Marginal vs effective tax rate
Your marginal rate is your tax bracket: the rate on your last (highest) dollar of taxable income. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income: the share of it you really pay. Because the US taxes income in layers, the first dollars are taxed at 10%, the next at 12%, and so on. Moving into a higher bracket only raises the tax on the dollars inside that bracket, never on the rest.
You can measure it against taxable income or against your income before deductions. The second is lower and is the better answer to "what share of my income goes to federal income tax".
2026 federal tax brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $12,400 | $0 – $24,800 | $0 – $17,700 |
| 12% | $12,400 – $50,400 | $24,800 – $100,800 | $17,700 – $67,450 |
| 22% | $50,400 – $105,700 | $100,800 – $211,400 | $67,450 – $105,700 |
| 24% | $105,700 – $201,775 | $211,400 – $403,550 | $105,700 – $201,750 |
| 32% | $201,775 – $256,225 | $403,550 – $512,450 | $201,750 – $256,200 |
| 35% | $256,225 – $640,600 | $512,450 – $768,700 | $256,200 – $640,600 |
| 37% | over $640,600 | over $768,700 | over $640,600 |
Married filing separately uses the single brackets up to the 35% bracket, which ends at $384,350; income over that is taxed at 37%. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 (single or married filing separately), $32,200 (married filing jointly) and $24,150 (head of household). These figures come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and are the same ones the income tax calculator uses.
Worked example
A single filer earns $75,000 and takes the standard deduction, leaving $58,900 of taxable income. Tax = 10% × $12,400 + 12% × $38,000 + 22% × $8,500 = $1,240 + $4,560 + $1,870 = $7,670. Their bracket is 22%, but the effective rate is $7,670 ÷ $75,000 = 10.23% of income (13.02% of taxable income). They have $46,800 left before any income is taxed at 24%.
Limitations
- Federal income tax on ordinary income only. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% (see the capital gains tax calculator).
- No credits (like the child tax credit), the senior deduction, payroll tax or state tax. For those, use the income tax calculator or the take-home pay calculator.
- Tax year 2026. For 2025 brackets, see federal tax brackets for 2025 and 2026.