Last updated: July 2026

2026 Tax Brackets, Deductions & IRS Limits

Every 2026 federal tax figure in one place — brackets, standard deduction, retirement and health-account limits, capital gains, estate and gift, and mileage — each traced to its IRS source, with the calculators that use them.

Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, Notice 2025-67, Rev. Proc. 2025-19, Notice 2026-10, Announcement 2026-11, SSA Fact Sheet 2026

Calculate your 2026 taxes

Each of these runs on the 2026 IRS figures below — brackets, deductions, and limits, all current and sourced.

Income Tax

Estimate federal and state income tax with a full bracket breakdown.

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Tax Refund

Your federal refund or balance due, with the EITC, child tax credit and the new tips and overtime deductions.

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Capital Gains Tax

Federal tax on short- and long-term investment gains, including NIIT.

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Self-Employment Tax

Schedule SE tax, the deductible half, and quarterly estimated payments.

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Bonus Tax

What you keep from a bonus after withholding — and why 22% is not a tax rate.

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Sales Tax

Sales tax in any state with city rates, plus a side-by-side state comparison.

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2026 at a glance

Top marginal rate 37%
Standard deduction — single / married filing jointly $16,100 / $32,200
Social Security wage base $184,500
401(k) elective deferral $24,500
IRA contribution limit $7,500
HSA contribution — self-only / family $4,400 / $8,750
Estate & gift basic exclusion $15,000,000

2026 Federal Income Tax Brackets

Marginal rates — only the income inside each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate. Brackets are applied to taxable income (after the standard or itemized deduction).

Single

Taxable Income 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%
$640,600+ 37%

Married Filing Jointly

Taxable Income 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%
$768,700+ 37%

Married Filing Separately

Taxable Income 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 – $384,350 35%
$384,350+ 37%

Head of Household

Taxable Income 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%
$640,600+ 37%

2026 Standard Deduction

Most filers take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. The 2026 figures rose modestly from 2025 due to inflation indexing.

Filing Status 2025 2026 Change
Single $15,750 $16,100 +$350
Married Filing Jointly $31,500 $32,200 +$700
Married Filing Separately $15,750 $16,100 +$350
Head of Household $23,625 $24,150 +$525

2026 Social Security Wage Base

Social Security tax (6.2%) applies only up to the annual wage base. Medicare (1.45%) has no cap, and an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax applies above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ.

Year SS Wage Base Max Employee SS Tax
2025 $176,100 $10,918
2026 $184,500 $11,439

2026 Long-Term Capital Gains Brackets

Long-term gains (assets held more than one year) are taxed at preferential rates: 0%, 15%, or 20%. The thresholds below are based on taxable income, not capital gains alone.

Filing Status 0% Rate Up To 15% Rate Up To 20% Rate Above
Single $49,450 $545,500 $545,500
Married Filing Jointly $98,900 $613,700 $613,700
Married Filing Separately $49,450 $306,850 $306,850
Head of Household $66,200 $579,600 $579,600

2026 Retirement Contribution Limits

Elective deferral and catch-up limits for employer plans and IRAs. Catch-up amounts are on top of the base limit.

401(k) / 403(b) / 457 elective deferral $24,500
Catch-up, age 50–59 and 64+ $32,500 total +$8,000
Catch-up, age 60–63 $35,750 total (SECURE 2.0) +$11,250
Combined employee + employer limit $72,000
IRA contribution limit $7,500
IRA catch-up, age 50+ $8,600 total +$1,100

Source: IRS — COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions (Notice 2025-67)

2026 Health Account Limits

HSA contributions require enrollment in a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP); the HDHP thresholds are listed below the contribution limits.

HSA contribution — self-only $4,400
HSA contribution — family $8,750
HSA catch-up, age 55+ +$1,000
Health FSA salary reduction $3,400
HDHP minimum deductible $1,700 self / $3,400 family
HDHP out-of-pocket maximum $8,500 self / $17,000 family

Source: IRS — 2026 HSA and HDHP amounts (Rev. Proc. 2025-19); health FSA limit (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)

2026 Credits, Estate & Gift, and Other Figures

Inflation-adjusted amounts from the annual revenue procedure, plus the separately-announced standard mileage rate.

Child Tax Credit — maximum per qualifying child $2,200
Child Tax Credit — refundable portion up to $1,700
AMT exemption — single phases out above $500,000 $90,100
AMT exemption — married filing jointly phases out above $1,000,000 $140,200
Estate & gift basic exclusion $30,000,000 for a married couple $15,000,000
Annual gift tax exclusion per recipient, unchanged from 2025 $19,000
Standard mileage rate — business 72.5¢ for travel Jan 1–Jun 30 (Notice 2026-10); 76¢ from Jul 1 after fuel prices rose (Announcement 2026-11) 72.5¢ → 76¢
Student loan interest deduction phases out $85,000–$100,000 single, $175,000–$205,000 joint up to $2,500

Source: IRS — 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32)

Looking ahead to 2027

2027 federal brackets and the standard deduction can already be computed from the inflation data published in September 2026, about a month before the IRS confirms them. See our projected 2027 tax brackets — clearly labeled as projections, and replaced with official figures the day they publish.

What changed for 2026

Most of the 2026 changes are inflation adjustments. The standard deduction rose 2.2% and most bracket thresholds about 2.3%. The tops of the 10% and 12% brackets rose more, about 4.0%, because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave those two thresholds an extra year of inflation adjustment. The Social Security wage base rose 4.8%; it follows average wages rather than prices.

The same law, signed July 4, 2025, made the 2017 tax rates and the larger standard deduction permanent. It also raised the Child Tax Credit to $2,200 per child, raised the cap on the state and local tax deduction to $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026, and added deductions for tips, overtime pay, car-loan interest and taxpayers 65 and older that run from 2025 through 2028. The Income Tax Calculator explains which of those it models.

Calculators that use 2026 data

The Income Tax Calculator, Paycheck Calculator, Capital Gains Tax Calculator, and Self-Employment Tax Calculator all default to 2026 brackets and let you toggle to 2025 for prior-year comparisons. Per-state pages — for both paycheck and income tax — pull from the same 2026 federal data and layer in state-specific brackets and deductions.

State income tax for 2026

Income tax rates for 2026 differ from 2025 in 15 states: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia. Most are scheduled cuts; Maine is the exception, with a new top rate on the highest incomes. Ohio moved to a single 2.75% rate on income above its zero bracket, and Oklahoma and South Carolina rebuilt their bracket structures with fewer, lower rates.

For all 51 jurisdictions side by side — top and bottom rates, bracket counts, standard deductions, and which states tax nothing — see state income tax rates for 2026. For the state-by-state calculator directory, see Tax Calculators.

Sources and updates

Federal brackets and standard deductions come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The Social Security wage base comes from the SSA contribution and benefit base table. State changes are sourced from each state's department of revenue. We re-review every January for inflation adjustments and mid-year for any retroactive changes.

Frequently asked questions

When do 2026 tax brackets take effect?

2026 brackets apply to income earned in tax year 2026 (January 1 through December 31, 2026), filed in early 2027. They do not retroactively change 2025 returns.

What is the 2026 standard deduction?

The 2026 federal standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household.

What is the 2026 Social Security wage base?

The 2026 Social Security taxable wage base is $184,500. Wages above that limit are not subject to the 6.2% Social Security tax (Medicare still applies).

Which tax year applies to me right now?

The year you earned the income, not the year you file. Income earned during 2026 uses 2026 brackets and is reported on the return you file in early 2027. If you are preparing a return for income earned in 2025, use the 2025 figures instead — most calculators here let you switch years.

Did federal tax rates change for 2026?

The rates themselves did not change — the seven brackets remain 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. What changed are the income thresholds where each bracket begins and the standard deduction, both raised for inflation. A raise that only keeps pace with inflation therefore does not push more of your income into higher brackets.

How are the 2026 brackets calculated?

The IRS indexes bracket thresholds using chained CPI-U measured over the twelve months ending August 31 of the prior year. Because the formula is fixed, the figures are computable before the IRS publishes them, which is why projections circulate in September and the official revenue procedure follows in October.

When is the 2026 tax filing deadline?

Returns for tax year 2026 are generally due April 15, 2027. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. An extension gives you more time to file but not more time to pay — any balance owed is still due on the original deadline.