Estimate your federal income tax and see exactly how your income is taxed across brackets

Your marginal tax rate is the rate applied to your last dollar of income — it is the bracket you fall into. Your effective tax rate is the average rate across all your income, calculated as total tax divided by total taxable income. Because of progressive brackets, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. For example, a single filer with $75,000 taxable income is in the 22% bracket but pays an effective rate of about 15.7%. The marginal rate matters when evaluating additional income; the effective rate shows your overall tax burden.

For the 2024 tax year, the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers and married filing separately, $29,200 for married filing jointly, and $21,900 for head of household. The standard deduction is subtracted from your gross income to determine taxable income. If your itemized deductions (mortgage interest, state taxes, charitable donations) exceed the standard deduction, you should itemize instead. About 90% of taxpayers take the standard deduction because the 2017 tax reform nearly doubled it.

Your employer withholds taxes based on your W-4 form, which estimates your annual tax based on your pay frequency and the allowances or adjustments you selected. This estimate can differ from your actual tax because it does not account for other income sources (investments, side gigs), additional deductions or credits you may claim, mid-year job changes, or changes in filing status. If your withholding is consistently too high or too low by more than $500, update your W-4 using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator.

The most common ways to reduce taxable income are contributing to tax-deferred retirement accounts (401k contributions reduce taxable income by up to $23,000 in 2024, or $30,500 if over 50), contributing to a Health Savings Account (HSA) if you have a high-deductible health plan ($4,150 for self-only or $8,300 for family in 2024), and taking the higher of the standard deduction or itemized deductions. Student loan interest, educator expenses, and IRA contributions can also reduce taxable income depending on your situation.

This calculator covers federal income tax only. FICA taxes (Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45%) are separate payroll taxes that apply to earned income regardless of your tax bracket. FICA is calculated on gross wages, not taxable income, and most employees see it deducted automatically on their pay stub. Social Security tax applies to the first $168,600 of wages in 2024. Including FICA would make this calculator less accurate for people with investment income, retirement income, or self-employment income, which are each taxed differently.