2026 Tax Brackets and Standard Deduction: Full IRS Tables

Quick answer: The 2026 tax brackets keep seven federal rates, 10% to 37%. For single filers, 10% covers taxable income up to $12,400, 12% up to $50,400 and 22% up to $105,700, with 37% starting above $640,600 ($768,700 for joint filers). The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly and $24,150 head of household.

These are the figures you will use on the return you file in spring 2027, and the ones to plan with now for withholding and quarterly payments. This guide gives the full 2026 tax brackets for every filing status, the standard deduction and related amounts, and a worked example showing how a self-employed person's income actually gets taxed. If you freelance, the brackets are only half the story, so we cover self-employment tax too. When you are ready to bill, our free invoice generator helps you keep income records clean from the first invoice.

Important: This is general information, not tax advice. Figures come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 and IRS announcements; your result depends on your full return.

2026 tax brackets for single filers

The IRS announced the 2026 inflation adjustments in October 2025, and they incorporate changes from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (which the IRS now also calls the Working Families Tax Cuts). That law made the seven-rate structure permanent. As of 2026, the IRS 2026 inflation adjustment announcement and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 set these thresholds:

Rate	Taxable income (single)	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $12,400	10% of taxable income
12%	$12,400 to $50,400	$1,240 plus 12% over $12,400
22%	$50,400 to $105,700	$5,800 plus 22% over $50,400
24%	$105,700 to $201,775	$17,966 plus 24% over $105,700
32%	$201,775 to $256,225	$41,024 plus 32% over $201,775
35%	$256,225 to $640,600	$58,448 plus 35% over $256,225
37%	Over $640,600	$192,979.25 plus 37% over $640,600

Married people filing separately use the same thresholds as single filers up to the 35% bracket, which ends at $384,350 for them; 37% applies above that.

2026 tax brackets for married filing jointly

Joint filers and qualifying surviving spouses get thresholds that are exactly double the single amounts through the 35% bracket's start, which removes the marriage penalty for most couples.

Rate	Taxable income (married filing jointly)	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $24,800	10% of taxable income
12%	$24,800 to $100,800	$2,480 plus 12% over $24,800
22%	$100,800 to $211,400	$11,600 plus 22% over $100,800
24%	$211,400 to $403,550	$35,932 plus 24% over $211,400
32%	$403,550 to $512,450	$82,048 plus 32% over $403,550
35%	$512,450 to $768,700	$116,896 plus 35% over $512,450
37%	Over $768,700	$206,583.50 plus 37% over $768,700

2026 tax brackets for head of household

Head of household status gives unmarried people who support a qualifying person wider lower brackets than single filers.

Rate	Taxable income (head of household)	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $17,700	10% of taxable income
12%	$17,700 to $67,450	$1,770 plus 12% over $17,700
22%	$67,450 to $105,700	$7,740 plus 22% over $67,450
24%	$105,700 to $201,750	$16,155 plus 24% over $105,700
32%	$201,750 to $256,200	$39,207 plus 32% over $201,750
35%	$256,200 to $640,600	$56,631 plus 35% over $256,200
37%	Over $640,600	$191,171 plus 37% over $640,600

Standard deduction 2026 and other key amounts

Your bracket applies to taxable income, which is income after deductions. Most people take the standard deduction rather than itemizing. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 sets the 2026 amounts:

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

Other 2026 figures worth knowing:

• Age 65 or blind: an additional $1,650 per qualifying person if married, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse.
• Senior deduction: an extra $6,000 per person aged 65 or older for 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $75,000 of modified AGI ($150,000 joint), according to the IRS.
• Charitable gifts for non-itemizers: beginning with 2026, up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) of cash gifts to qualifying charities, per IRS Topic 506.
• Tips and overtime: temporary deductions of up to $25,000 for qualified tips and $12,500 ($25,000 joint) for qualified overtime premium pay, each phasing out above $150,000 MAGI ($300,000 joint). See our guides to no tax on tips for the self-employed and no tax on overtime.
• Long-term capital gains: 0% up to $49,450 single, $98,900 joint and $66,200 head of household; 15% up to $545,500, $613,700 and $579,600 respectively; 20% above.
• QBI deduction threshold: the specified service and wage limits of the qualified business income deduction start to phase in above $201,750 of taxable income ($403,500 joint).

How the 2026 brackets work: marginal vs effective rate

A common myth is that moving into a higher bracket makes all your income taxed at the higher rate. It does not. Each rate only applies to the slice of income inside its band.

Take a single filer with $60,000 of taxable income in 2026:

• 10% on the first $12,400 = $1,240
• 12% on the next $38,000 ($12,400 to $50,400) = $4,560
• 22% on the remaining $9,600 ($50,400 to $60,000) = $2,112
• Total federal income tax = $7,912

This person's marginal rate is 22%, but the effective rate is $7,912 / $60,000 = about 13.2%. An extra $1,000 of income costs $220 in income tax, not 22% of everything.

2026 tax brackets for the self-employed

Freelancers, contractors and sole proprietors use exactly the same brackets as employees. What changes is how you get from revenue to taxable income, and the extra self-employment tax on top.

The path looks like this:

1. Start with gross receipts from every invoice you were paid in the year.
2. Subtract business expenses on Schedule C to get net profit. Our sibling guide to business expense categories lists what goes where.
3. Figure self-employment tax: 15.3% of 92.35% of net profit (the 12.4% Social Security part stops at the $184,500 wage base for 2026, per the Social Security Administration).
4. Deduct half of self-employment tax and any other adjustments, such as the self-employed health insurance deduction, to reach AGI.
5. Subtract the standard deduction (or itemized deductions).
6. Subtract the QBI deduction, generally 20% of qualified business income, limited to 20% of taxable income before it.
7. Apply the 2026 brackets to what remains, then add self-employment tax.

Worked example: a single freelancer with $85,000 profit

Jordan is a single freelance designer with $85,000 of Schedule C net profit in 2026, no other income and the standard deduction. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

Step	Calculation	Amount
Net profit	Schedule C	$85,000
Self-employment tax	$85,000 x 92.35% x 15.3%	$12,010
Deductible half of SE tax	$12,010 / 2	$6,005
Adjusted gross income	$85,000 - $6,005	$78,995
Less standard deduction	$78,995 - $16,100	$62,895
QBI deduction	Lesser of 20% x $78,995 ($15,799) or 20% x $62,895 ($12,579)	$12,579
Taxable income	$62,895 - $12,579	$50,316
Income tax	$1,240 + 12% x ($50,316 - $12,400)	$5,790
Total federal tax	$5,790 + $12,010	$17,800

Jordan earned $85,000 yet sits in the 12% bracket, because the SE tax deduction, standard deduction and QBI deduction remove about $34,700 before the brackets apply. Self-employment tax, not income tax, is the larger bill. That is typical for freelancers in the lower and middle brackets, and it is why tracking every deductible expense pays off twice.

How the numbers change at higher profit

Brackets matter more as profit grows. If Jordan's profit doubled to $170,000, the 12.4% Social Security part of self-employment tax would still apply to the full $156,995 of net earnings ($170,000 x 92.35%), because that is below the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Taxable income would move well into the 22% and 24% bands, and each extra $1,000 of profit would cost roughly $240 of income tax plus about $141 of self-employment tax before the deductions that partly offset it. Once net earnings pass the wage base, only the 2.9% Medicare part continues, which is why the marginal cost of an extra dollar can fall slightly at very high self-employed incomes, until the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies.

Above $201,750 of taxable income for single filers ($403,500 joint), the QBI deduction also begins to phase down for specified service businesses such as consulting, law, accounting and health. The QBI guide linked above walks through that limit.

What changed from 2025 to 2026

For most people the change is modest: thresholds rose with inflation, so the same income lands slightly lower in the bands. Comparing the single filer figures with the 2025 amounts set under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act:

Item	2025	2026
Standard deduction, single	$15,750	$16,100
Standard deduction, married filing jointly	$31,500	$32,200
Standard deduction, head of household	$23,625	$24,150
Top rate	37%	37%
Charitable deduction without itemizing	Not available	Up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint)

The bigger story is what did not change. Before the 2025 law, the 2018 rate cuts were scheduled to expire after 2025, which would have brought back higher rates and a smaller standard deduction in 2026. The law made the seven-rate structure and the larger standard deduction permanent, so 2026 planning can assume stable rules. The temporary deductions for seniors, tips, overtime and car loan interest are scheduled to run through 2028, so they need revisiting in a few years.

Using the 2026 brackets to plan ahead

Because no one withholds tax from freelance income, you are expected to pay during the year. For 2026 the federal quarterly estimated tax dates are April 15, June 15 and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. Missing them can trigger the estimated tax penalty.

Practical steps for the rest of 2026:

• Estimate your bracket now. Total year-to-date profit from your invoices and project the last quarter.
• Set aside a percentage of every payment. Jordan's total tax was about 21% of profit; many freelancers keep 25% to 30% in a separate account to stay safe.
• Time expenses and income. If you are near the top of a bracket, buying needed equipment before December 31 or invoicing a large project in January can keep income in a lower band, as long as it reflects real business timing.
• Consider retirement contributions. A Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA reduces taxable income and builds savings.
• Know your entity. The brackets are the same for a sole proprietor and a single-member LLC; see how to file taxes for an LLC and S corp vs LLC if you are weighing an S corporation election.

Keep clean income records for 2026

The 2026 tax brackets run from 10% to 37%, with a $16,100 standard deduction for single filers, $32,200 for joint filers and $24,150 for heads of household. For self-employed taxpayers, the bracket is only part of the bill: self-employment tax and the QBI deduction change the picture as much as the rates do.

Every number in that calculation starts with your invoices. Use consistent numbering from the invoice number generator, send each bill from the US invoice generator and keep the PDFs together for tax time. Create your next invoice free and make April 2027 easier.