Denver’s occupational tax. If your jurisdiction is not listed, choose the custom option and enter your rate.
How Do 401(k) And HSA Contributions Change My Take-Home Pay?
Both reduce federal and, in almost every state, state taxable income, so a $10,000 contribution costs a filer in the 22% bracket roughly $7,000 to $7,500 of take-home pay rather than $10,000. HSA contributions made through payroll also avoid the 7.65% FICA tax, while 401(k) contributions do not. Enter each one in the calculator to see the exact effect for your state and bracket.
Does This Calculator Cover Investment Income?
No. It taxes everything you enter as ordinary income. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends use their own 0%, 15% and 20% rates, and investment income above $200,000 of income also owes the 3.8% net investment income tax.
Use our capital gains tax calculator for that side of your return. The 2026 thresholds for each rate are in the related resources below.
Do I Have To File A Return At All?
Single filers under 65 with gross income below the $16,100 standard deduction owe no federal income tax and are not required to file, though filing is the only way to collect a refund of withheld tax or a refundable credit. Our article on how much you have to make to file taxes lists the thresholds for each filing status.
What Changed For 2026 Taxes?
At the federal level, the brackets and standard deduction rose with inflation, the child tax credit increased to $2,200, the SALT cap rose to $40,400, and the $6,000 senior deduction continued for filers 65 and older. Retirement limits also rose, as covered in the IRS announcement of the 2026 IRA and 401(k) limits. At the state level, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Utah, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, Arkansas, West Virginia and New York all cut rates, South Carolina adopted a new two-rate schedule, and Ohio moved to a single rate above $26,050.
Can I Use This To Check My Paycheck Withholding?
Yes, as a benchmark. Compare the calculator’s federal income tax with the federal withholding on your pay stub multiplied by the number of pay periods in the year. A gap of more than a few hundred dollars in either direction is a reason to update your W-4. Actual withholding also depends on how your employer applies the IRS tables, so treat the comparison as a check rather than an exact prediction.
Methodology And Sources
Federal figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, IRS Notice 2025-67 for retirement plan limits, and Revenue Procedure 2025-19 for HSA limits. State figures come from each state’s department of revenue rate schedules, withholding formulas and 2026 legislation, cross-checked against the Tax Foundation’s state rate tables. Local rates come from the Maryland Comptroller, the Indiana Department of Revenue, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, the Philadelphia Department of Revenue and the published rate tables of the other jurisdictions listed. States that had not published final 2026 indexing when this page was last updated use their 2025 figures, and the calculator flags them.
This calculator is for education and planning. It is not tax advice, and your actual liability depends on your complete return. When you are ready to file, our tax software rankings are in the resources below.