How do tax brackets work?

The US taxes income in layers. Each tax rate applies only to the slice of your income that falls inside its bracket, so moving into a higher bracket raises the tax on the new dollars only, never on all of your income.

Brackets apply to taxable income

Taxable income is what is left after you subtract deductions. Most people take the standard deduction, which is $16,100 for a single filer in 2026. Pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions through work also come out first.

Each rate taxes one slice

For a single filer in 2026, the first $12,400 of taxable income is taxed at 10%. Income above that, up to $50,400, is taxed at 12%. The next slice, up to $105,700, is taxed at 22%.

Marginal rate and effective rate

Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of income, which is your top bracket. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income. The effective rate is always lower once you have income in more than one bracket.

A raise never costs you money

Only the dollars above a bracket line are taxed at the higher rate. Every dollar of a raise leaves you with something after federal income tax.

How the layers work

Picture your taxable income poured into a row of buckets. The first bucket holds $12,400 and is taxed at 10%. When it is full, the next dollars spill into the 12% bucket, which runs up to $50,400. Then comes the 22% bucket, up to $105,700.

Above that, a single filer pays 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600, and 37% on anything higher. These are the 2026 federal figures for single filers. Married couples filing jointly have wider buckets, and the IRS adjusts all of them for inflation each year.

From salary to taxable income

Brackets don't apply to your salary. Start with your gross pay, take out pre-tax contributions made through work (like a traditional 401(k) or an HSA), and then subtract your deduction. What is left is taxable income.

Most people take the standard deduction because it is larger than their itemized deductions would be. You only itemize when costs like mortgage interest, state and local taxes (capped at $40,400 for 2026) and charity add up to more than the standard deduction.

Some new deductions from the 2025 tax law work whether or not you itemize. For 2025 through 2028, qualified tips, overtime premium pay, interest on a loan for a new US-assembled car and an extra amount for people 65 and older can lower taxable income, each with its own limits and income cutoffs. Starting in 2026, people who take the standard deduction can also deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to charity ($2,000 for joint filers).

Why a raise is always worth taking

A common worry is that a raise will push you into a higher bracket and leave you with less. That can't happen with federal income brackets. The higher rate only touches the dollars above the line. Everything below it is taxed exactly as before.

Say you sit right at the top of the 12% bracket and get a $1,000 raise. Those $1,000 are taxed at 22%, so you pay $220 more and keep $780. Your overall tax rate creeps up a little, but your take-home pay goes up too.

Which rate to use for what

Use your marginal rate for decisions about the next dollar. It tells you what a side job's extra income will cost in tax, and how much a traditional 401(k) contribution saves you. In the 22% bracket, putting $100 into a traditional 401(k) cuts your federal income tax by $22.

Use your effective rate to understand your whole bill. It shows how much of your income goes to federal income tax overall, and it is much lower than your bracket for most people.

Taxes the brackets leave out

Your paycheck has other taxes too. Social Security and Medicare (often shown as FICA) take 7.65% of most wages from the first dollar, with no standard deduction. Many states charge their own income tax with their own brackets, and some cities do too. Rules differ by state, so check your state's tax agency.