The United States taxes taxable income in layers. For 2026, the federal individual rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Crossing into a higher bracket does not re-tax your whole paycheck at the new rate. Only the dollars in that layer get the higher percentage. That is the IRS’s own description on federal income tax rates and brackets.
The tables below are tax year 2026 (returns filed in 2027). They come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the October 9, 2025 news release. Brackets apply to taxable income—after the standard deduction or itemized deductions—not to raw W-2 wages.
This is education, not a prepared return.
2026 tax brackets: single filers
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $12,400 |
| 12% | $12,401 to $50,400 |
| 22% | $50,401 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,775 |
| 32% | $201,776 to $256,225 |
| 35% | $256,226 to $640,600 |
| 37% | $640,601 and up |
2026 tax brackets: married filing jointly
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $24,800 |
| 12% | $24,801 to $100,800 |
| 22% | $100,801 to $211,400 |
| 24% | $211,401 to $403,550 |
| 32% | $403,551 to $512,450 |
| 35% | $512,451 to $768,700 |
| 37% | $768,701 and up |
Qualifying surviving spouses use the joint table. Married filing separately uses the same 10%–32% cutoffs as single filers; the 35% layer ends at $384,350, and 37% starts above that (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, Table 4).
2026 tax brackets: head of household
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $17,700 |
| 12% | $17,701 to $67,450 |
| 22% | $67,451 to $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,701 to $201,750 |
| 32% | $201,751 to $256,200 |
| 35% | $256,201 to $640,600 |
| 37% | $640,601 and up |
Head-of-household status has its own IRS tests. Do not pick it because the 12% layer is wider. Confirm filing status in Publication 501.
How do tax brackets work?
Marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar of taxable income. Effective (average) rate is total tax divided by taxable income. Search results that say “you’re in the 22% bracket, so 22% of everything goes to the IRS” are wrong.
The IRS rate tables are written as “10% of taxable income, then $X plus 12% of the excess over …” That is a stacked calculation.
Payroll withholding is a separate estimate (Form W-4). FICA (Social Security and Medicare) is also separate. State income tax, if any, uses the state’s own brackets.
Do I pay a higher rate on all my income if I enter the next bracket?
No. Only the dollars above the cutoff. A $1 raise that crosses from 12% into 22% costs 22 cents of federal income tax on that extra dollar (plus whatever else applies—FICA, state, benefit phaseouts). It does not recast the prior layers.
People still feel a “jump” when a raise, bonus, or Roth conversion pushes more income into the next layer, or when a credit phases out. That is a cliff or phaseout problem, not proof that the whole return flipped to 22%.
Are capital gains taxed at the same 2026 brackets?
Ordinary wages, interest, short-term capital gains, and most traditional 401(k) or IRA withdrawals use the tables above.
Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends use a different 0% / 15% / 20% stack. For 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 lists these taxable-income thresholds for the 0% and 15% maximums:
| Filing status | 0% up to | 15% up to | 20% above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single (other individuals) | $49,450 | $545,500 | $545,500 |
| Married filing jointly | $98,900 | $613,700 | $613,700 |
| Head of household | $66,200 | $579,600 | $579,600 |
| Married filing separately | $49,450 | $306,850 | $306,850 |
“Up to” here means the maximum zero-rate amount and maximum 15% rate amount in the revenue procedure. High-income households can also owe the 3.8% net investment income tax; that is a different code section. Selling at a loss in a taxable account is a different tactic: tax-loss harvesting.
What is taxable income vs gross income?
Gross income is the broad IRS starting pile (wages, taxable interest, and so on). Adjustments and deductions come off before brackets apply. For most W-2 households, the big subtraction is the standard deduction or Schedule A—see standard deduction 2026. Traditional 401(k) deferrals typically never hit that pile as wages. Roth vs traditional is a tax-timing choice about when ordinary rates apply, not a different bracket table.
Why did my refund change if my bracket did not?
Withholding, credits (child tax credit, EITC), extra jobs, unemployment, a side 1099, and state returns all move the refund without you “changing brackets.” The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator is the official paycheck check, not a viral W-4 screenshot.
Sources
- IRS, Federal income tax rates and brackets (how layers work; 2025 tables for current filing season).
- IRS, IR-2025-103 (Oct. 9, 2025).
- IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 rate tables, capital-gains maximum amounts).
- IRS, Tax Withholding Estimator.
- The $60,000 example is a labeled hypothetical with stated assumptions, not a refund calculator.
