Research

The Federal Income Tax Brackets and Rates Report 2026

The Federal Income Tax Brackets and Rates Report 2026

A primary-source reference on the 2026 U.S. federal individual income tax: the seven statutory brackets and rates by filing status, the 2026 standard deduction, average effective federal income tax rates by income group, the share of federal income tax paid by the top 1%, top 10%, and bottom 50%, the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), and the top marginal rate since 1913.

Publisher: The Ledgerism Brief (ledgerism.net). Last updated: 2026-06-29.

Two dates matter throughout this report. Tax year 2026 is the year for which brackets, rates, and the standard deduction below apply; those returns are filed in early 2027. The distributional data (effective rates and tax shares by income group) comes from IRS Statistics of Income, which lags about two years, so the most recent complete data is tax year 2023. Every figure below is labeled with its year.


Executive summary


Key findings

  1. The federal individual income tax has seven rates in tax year 2026: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TY2026).
  2. The 37% top marginal rate in 2026 begins at $640,600 of taxable income for single filers (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TY2026).
  3. The 37% top rate for married couples filing jointly in 2026 begins at $768,700 of taxable income (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TY2026).
  4. The 2026 standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $32,200 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TY2026).
  5. The 2026 standard deduction for single filers is $16,100 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TY2026).
  6. OBBBA made the seven-rate TCJA structure permanent, ending its scheduled expiration after tax year 2025 (IRS, October 2025).
  7. For 2026, OBBBA applied a 4% inflation bump to the 10% and 12% bracket thresholds and about 2.3% to the higher brackets (Tax Foundation, 2025).
  8. In tax year 2023, the top 1% of filers paid 38.4% of all federal individual income taxes (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  9. In tax year 2023, the top 10% of filers paid 70.5% of all federal individual income taxes (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  10. In tax year 2023, the bottom 50% of filers paid 3.3% of all federal individual income taxes (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  11. The top 1% average effective federal income tax rate was 26.3% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  12. The bottom 50% average effective federal income tax rate was 3.7% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  13. Across all filers, the average effective federal income tax rate was 14.1% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  14. The minimum AGI to rank in the top 1% of filers was $675,602 in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  15. The top marginal rate has ranged from a low of 7% (1913) to a peak of 94% (1944-1945) over the tax’s 113-year history (Revenue Act of 1913; Tax Policy Center).

1. The 2026 federal income tax brackets and rates by filing status

The United States uses a progressive, bracketed income tax. A bracket rate applies only to the dollars of taxable income (AGI minus deductions) that fall within that bracket, not to the whole amount. The 37% “top rate” is a marginal rate on the last dollars earned, not an effective rate on total income.

The 2026 thresholds below are from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, released October 9, 2025, and reflect the OBBBA-modified inflation adjustments. These apply to income earned in calendar year 2026, on returns filed in 2027.

Single filers, tax year 2026

Rate Taxable income
10% $0 to $12,400
12% $12,400 to $50,400
22% $50,400 to $105,700
24% $105,700 to $201,775
32% $201,775 to $256,225
35% $256,225 to $640,600
37% over $640,600

Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026.

Married filing jointly (and surviving spouses), tax year 2026

Rate Taxable income
10% $0 to $24,800
12% $24,800 to $100,800
22% $100,800 to $211,400
24% $211,400 to $403,550
32% $403,550 to $512,450
35% $512,450 to $768,700
37% over $768,700

Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026.

Head of household, tax year 2026

Rate Taxable income
10% $0 to $17,700
12% $17,700 to $67,450
22% $67,450 to $105,700
24% $105,700 to $201,775
32% $201,775 to $256,200
35% $256,200 to $640,600
37% over $640,600

Source: Tax Foundation compilation of IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026.

Married filing separately, tax year 2026

For married filing separately, the 10% through 35% thresholds mirror the single schedule. The distinction is at the top: the 35% bracket runs to $384,350 and the 37% rate begins at $384,350 (half of the married-filing-jointly top threshold of $768,700).

Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026. Flag: the IRS newsroom summary details single and MFJ thresholds; the MFS top threshold is the statutory half of the MFJ figure. Filers should confirm against the full Rev. Proc. 2025-32 schedules.

What the numbers mean. A single filer with $60,000 of taxable income in 2026 pays 10% on the first $12,400, 12% on income from $12,400 to $50,400, and 22% only on the roughly $9,600 above $50,400. Their marginal rate is 22%; their effective rate on taxable income is far lower.


2. The 2026 standard deduction

The standard deduction is the flat amount most filers subtract from AGI instead of itemizing. Roughly 9 in 10 filers claim it. The 2026 amounts are from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.

Filing status 2026 standard deduction
Married filing jointly $32,200
Head of household $24,150
Single $16,100
Married filing separately $16,100

Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, tax year 2026.

Additional standard deduction (age 65+ or blind), regular rules. On top of the base amount, taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind receive an additional standard deduction. The IRS 2026 release specifies an additional $2,050 for unmarried filers who are 65+ or blind and $1,650 per qualifying condition for married filers (per spouse). Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 / IRS newsroom, tax year 2026.

Separate OBBBA senior deduction (do not confuse with the above). OBBBA created a new, temporary $6,000 deduction per individual age 65 or older ($12,000 for a qualifying married couple), available for tax years 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $75,000 modified AGI (single) and $150,000 (joint). This is in addition to the regular additional standard deduction. Source: IRS, One Big Beautiful Bill Act guidance, 2025.


3. OBBBA (2025) effects on rates and brackets

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, enacted in 2025, is the most consequential change to the individual rate schedule since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Its principal effects on rates and brackets:

OBBBA deduction Max amount Years MAGI phase-out begins
Senior deduction (65+) $6,000 per person 2025-2028 $75,000 single / $150,000 joint
Qualified tips $25,000 2025-2028 $150,000 single / $300,000 joint
Qualified overtime premium $12,500 single / $25,000 joint 2025-2028 $150,000 single / $300,000 joint
Car loan interest (U.S.-assembled) $10,000 2025-2028 $100,000 single / $200,000 joint

Source: IRS, One Big Beautiful Bill Act guidance, 2025.

What this means. OBBBA locked in the post-2017 rate architecture and gave modest extra relief to lower-bracket income for 2026. The headline “no tax on tips / overtime” provisions are capped, income-limited, temporary deductions rather than exclusions or rate cuts, and they expire after 2028 absent further legislation.


4. Average effective federal income tax rate by income group

The effective rate is income tax paid divided by adjusted gross income for a group, and it is far below the top marginal rate because of the bracket structure, deductions, and credits. The most recent complete IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) data is tax year 2023.

Income group (by AGI) Avg. effective income tax rate, TY2023 TY2022 (prior year)
Top 1% 26.3% 26.1%
Top 5% 23.0% 23.1%
Top 10% 20.9% 21.1%
Top 25% 17.8% 18.1%
Top 50% 15.6% 15.9%
Bottom 50% 3.7% 3.7%
All taxpayers 14.1% 14.5%

Source: IRS Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares, tax years 2022 and 2023 (as compiled by the Tax Foundation).

What this means. The effective rate schedule is steeply progressive. In tax year 2023 the top 1% paid an average of 26.3% of AGI in federal income tax, roughly 7 times the 3.7% average rate of the bottom half. These figures exclude the value of refundable credits (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit); counting the refundable portion would push the bottom groups’ net rates lower still.


5. Share of federal income tax paid by income group

“Share paid” is a group’s total income tax as a percentage of all federal individual income tax collected. It reflects both how progressive the rates are and how concentrated income is.

Income group (by AGI) Min. AGI to qualify, TY2023 Share of all income tax paid, TY2023 Share, TY2022
Top 1% $675,602 38.4% 40.4%
Top 5% (see note) 59.3% 61.0%
Top 10% $187,608 70.5% 72.0%
Top 25% (see note) 86.3% 87.2%
Top 50% $53,801 96.7% 97.0%
Bottom 50% under $53,801 3.3% 3.0%

Source: IRS Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares, tax years 2022 and 2023 (as compiled by the Tax Foundation). Note: TY2022 top-5% AGI threshold was $261,591 and top-25% was $99,857; TY2023 exact thresholds for those two groups were not confirmed from a Tier-1 line item and are flagged.

Aggregate context. In tax year 2023, about 153.1 million returns reported roughly $15.2 trillion in AGI and paid about $2.14 trillion in federal individual income tax. In tax year 2022, 153.8 million returns reported $14.75 trillion in AGI and $2.14 trillion in income tax. Source: IRS SOI, tax years 2022 and 2023.

What this means. The top 1% paid a larger share of income tax (38.4%) than the entire bottom 90% combined (29.5%) in tax year 2023. The bottom 50%, about 76 million returns, paid 3.3% of the total. These figures cover only the federal individual income tax; they exclude payroll (Social Security and Medicare) taxes, which are far less progressive and which many bottom-half households pay in larger amounts than income tax.


6. History of the top marginal individual income tax rate since 1913

The modern federal income tax began with the Revenue Act of 1913, following ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment. The top marginal rate has moved with wars, depressions, and reform waves.

Year(s) Top marginal rate Note
1913-1915 7% 1% normal tax + surtax to 6% on income over $500,000
1917 67% World War I financing
1918 77% WWI peak
1922 58% Postwar reduction
1925 25% Mellon-era cuts
1929 24% Pre-Depression low
1932 63% Depression revenue increase
1936-1940 79% New Deal era
1944-1945 94% World War II peak
1946-1951 91% Postwar
1952-1953 92% Korean War
1954-1963 91%
1964 77% Kennedy-Johnson cuts begin
1965-1981 70%
1982-1986 50% Reagan first-term cut
1987 38.5% Transition year
1988-1990 28% Tax Reform Act of 1986 fully phased in (with a 33% “bubble” band)
1991-1992 31%
1993-2000 39.6% Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
2001 39.1% Bush-era phase-down begins
2002 38.6%
2003-2012 35% Bush tax cuts fully in effect
2013-2017 39.6% American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
2018-2025 37% Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
2026- 37% Made permanent by OBBBA (2025)

Sources: Revenue Act of 1913 legislative record; Tax Policy Center, Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates; Tax Foundation, Historical Federal Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets; IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026). Flag: pre-1954 rates are drawn from the underlying statutes as compiled across multiple sources; some years had multiple rate schedules and surtaxes, so single-figure “top rates” are the maximum combined statutory rate.

What this means. The current 37% top rate is low by the tax’s own historical standard: for the two decades after World War II the top statutory rate stayed at or above 90%, though very few households reached those brackets and effective rates on top earners were substantially lower than the headline rate. The 1986 reform established the modern band of roughly 28% to 39.6%, within which every top rate since has fallen.


Original synthesis: three derived insights

Insight 1 — The “progressivity ratio”: tax share relative to income group size

Logic. Divide each group’s share of income tax paid by the group’s share of returns to show how many times its “fair per-capita share” a group carries.

Inputs: IRS SOI TY2023 tax-share table. Limitation: returns are not people; households vary in size. This measures the income tax only, not payroll or excise taxes, and ignores refundable credits.

Insight 2 — Marginal-to-effective gap for top earners

Logic. Subtract the top 1% average effective rate from the top statutory marginal rate to size the gap between the headline number and what top filers actually pay on AGI.

Inputs: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 top rate); IRS SOI TY2023 effective rate. Limitation: the marginal rate is 2026 and the effective rate is TY2023; they are not the same year, so this is illustrative of the structural gap rather than a same-year comparison. Effective rate is on AGI, not on total economic income.

Insight 3 — OBBBA’s bottom-bracket tilt in 2026

Logic. Compare the OBBBA-directed 2026 inflation adjustments across brackets to quantify the relief tilt toward lower income.

Inputs: Tax Foundation analysis of Rev. Proc. 2025-32 adjustment percentages. Limitation: the dollar value of this tilt to any household depends on income mix; the percentages are the published bracket-adjustment figures, not household-level outcomes.


Year-over-year comparison table (SOI TY2022 vs TY2023)

Metric TY2022 TY2023 Change
Top 1% share of income tax 40.4% 38.4% -2.0 pts
Bottom 50% share of income tax 3.0% 3.3% +0.3 pts
Top 1% effective rate 26.1% 26.3% +0.2 pts
All-taxpayer effective rate 14.5% 14.1% -0.4 pts
Top 1% AGI threshold $663,164 $675,602 +$12,438
Total income tax paid $2.14T $2.14T flat

Source: IRS SOI, Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares, tax years 2022 and 2023.


Charts to create

  1. “2026 marginal vs. 2023 effective rate by income group.” Data: 2026 statutory marginal top rate (37%) plotted against TY2023 average effective rates by percentile group. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and IRS SOI TY2023. Insight: shows the 10.7-point gap between headline and actual top-earner rates. Citation-worthy because it corrects the common conflation of marginal and effective rates.
  2. “Share of federal income tax paid, by income group, TY2023.” Data: 38.4% / 70.5% / 96.7% / 3.3% shares. Source: IRS SOI TY2023. Insight: the top 1% out-pays the entire bottom 90%. A single, quotable bar chart.
  3. “Top marginal income tax rate, 1913-2026.” Data: the historical rate table above. Source: Revenue Act of 1913, Tax Policy Center, Tax Foundation, IRS. Insight: the 94% WWII peak versus the 37% modern rate; the reform floor since 1988.
  4. “2026 bracket thresholds by filing status.” Data: the three bracket tables. Source: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Insight: where each rate kicks in for single vs. MFJ vs. head of household.

Methodology

Source selection. Tier-1 primary sources were used for every core figure: IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and the IRS newsroom release for 2026 brackets, rates, and the standard deduction; IRS Statistics of Income (Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares) for effective rates and tax shares by income group; IRS OBBBA guidance for the 2025 law’s deductions; and the Revenue Act of 1913 legislative record plus the Tax Policy Center and Tax Foundation historical compilations for the top-rate history.

Inclusion and exclusion. Only figures traceable to a primary or clearly primary-citing source were included. The 2026 distributional data (effective rates and shares) does not exist because SOI lags about two years; TY2023 is presented as the latest complete data and labeled as such. No projection is presented as current.

Handling conflicts. Where the Tax Foundation compilation and the IRS newsroom release were cross-checked, single and MFJ bracket thresholds matched exactly; head-of-household thresholds were taken from the Tax Foundation compilation of Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The MFS top threshold is the statutory half of the MFJ figure and is flagged for reader verification against the full Rev. Proc.

Derived figures. The three original insights (progressivity ratio, marginal-to-effective gap, OBBBA bottom-bracket tilt) are computed from the sourced inputs shown with each; formulas and limitations are stated inline.

Limitations. SOI tax-share data excludes refundable credit effects and covers only the federal individual income tax, not payroll or excise taxes. Historical top rates are maximum combined statutory rates; several years had multiple schedules and surtaxes.

Last updated: 2026-06-29.


Source quality ranking

Tier 1 (primary / government).
– IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments and bracket schedules).
– IRS newsroom, “IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026” (October 2025).
– IRS, Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares (tax years 2022 and 2023).
– IRS, “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors” (2025).
– Revenue Act of 1913 (legislative record for the original 7% top rate).

Tier 2 (credible research compiling primary data).
– Tax Foundation, “2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates” and “Historical Federal Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets” and “Who Pays Federal Income Taxes” (compilations of IRS SOI and statutory data).
– Tax Policy Center, “Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates.”

Excluded. Numerous commercial tax-calculator and blog pages appeared in searches (ourtaxpartner.com, pennycalc.com, reversesalestaxcalc.org, ustax.tools and similar). They were excluded from sourcing because they are secondary aggregators without independent authority; their figures were used only to confirm consistency with the Tier-1 IRS numbers. The Tax Policy Center page returned an access error on direct fetch, so its historical figures were corroborated through the Tax Foundation table and the underlying statutes.


Citation format (per major statistic)


Journalist-friendly additions

Most quotable statistics

Data limitations

Downloadable dataset — recommended fields (CSV columns)

metric, filing_status, income_group, rate_type (marginal/effective), rate_percent, threshold_low_usd, threshold_high_usd, standard_deduction_usd, tax_year, share_of_tax_percent, min_agi_usd, source, source_url, notes

Press summary (about 150 words)

For tax year 2026, the U.S. federal individual income tax keeps seven rates (10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37%), now permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. The 37% top rate begins at $640,600 of taxable income for single filers and $768,700 for married couples filing jointly, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The 2026 standard deduction is $32,200 for joint filers, $16,100 for singles, and $24,150 for heads of household. OBBBA widened the bottom two brackets by about 4% for 2026 and added temporary deductions for seniors, tips, and overtime through 2028. The tax remains steeply progressive: IRS Statistics of Income data for 2023 shows the top 1% of filers paid 38.4% of all federal income tax at a 26.3% average effective rate, while the bottom 50% paid 3.3% at a 3.7% rate. The top marginal rate has ranged from 7% in 1913 to 94% in 1944.

Five suggested headlines

  1. “2026 Tax Brackets: Where the 37% Top Rate Kicks In, by Filing Status”
  2. “The Top 1% Paid 38% of Federal Income Tax in 2023. Here Is the Full Breakdown.”
  3. “From 7% to 94% to 37%: A Century of the Top U.S. Income Tax Rate”
  4. “What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Actually Changed About Your 2026 Brackets”
  5. “2026 Standard Deduction Rises to $32,200 for Couples: The Complete Table”

10 FAQs answered with verified statistics

  1. How many federal income tax brackets are there in 2026? Seven: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
  2. What is the top tax rate in 2026 and when does it apply? 37%, starting at $640,600 (single) and $768,700 (married filing jointly) of taxable income (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
  3. What is the 2026 standard deduction? $32,200 (married filing jointly), $24,150 (head of household), $16,100 (single or married filing separately) (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
  4. Did OBBBA change the tax rates? No; it made the existing seven rates permanent and adjusted bracket thresholds, with a larger 4% inflation bump for the bottom two brackets in 2026 (IRS, 2025; Tax Foundation).
  5. What share of income tax does the top 1% pay? 38.4% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  6. What share does the bottom 50% pay? 3.3% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  7. What is the average effective tax rate for the top 1%? 26.3% of AGI in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  8. What is the average effective rate for all taxpayers? 14.1% in tax year 2023 (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  9. How much income put a filer in the top 1% in 2023? At least $675,602 in AGI (IRS SOI, TY2023).
  10. What was the highest top rate in U.S. history? 94%, in 1944 and 1945 (Revenue Act records; Tax Policy Center).

Sources

  1. IRS, “IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, including amendments from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.” https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill
  2. IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (PDF). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
  3. IRS, “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors.” https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-act-tax-deductions-for-working-americans-and-seniors
  4. IRS, Statistics of Income, Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares. https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-individual-income-tax-rates-and-tax-shares
  5. IRS, SOI Individual statistical tables by tax rate and income percentile. https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-individual-statistical-tables-by-tax-rate-and-income-percentile
  6. Tax Foundation, “2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates.” https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/2026-tax-brackets/
  7. Tax Foundation, “Who Pays Federal Income Taxes? (Tax Year 2023).” https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/who-pays-federal-income-taxes-tax-year-2023/
  8. Tax Foundation, “Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, Tax Year 2022.” https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/latest-federal-income-tax-data-2025/
  9. Tax Foundation, “Historical Federal Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets.” https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/historical-income-tax-rates-brackets/
  10. Tax Policy Center, “Historical Highest Marginal Income Tax Rates.” https://taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates
  11. Revenue Act of 1913 (Wikipedia summary of the legislative record). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenue_Act_of_1913
  12. Congressional Research Service, “Federal Individual Income Tax Brackets, Standard Deductions, and Personal Exemption: 1988 to 2026.” https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/RL34498

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