The IRS published the 2026 federal tax brackets in the fall of 2025, and the headline is boring in the best way: the same seven rates, 10% through 37%, made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with thresholds nudged upward for inflation. Boring is good here. It means last year's tax planning instincts still work. What changes is where each rate starts, and this year there is also a bigger standard deduction and a brand-new senior deduction to know about.
What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?
These apply to taxable income for the 2026 tax year, meaning income after deductions. Here are the two filing statuses most people use:
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $12,400 | $0 – $24,800 |
| 12% | $12,401 – $50,400 | $24,801 – $100,800 |
| 22% | $50,401 – $105,700 | $100,801 – $211,400 |
| 24% | $105,701 – $201,775 | $211,401 – $403,550 |
| 32% | $201,776 – $256,225 | $403,551 – $512,450 |
| 35% | $256,226 – $640,600 | $512,451 – $768,700 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 |
Heads of household get their own column: the 10% bracket covers the first $17,700, the 12% bracket runs to $67,450, and the top 37% rate starts at $640,600. Married filing separately mirrors the single column.
A note on the numbers: the 2026 thresholds come from the IRS release as reported in fall 2025. Full bracket history, including how these compare to every year back to 1913, lives in our historical tax brackets dataset.
The 2026 standard deduction
The standard deduction moved up again for 2026: $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. If you are 65 or older or blind, you can add the extra standard deduction amount on top: $2,050 for single or head of household, $1,650 per spouse if married.
The genuinely new piece is the $6,000 senior deduction introduced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Taxpayers 65 or older can claim an extra $6,000 per person ($12,000 for a qualifying couple) on top of the regular and additional standard deductions, and it works whether you take the standard deduction or itemize. It phases out starting at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($150,000 joint), and it is temporary: tax years 2025 through 2028. If you are approaching retirement, the 2026-2028 window is the time to coordinate Roth conversions and RMD timing around it.
A worked example: single filer at $95,000
Brackets are abstract until you run one. Take a single filer with $95,000 of salary, no above-the-line adjustments, taking the standard deduction:
Single, $95,000 gross, 2026
"I am in the 22% bracket" is true. "I pay 22% of my income in tax" is not. The effective rate here is 15.3%, and that gap is the entire reason brackets are marginal. I explain why this misunderstanding matters for raises, bonuses, and Roth decisions in Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rate.
Three planning moves the 2026 brackets suggest
1. Bracket-edge math before year-end
If your taxable income lands near a threshold, December decisions have outsized value. A $3,000 contribution to a traditional 401(k) that pulls you from the 24% bracket back into the 22% bracket saves $660 at the margin, and it saves it on the highest-taxed dollars you earned. Know your distance to the next line.
2. The standard-deduction bar is high now
At $32,200 for a joint return, most taxpayers will not itemize in 2026. If you are close to the line, bunching two years of charitable giving into one tax year can push you over it, which is the only way the deduction does you any good.
3. Seniors: do not leave the $6,000 on the table
The new senior deduction is per person and works with the standard deduction, so a 70-year-old single filer with modest income can stack $16,100 plus $2,050 plus $6,000, about $24,100 of deductions. That is a large amount of income shielded at zero rate, and the phaseout means bunching income into a single year can cost you part of it.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the 2026 federal tax brackets?
- Seven rates from 10% to 37%. Single filers enter the 22% bracket at $50,401 of taxable income; married filing jointly at $100,801. The top 37% rate starts at $640,600 single and $768,700 joint.
- What is the 2026 standard deduction?
- $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household. Taxpayers 65+ get additional amounts, plus the new temporary $6,000 senior deduction through 2028, subject to income phaseouts.
- Do the same tax rates apply in 2026 as 2025?
- Yes. The seven rates are unchanged and were made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Only the income thresholds moved, adjusted upward for inflation, and the standard deduction rose.
- Can a raise push me into a higher bracket and cost me money?
- No. Only the income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate. Earning one more dollar at 24% still leaves you with 76 cents. Raises never reduce take-home pay under a marginal system.