# How much income tax do I owe?

Estimates your 2026 federal income tax on Form 1040 from wages and other income, deductions, and credits, with the marginal and effective rate and your refund or amount owed.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/income-tax-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/income-tax-calculator.json
- Version: d878114218cc

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Filing status Single, Wages $75,000.00, Federal tax withheld $0.00, Children under 17 0, Someone can claim me as a dependent No, Tax year 2,026): On $75,000.00 of wages, filing Single, your 2026 federal income tax is $7,676.00 (10.23% effective).

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| status | Filing status | Federal filing status. |
| wages | Wages | Form W-2 box 1 wages, both spouses if joint. |
| withheld | Federal tax withheld | Federal tax withheld (W-2 box 2). |
| children | Children under 17 | Children under 17 with an SSN. |
| estimated | Estimated tax paid | Estimated tax paid for the year. |
| selfEmployment | Self-employment profit | Schedule C net profit. |
| interest | Taxable interest | Taxable interest (1099-INT). |
| dividends | Ordinary dividends | Form 1099-DIV box 1a. |
| qualifiedDividends | Qualified dividends | Form 1099-DIV box 1b. |
| shortTermGains | Short-term capital gains | Held a year or less; a loss is negative. |
| longTermGains | Long-term capital gains | Held over a year; a loss is negative. |
| otherIncome | Other income | Pensions, unemployment, taxable Social Security. |
| adjustments | Adjustments to income | IRA, HSA, student loan interest, and the like. |
| itemized | Itemized deductions | Schedule A total, used if above the standard deduction. |
| otherDependents | Other dependents | Dependents who are not children under 17. |
| over65 | People 65 or older | People on the return aged 65 or older. |
| blind | People who are blind | People on the return who are blind. |
| claimedAsDependent | Someone can claim me as a dependent | Limits the standard deduction. |
| year | Tax year | Later years use the latest rates. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| totalTax | Federal income tax | Form 1040 line 24. |
| balance | Refund or amount owed | Payments minus tax after credits; negative: you owe. |
| effectiveRate | Effective tax rate | Tax after credits over total income. |
| marginalRate | Marginal tax rate | Bracket rate on the next dollar. |
| agi | Adjusted gross income | Form 1040 line 11. |
| taxableIncome | Taxable income | Form 1040 line 15. |
| totalIncome | Total income | Form 1040 line 9. |
| deduction | Deduction taken | Standard or itemized, whichever is larger. |
| deductionType | Deduction type | Standard or itemized. |
| scheduleOneA | Senior deduction | $6,000 per person 65 or older (Schedule 1-A). |
| qbiDeduction | QBI deduction | Form 8995. |
| incomeTax | Tax on taxable income | Form 1040 line 16. |
| childTaxCredit | Child and other dependent credit | Form 1040 line 19. |
| selfEmploymentTax | Self-employment tax | Schedule SE tax. |
| otherTaxes | Additional Medicare and NIIT | Forms 8959 and 8960. |
| earnedIncomeCredit | Earned income credit | Refundable EIC. |
| netTax | Tax after refundable credits | Total tax less refundable credits. |
| at10 | Taxed at 10% | In the 10% bracket. |
| at12 | Taxed at 12% | In the 12% bracket. |
| at22 | Taxed at 22% | In the 22% bracket. |
| at24 | Taxed at 24% | In the 24% bracket. |
| at32 | Taxed at 32% | In the 32% bracket. |
| at35 | Taxed at 35% | In the 35% bracket. |
| at37 | Taxed at 37% | In the 37% bracket. |
| atCapitalGainsRates | At capital gains rates | Taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%. |
| ratesYear | Rates of tax year | Year of the rates used. |
| notice | Note | Rates year or a limit left out. |

## Method

Form 1040 (2026): AGI = income − adjustments; taxable income = AGI − deduction − Schedule 1-A − QBI; tax by the Tax Table or rate schedule and capital gains rates − child tax credit + other taxes = total tax; refund = payments − (total tax − refundable credits).

## Assumptions

- An estimate for tax year 2026, not tax advice.
- Not modelled: AMT, the premium tax credit, education and other credits, QBI above the Form 8995 threshold, EIC for a separated spouse, the tips, overtime, and car loan deductions, taxable Social Security (type it as other income), 25% and 28% gains, and state tax.
- Everyone 65 or older has an SSN; children under 17 also qualify for the EIC; with no child, someone is 25 to 64.
- Self-employment profit belongs to the wage earner; QBI is profit less half of self-employment tax.

## Worked examples

1. status = single, wages = $75,000.00 gives agi = $75,000.00, taxableIncome = $58,900.00, totalTax = $7,676.00, marginalRate = 22%, effectiveRate = 10.234667%. Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 brackets and $16,100 standard deduction; 2025 Form 1040 Tax Table row.
2. status = mfj, wages = $150,000.00, children = 2 gives taxableIncome = $117,800.00, incomeTax = $15,340.00, childTaxCredit = $4,400.00, totalTax = $10,940.00, marginalRate = 22%.
3. status = single, wages = $60,000.00, longTermGains = $20,000.00 gives taxableIncome = $63,900.00, atCapitalGainsRates = $20,000.00, totalTax = $7,190.50, marginalRate = 27%. Source: Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet (Form 1040 line 16).
4. status = single, wages = $500,000.00 gives taxableIncome = $483,900.00, incomeTax = $138,134.25, otherTaxes = $2,700.00, totalTax = $140,834.25, marginalRate = 35%. Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 Table 3 (single) and Form 8959 (0.9% over $200,000).

## FAQ

### How is federal income tax calculated?

Start with total income, subtract adjustments to get adjusted gross income (AGI), then subtract the standard or itemized deduction to get taxable income. Apply the 2026 brackets (10% to 37%) to taxable income, then subtract credits such as the child tax credit and add other taxes such as self-employment tax. Each rate applies only to the income inside its bracket.

### What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?

For a single filer: 10% up to $12,400, 12% to $50,400, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,775, 32% to $256,225, 35% to $640,600, and 37% above. For married filing jointly the floors are $24,800, $100,800, $211,400, $403,550, $512,450, and $768,700. These are from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.

### What is the 2026 standard deduction?

$16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. People 65 or older or blind add $2,050 each (single, head of household) or $1,650 each (married). The 2026 law also adds a $6,000 senior deduction for each person 65 or older, which phases out above $75,000 of income ($150,000 jointly).

### Why is my effective tax rate lower than my tax bracket?

Your bracket (the marginal rate) applies only to your last dollars of taxable income. Lower rates apply to the income below it, and the standard deduction is not taxed at all. So a single filer with $75,000 of wages is in the 22% bracket but pays $7,676, about 10.2% of the wages.

### Does this include state income tax, Social Security, or Medicare?

No state or local income tax: use the state income tax calculator for your state (for example California) for that. Social Security and Medicare on wages are not income tax and are not shown. Self-employment tax is included, because it is on Form 1040.

### Why does the tax change in steps below $100,000?

Below $100,000 of taxable income, Form 1040 uses the IRS Tax Table, which gives one whole-dollar tax for each $50 row. The calculator does the same, so its answer matches the tax you would look up.

### What does this calculator leave out?

It does not model the alternative minimum tax, the premium tax credit, education and other credits, the QBI deduction above the Form 8995 threshold, taxable Social Security (type the taxable part as other income), or the 25% and 28% capital gains rates. It is an estimate, not tax advice.

## Sources

- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45), section 4: 2026 tax rate tables, standard deduction, capital gains breakpoints, child tax credit, earned income credit. https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB
- IRS, 2025 Instructions for Form 1040: Tax Table, Tax Computation Worksheet, Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, EIC Table. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040gi
- IRS, Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040s8.pdf
- IRS, Schedule SE (Form 1040), Self-Employment Tax. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040sse.pdf
- IRS, draft Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2026, Additional Deductions. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040s1a--dft.pdf
- IRS, Form 8959 (Additional Medicare Tax) and Form 8960 (Net Investment Income Tax) instructions. https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8960