Federal Income Tax Calculator
Show the math, step by step
Your marginal rate is the rate on the next dollar earned — often higher than the effective rate. See the tax bracket calculator for the bracket-by-bracket view.
- 2026 联邦税率档（single 12,400/50,400/105,700/201,775/256,225/640,600 等四身份） — Cross-verified across resideline JS + moneychimp tax_rates.js + freetaxusa Cross-checked · primary verification pending
- 2025 联邦税率档（single 11,925/48,475/103,350/197,300/250,525/626,350） — Behavior-verified against thetaxcalculator ($50k → $3,961.50) + moneychimp + freetaxusa Cross-checked · primary verification pending
We flag every constant whose primary-source verification is still pending and update within 48 hours of each IRS annual release. See our methodology.
This is an estimate for planning only — not tax advice. Tax law changes and individual circumstances vary; consult a qualified professional for decisions.
How much federal income tax will you actually owe? Enter your wages and filing status and this calculator returns the answer for tax year 2026 — or any year back to 2023 — with the full bracket walk visible line by line. No signup, no email gate, no black box: the same inputs always produce the same number, every constant cites its IRS source and verification date, and you can save the whole calculation as a shareable snapshot URL. It is built for people re-checking a scary notice, comparing offers, or just learning how the progressive system works.
Filing status. Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household. Status changes both the bracket thresholds and the standard deduction, so it is the first input on the form.
Wages (W-2 box 1). Federal-taxable wages for the year. If you have multiple jobs, add the box 1 amounts together — but note that withholding coordination across jobs is a separate problem covered by our withholding calculator.
Pre-tax contributions. 401(k), HSA, or similar deferrals reduce box 1 wages. Enter them here to see their effect on taxable income; the math is subtracted before the standard deduction.
Deduction mode: standard or itemized. The calculator defaults to the standard deduction for your status and year. Switch to itemized and enter your total if you know it exceeds the standard amount.
Itemized deduction total. Only the amount above your standard deduction actually changes your tax — mirroring how W-4 Step 4b works for withholding. Entering a total below the standard deduction is shown as having no effect.
Dependents. Feeds the nonrefundable portion of the Child Tax Credit ($2,200 per qualifying child under current law) into the liability.
Tax year. 2023–2026 switcher. Bracket tables are per-year facts published by the IRS; we keep historical years because checking an old return or notice is a real, year-round need.
- Taxable income = wages − pre-tax contributions − deduction. Verified anchor for 2025 single: $50,000 wages − $15,000 standard deduction = $35,000 taxable.
- Tax = marginal sum across brackets. Verified anchor: 2025 single, $50,000 wages → $3,961.50 federal income tax.
- Credits subtract after the bracket math; the result is your federal income tax before payments of any kind.
- FICA is shown alongside but never blended in: Social Security 6.2% + Medicare 1.45% = 7.65% on wages ($50,000 → $3,825), capped for Social Security at the annual wage base. FICA does not participate in refunds — see the flagship refund calculator for why that separation matters.
The tool shows both rates next to the dollar figure. Marginal rate = the bracket your last taxable dollar falls in. Effective rate = total tax ÷ total wages. The marginal rate answers "what does one more dollar of income cost"; the effective rate answers "what share of my income went to tax." Confusing the two leads to the classic raise myth — addressed in the tax bracket calculator.
- 2026 single brackets: 12,400 / 50,400 / 105,700 / 201,775 / 256,225 / 640,600 — pending IRS first-hand verification.
- 2025 single brackets (verified by cross-calculator agreement): 11,925 / 48,475 / 103,350 / 197,300 / 250,525 / 626,350; standard deduction $15,000.
- 2023–2024 tables render from the same versioned data file, each row stamped with its source and verification date.
- Sources: IRS annual revenue procedures; Publication 505.
Refund numbers depend on your employer's withholding choices; liability numbers do not. Splitting the two questions — "what do I owe?" versus "what comes back?" — is how you get an answer you can actually act on. Community-documented discrepancies between major tax-prep tools ($200+ on identical inputs) are exactly what reproducible, step-visible math prevents.
This calculator produces an estimate for planning purposes. It is not tax advice, and it is not a substitute for filing an accurate return.
Frequently asked
**How much federal tax does a single filer pay on $50,000?**
For tax year 2025, $3,961.50 of federal income tax ($50,000 − $15,000 standard deduction = $35,000 taxable, walked through the brackets). Use the year switcher for 2026; its constants are marked pending IRS first-hand verification.
Is FICA included in my federal income tax? No. Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are separate payroll taxes. We display them side by side ($3,825 on $50,000 of wages) but never blend them into the income-tax figure, because FICA does not come back in your refund.
Why are the 2026 numbers marked pending verification? The 2026 thresholds currently come from cross-checked secondary evidence (multiple independent implementations agree). We publish them with the label, then remove it after first-hand IRS document verification — transparency is the default state, not an embarrassment. The changelog on our methodology page records every update.
Which year's numbers apply to me? Your tax is determined by the year the income was earned, not the year you file. If you are checking an old notice or a prior return, switch the year — historical tables are included precisely for that.