Effective vs Marginal Tax Rate: 2026 Brackets & Examples
Last updated: 29 September 2026. All figures checked against irs.gov on that date.
Move into the 22% bracket and a lot of people assume the IRS now takes 22% of everything they earn. It doesn't. The rate on your bracket — your marginal rate — only applies to the slice of income inside that bracket. What you actually pay across your whole return, your effective rate, is lower. This page gives the official 2026 U.S. federal brackets and standard deductions, works one filer's tax out line by line, and keeps the 2025 tables at the bottom for anyone still dealing with a 2025 return.
Marginal rate vs. effective rate, in one sentence each
Your marginal tax rate is the rate charged on your next dollar of taxable income — the rate of the highest bracket your income reaches. Your effective tax rate is your total tax divided by your income: one average percentage that summarizes what you actually paid. Because lower brackets always fill first at lower rates, the effective rate is below the marginal rate for anyone whose income reaches past the 10% bracket.
2026 federal income tax brackets
These apply to income earned in 2026 (returns filed in 2027). The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted July 4, 2025, made the seven rates — 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% — permanent; they had been scheduled to expire after 2025. The IRS then set the 2026 thresholds in Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The brackets apply to taxable income, meaning income after your standard or itemized deduction, not your gross salary. The third column is the IRS formula, which gives the tax on your whole taxable income in one step.
Single
| Rate | Taxable income | Tax owed |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 | 10% of taxable income |
| 12% | Over $12,400 to $50,400 | $1,240 + 12% of the amount over $12,400 |
| 22% | Over $50,400 to $105,700 | $5,800 + 22% of the amount over $50,400 |
| 24% | Over $105,700 to $201,775 | $17,966 + 24% of the amount over $105,700 |
| 32% | Over $201,775 to $256,225 | $41,024 + 32% of the amount over $201,775 |
| 35% | Over $256,225 to $640,600 | $58,448 + 35% of the amount over $256,225 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | $192,979.25 + 37% of the amount over $640,600 |
Married filing jointly (and qualifying surviving spouses)
| Rate | Taxable income | Tax owed |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $24,800 | 10% of taxable income |
| 12% | Over $24,800 to $100,800 | $2,480 + 12% of the amount over $24,800 |
| 22% | Over $100,800 to $211,400 | $11,600 + 22% of the amount over $100,800 |
| 24% | Over $211,400 to $403,550 | $35,932 + 24% of the amount over $211,400 |
| 32% | Over $403,550 to $512,450 | $82,048 + 32% of the amount over $403,550 |
| 35% | Over $512,450 to $768,700 | $116,896 + 35% of the amount over $512,450 |
| 37% | Over $768,700 | $206,583.50 + 37% of the amount over $768,700 |
Head of household
| Rate | Taxable income | Tax owed |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $17,700 | 10% of taxable income |
| 12% | Over $17,700 to $67,450 | $1,770 + 12% of the amount over $17,700 |
| 22% | Over $67,450 to $105,700 | $7,740 + 22% of the amount over $67,450 |
| 24% | Over $105,700 to $201,750 | $16,155 + 24% of the amount over $105,700 |
| 32% | Over $201,750 to $256,200 | $39,207 + 32% of the amount over $201,750 |
| 35% | Over $256,200 to $640,600 | $56,631 + 35% of the amount over $256,200 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | $191,171 + 37% of the amount over $640,600 |
Married filing separately uses the single thresholds, except that the 35% bracket ends at $384,350 and 37% applies above it.
2026 standard deduction
| Filing status | 2026 standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single or married filing separately | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
People who are 65 or older or blind add $1,650 each ($2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse).
How to calculate your effective rate, step by step
- Start with gross income: wages, self-employment profit, interest and so on.
- Subtract your standard deduction, or your itemized deductions if they are larger, plus any other deductions you qualify for. The result is taxable income.
- Tax each slice of taxable income at its own bracket's rate, or use the formula column above. Never apply your top rate to the whole amount.
- Add the slices to get your income tax before credits.
- Divide that tax by taxable income (or by gross income — see below) and multiply by 100.
Worked example: single filer, $80,000 salary, 2026
Taxable income is $80,000 − $16,100 standard deduction = $63,900. That lands in the 22% bracket, so the marginal rate is 22%. The tax is built up one slice at a time:
| Bracket | Income taxed at this rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $12,400 (the first $12,400) | $1,240 |
| 12% | $38,000 ($50,400 − $12,400) | $4,560 |
| 22% | $13,500 ($63,900 − $50,400) | $2,970 |
| Total | $63,900 | $8,770 |
Check with the IRS formula: $5,800 + 22% × $13,500 = $5,800 + $2,970 = $8,770. Same answer.
- Marginal rate: 22%
- Effective rate on taxable income: $8,770 ÷ $63,900 = 13.7%
- Effective rate on gross income: $8,770 ÷ $80,000 = 11.0%
Only $13,500 of this person's income is taxed at 22%. The other $50,400 is taxed at 10% or 12%.
Same method, two more households
| 2026 filer | Taxable income | Tax | Marginal | Effective (taxable) | Effective (gross) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Married filing jointly, $160,000 gross | $127,800 | $17,540 | 22% | 13.7% | 11.0% |
| Head of household, $95,000 gross | $70,850 | $8,488 | 22% | 12.0% | 8.9% |
The joint tax is $2,480 + $9,120 + $5,940, and the head of household tax is $1,770 + $5,970 + $748. The married couple's rates match the single filer's exactly, not just roughly. Up to the start of the 37% bracket, every 2026 joint threshold is exactly double the single one, and so is the standard deduction. A couple earning twice a single person's income pays exactly twice the tax. Only the 37% bracket breaks the pattern: it starts at $768,700 for joint filers, not double the single $640,600.
Why a raise into a higher bracket never cuts your pay
Only the income above a threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Everything below it is taxed as before. Say a single filer's 2026 taxable income rises from $50,000 to $51,000. At $50,000 the tax is $1,240 + 12% × $37,600 = $5,752. At $51,000 it is $5,800 + 22% × $600 = $5,932. The $1,000 raise costs $180 in federal income tax: 12% on the $400 still inside the 12% bracket and 22% on the $600 above $50,400. They keep $820 of the raise, and their effective rate barely moves, from 11.5% to 11.6%.
One caveat: the brackets themselves can never make a raise cost you money. But some tax breaks shrink as income rises, such as the earned income tax credit and several of the new OBBBA deductions. While a break is phasing out, each extra dollar can cost more than your bracket rate. That is a phase-out effect, not a bracket effect.
What the effective rate leaves out
- Credits. The brackets give tax before credits. For 2026 the child tax credit is up to $2,200 per qualifying child, of which up to $1,700 is refundable. If the head of household above claims the full credit for one child, tax falls from $8,488 to $6,288, which is 8.9% of taxable income instead of 12.0%.
- Social Security and Medicare (FICA). Employees also pay 6.2% Social Security tax on wages up to $184,500 in 2026 and 1.45% Medicare tax with no cap. Employers withhold an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages over $200,000. For the $80,000 single filer, FICA is $6,120 (7.65%). Add it to the $8,770 of income tax and total federal tax is $14,890, or 18.6% of gross pay.
- State and local income tax. None of the figures here include it.
- Capital gains and qualified dividends. Long-term gains and qualified dividends are taxed at separate, lower rates, not through these brackets.
- New OBBBA deductions. Starting with 2025 returns, deductions for qualified tips, qualified overtime, car loan interest and an extra $6,000 for people 65 and older can be claimed even if you take the standard deduction. They reduce taxable income before the brackets apply, and they phase out at higher incomes.
Common mistakes
- Running gross salary through the brackets. Subtract your deductions first. The brackets apply to taxable income.
- Comparing effective rates computed different ways. Tax divided by taxable income and tax divided by gross income are both called "effective rate". For the $80,000 filer they differ by almost three points (13.7% vs. 11.0%). Before you compare two figures, check which one each source used.
- Expecting your return to match the formula to the dollar. If your taxable income is under $100,000, Form 1040 uses the IRS Tax Table, which works in $50 bands. For example, the 2025 table shows $7,955 of tax for single taxable income of $59,250 to $59,300. The exact formula gives $7,949.
- Using the wrong year's tables. A return filed in 2026 is for tax year 2025 and uses the 2025 figures below. The 2026 figures above are for income earned in 2026.
2025 tax year, for returns filed in 2026
From Rev. Proc. 2024-40. OBBBA did not change the 2025 bracket thresholds. Each figure is the top of that bracket; each bracket starts just above the one before.
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $11,925 | $23,850 | $17,000 |
| 12% | $48,475 | $96,950 | $64,850 |
| 22% | $103,350 | $206,700 | $103,350 |
| 24% | $197,300 | $394,600 | $197,300 |
| 32% | $250,525 | $501,050 | $250,500 |
| 35% | $626,350 | $751,600 | $626,350 |
| 37% | Over $626,350 | Over $751,600 | Over $626,350 |
The 2025 standard deduction is $15,750 for single and married filing separately, $31,500 for married filing jointly and $23,625 for head of household. These are higher than the $15,000, $30,000 and $22,500 the IRS first announced in October 2024: OBBBA raised them retroactively for 2025, and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 confirms the new amounts. For a single filer with $75,000 of 2025 wages, taxable income is $59,250 and the tax is $1,192.50 + $4,386 + $2,370.50 = $7,949. That is a 13.4% effective rate on taxable income and 10.6% on gross, with a 22% marginal rate.
To practice filing status, AGI, deductions and credits on 2025 tax-year rules, try PassDrill's free US federal income tax practice questions. For another OBBBA change worked through with numbers, see the new QSBS exclusion tiers.
This page is educational material, not tax or legal advice. Your own return may involve credits, phase-outs or other adjustments not modeled here, so check the IRS instructions or a qualified tax professional for your situation.
Source: Internal Revenue Service, checked 29 September 2026: IR-2025-103 (Oct. 9, 2025), "IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, including amendments from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill"; Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §2.01 and §2.08 (OBBBA changes), §3.01 (2025 standard deduction), §4.01 (2026 rate tables), §4.05 (child tax credit) and §4.14 (2026 standard deduction); IR-2024-273 (Oct. 22, 2024), "IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2025"; Rev. Proc. 2024-40 §2.01 (2025 rate tables); 2025 Tax Table and Tax Computation Worksheet (Form 1040 instructions); Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates; New and enhanced deductions for individuals (IRS Tax Tip 2026-12).