The IRS published the official federal income tax brackets for tax year 2027 on November 5, in Revenue Procedure 2026-35. The seven rates haven’t changed: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. What moved are the income cutoffs for each rate and the standard deduction, both pushed higher for inflation. These are the numbers your employer’s payroll system will use starting with your first paycheck in January 2027, and the ones you’ll report on the return you file in spring 2028.
Below you’ll find every bracket for single, married, head of household and married-filing-separately filers, a calculator that shows your 2027 tax next to your 2026 tax at the same income, and plain answers for the situations that cost people real money: a raise that seems to “push you into a higher bracket,” a retiree deciding how much IRA money to withdraw, a couple weighing a Roth conversion, and a worker counting on the new tips and overtime deductions.
Nine Quick Answers About the New Brackets
The questions we hear most once the new numbers come out, answered in a sentence or two. The detail follows below.
Neither. The seven rates are the same as 2026. The income ranges for each rate are wider, so the same income is taxed slightly less.
Income you earn from January 1 through December 31, 2027, reported on the return you file in spring 2028. Your 2026 return, filed in early 2027, still uses the 2026 brackets.
$16,600 for single filers and married filing separately, $33,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,925 for heads of household.
No. Only the dollars above a bracket’s cutoff are taxed at the higher rate. You’ll never take home less because of a raise under the regular brackets.
An additional standard deduction of $2,100 if single or head of household, or $1,700 each for married filers, plus the separate senior deduction of up to $6,000 per person through 2028.
No. The $25,000 tips cap, the $12,500 overtime cap ($25,000 joint) and the $6,000 senior deduction are fixed amounts that weren’t adjusted for inflation.
When your taxable income, including the gain, stays at or below $51,050 (single) or $102,100 (married filing jointly) for 2027.
Up to $2,300 per qualifying child, with up to $1,800 of it refundable.
Not because of the brackets alone; payroll systems update automatically in January. Revisit it if you married, divorced, had a child, started a side job or expect tips or overtime deductions.
The Official Federal Income Tax Brackets, Every Filing Status
These ranges apply to taxable income, the amount left after the standard deduction (or itemized deductions) and other deductions, not your gross salary.
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Head of household | Married filing separately |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 – $12,800 | $0 – $25,600 | $0 – $18,250 | $0 – $12,800 |
| 12% | $12,801 – $52,025 | $25,601 – $104,050 | $18,251 – $69,650 | $12,801 – $52,025 |
| 22% | $52,026 – $109,125 | $104,051 – $218,250 | $69,651 – $109,100 | $52,026 – $109,125 |
| 24% | $109,126 – $208,325 | $218,251 – $416,650 | $109,101 – $208,300 | $109,126 – $208,325 |
| 32% | $208,326 – $264,550 | $416,651 – $529,100 | $208,301 – $264,550 | $208,326 – $264,550 |
| 35% | $264,551 – $661,375 | $529,101 – $793,650 | $264,551 – $661,350 | $264,551 – $396,825 |
| 37% | Over $661,375 | Over $793,650 | Over $661,350 | Over $396,825 |
How much each bracket grew from last year
When we lined up the new tables against last year’s, we found the increases are a bit larger than the year before, about 3.2% across the brackets, because inflation ran hotter in 2026. The 12% bracket for single filers now ends at $52,025 instead of $50,400, a $1,625 wider band. For married couples, the 22% bracket now starts at $104,050 rather than $100,800. That’s $3,250 more income taxed at 12% instead of 22%, worth about $325 to a couple whose income reaches that range.
How Tax Brackets Actually Work, With Real Numbers
The single most common tax misunderstanding is that your bracket rate applies to all your income. It doesn’t, and seeing the math once usually clears it up for good.
Here’s what that picture means in words. On an $80,000 salary, the first $16,600 isn’t taxed at all because of the standard deduction. The next $12,800 is taxed at 10%, the next $39,225 at 12%, and only the last $11,375 at 22%. The total, $8,489.50, works out to about 10.6% of the salary, far below the 22% people assume when they hear “I’m in the 22% bracket.”
Two rates are worth knowing about yourself. Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar, which matters for decisions like taking extra shifts, making a traditional 401(k) contribution or withdrawing more from an IRA. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income, which is what to compare with friends, other years or other countries.
We tested the “raise pushes me into a higher bracket” worry with a concrete case. A single filer with $50,000 of taxable income gets a $4,000 raise, crossing the $52,025 line. The first $2,025 of the raise is taxed at 12% and the remaining $1,975 at 22%, for $677.50 of extra federal income tax. They keep $3,322.50 of the raise before payroll taxes. Under the regular brackets, more income never means less take-home pay.
There are real exceptions where an extra dollar costs more than the bracket suggests, but they come from phase-outs, not the brackets themselves: the earned income tax credit shrinking as income rises, Social Security benefits becoming taxable, the senior deduction phasing out above $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($150,000 joint), and Medicare premium surcharges kicking in at certain income levels. We cover the ones that catch people most often in the situations section.
Federal Income Tax Calculator: New Brackets vs Last Year
Enter your expected income and a few details. The calculator applies the official 2027 brackets and deductions and shows how your bill compares with the same income under 2026 rules.
Your bracket headroom will appear here.
Estimate only. Doesn’t include payroll taxes, state taxes, capital gains rates, the earned income credit, tips or overtime deductions.
The calculator takes your income, subtracts pre-tax contributions, then subtracts the larger of your standard deduction (including the extra amount for anyone 65 or older) or your itemized total. For people 65 and older it also applies the separate senior deduction of up to $6,000 each, reduced by 6% of income above $75,000 ($150,000 joint); it uses your income after pre-tax contributions as a stand-in for modified adjusted gross income. The child tax credit is applied at $2,300 per child, reduced by $50 for each $1,000 of income above $200,000 ($400,000 joint), and can’t push the result below zero in this simplified version, even though part of the real credit is refundable.
When we ran a few common profiles, we found that the inflation adjustment trims roughly $70 to $560 off federal income tax for typical households whose income doesn’t change: about $68 for a single filer at $50,000, $280 at $75,000, $104 for a head of household at $60,000 and $561 for a married couple at $150,000. If your pay rises faster than about 3%, part of the raise will still land in higher brackets, but the adjustment means you aren’t penalized just for keeping up with prices.
Standard Deduction, Senior Breaks and Credits That Changed
The brackets get the headlines, but deductions and credits often move your bill more. Here’s what grew with inflation and what stayed frozen.
| Item | 2027 amount | Indexed? | Who it helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra standard deduction, 65+ or blind | $2,100 single/HoH; $1,700 each if married | Yes | Older and blind filers |
| Senior deduction (2025–2028) | Up to $6,000 per person 65+ | No, fixed | Seniors with MAGI under $75k / $150k joint |
| Child tax credit | $2,300; up to $1,800 refundable | Yes | Parents of children under 17 |
| Earned income credit, max | $685 to $8,496 by number of children | Yes | Lower-income workers |
| Tips deduction (2025–2028) | Up to $25,000 | No, fixed | Workers in tipped occupations |
| Overtime deduction (2025–2028) | Up to $12,500; $25,000 joint | No, fixed | Hourly workers paid overtime premium |
| SALT itemized cap | $40,804; phase-down above $510,050 MAGI | Rises 1% a year by law | Itemizers in high-tax states |
| Health FSA limit | $3,500 | Yes | Employees with FSAs |
The pattern we noticed in the table matters for planning: most long-standing provisions rise every year with inflation, but the newer deductions created by the 2025 tax law are fixed dollar amounts that stay the same through 2028 and then expire unless Congress acts. A fixed $6,000 senior deduction is worth a little less in real terms each year, while the regular extra deduction for age 65 keeps pace with prices.
The SALT cap, the limit on deducting state and local income and property taxes, follows its own schedule written into the law: it climbs 1% a year from $40,000 in 2025 to $40,804 for 2027, and the income level where it starts shrinking rises to $510,050. It only helps if your itemized deductions beat the standard deduction, which for most married couples now means more than $33,200 of combined SALT, mortgage interest and charitable gifts.
Capital Gains and Dividend Rates: The 0% Window Got Wider
Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends have their own three rates: 0%, 15% and 20%. The thresholds rose too, which opens a little more room for tax-free investment gains.
| Filing status | 0% rate up to | 15% rate up to | 20% rate above |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $51,050 | $563,200 | $563,200 |
| Married filing jointly | $102,100 | $633,600 | $633,600 |
| Head of household | $68,350 | $598,400 | $598,400 |
| Married filing separately | $51,050 | $316,800 | $316,800 |
The key detail people miss is the stacking order. Wages, pensions, IRA withdrawals and the taxable part of Social Security fill the brackets first; long-term gains and qualified dividends sit on top. Only the portion of your gains that lands below the 0% ceiling is tax-free. If a retired couple has $80,000 of taxable ordinary income, they can realize about $22,100 of long-term gains at 0% before the 15% rate starts.
That makes “gain harvesting” a real, legal strategy for lower-income years: sell appreciated investments up to the 0% ceiling, then buy back immediately to reset your cost basis higher. Unlike losses, gains aren’t subject to wash-sale rules. Higher-income investors should also remember the separate 3.8% net investment income tax, which applies above $200,000 of modified AGI for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers; those thresholds aren’t indexed.
What the New Brackets Mean for Your Situation
The same table plays out very differently depending on your stage of life and how you earn money. Find the description closest to yours.
Treat the bracket edges as targets. If your taxable income is $80,000 as a married couple, you have about $24,050 of room left in the 12% bracket (it ends at $104,050). Many retirees use that room each year for partial Roth conversions or extra IRA withdrawals, paying 12% now rather than 22% or more later when required minimum distributions grow. Watch two side effects: more income can make more of your Social Security taxable, because the $25,000 and $32,000 thresholds that govern that haven’t changed since they were set decades ago, and it can raise Medicare premiums two years later.
Social Security benefits rise 3.6% in January 2027. That raise is income too, so check whether it nudges you past any of these lines before planning conversions.
Stack all three age breaks. A single 67-year-old with $40,000 of taxable pension and IRA income gets the $16,600 standard deduction, a $2,100 extra deduction for age and the $6,000 senior deduction, shielding $24,700 in all. By our math the federal income tax comes to $1,580; without the senior deduction it would be $2,300. The senior deduction is available whether you itemize or not, but you must include a valid Social Security number on the return, and married couples must file jointly to claim it.
These deductions don’t change the brackets; they reduce the income the brackets apply to. Qualified tips are deductible up to $25,000 and the overtime premium (the extra “half” in time-and-a-half) up to $12,500, or $25,000 on a joint return. Both phase out above $150,000 of modified AGI ($300,000 joint) and are scheduled to end after 2028. They don’t reduce Social Security and Medicare taxes. Keep your pay stubs and make sure your W-2 or employer statement separates tips and overtime so you can claim them without guesswork.
Brackets apply to your profit after business expenses, but you also owe self-employment tax of 15.3% on most of that profit, with the Social Security part capped at $192,300 of combined wages and self-employment earnings for 2027. That’s why, by our math, a $10,000 side-gig profit can cost a 22%-bracket worker roughly $3,400 in combined federal income and self-employment tax. Make quarterly estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties, and look at a solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA to pull profit out of the higher brackets.
Check that you file as head of household, not single. The 2027 head-of-household standard deduction is $24,925 versus $16,600 for single, and the 12% bracket runs to $69,650 instead of $52,025. In our calculation, a parent with $60,000 of income pays $3,844 as head of household; filing as single would cost about $1,100 more. Add the $2,300 child tax credit per child and, at lower incomes, the earned income credit, worth up to $4,573 with one child.
Up through the 35% rate’s starting point, joint brackets are exactly double the single ones, so most couples pay no marriage penalty. At the very top they aren’t: the 37% rate begins at $793,650 for a couple but at $661,375 for each single person, so two high earners can pay more married than they would single. Filing separately rarely fixes this, because the separate 37% line is just $396,825. Run the numbers both ways only if your combined taxable income is well above $800,000.
A few hundred dollars of income can cost more than the bracket rate near these lines: the earned income credit phase-out, the senior deduction phase-out at $75,000 ($150,000 joint), the student loan interest deduction phase-out starting at $90,000 ($180,000 joint), and the net investment income tax at $200,000 ($250,000 joint). Pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions are the simplest way to pull income back below a line. For 2027 the HSA limit is $4,500 for self-only coverage.
Employers often withhold federal tax on bonuses at a flat 22% supplemental rate, no matter what your actual bracket is. If your real top rate is 12%, you’ll get some of it back at filing time; if it’s 32% or higher, a large bonus can leave you owing in April. We found this catches more people off guard than the brackets themselves. When you know a bonus, severance check or large retirement withdrawal is coming, estimate the tax at your real marginal rate and either adjust your W-4 or set aside the difference.
The higher SALT cap of $40,804 makes itemizing worthwhile again for many homeowners, but only if state income tax, property tax, mortgage interest and charitable gifts together beat your standard deduction. A married couple paying $14,000 in property tax and $16,000 in state income tax, plus $9,000 of mortgage interest, would itemize $39,000 against a $33,200 standard deduction, saving tax on the $5,800 difference at their marginal rate. Above $510,050 of modified AGI, the cap starts shrinking by 30 cents per dollar until it bottoms out at $10,000.
Six Bracket-Smart Moves Worth Making This Year
Knowing the cutoffs is only useful if it changes what you do. These are the moves we see paying off most often for ordinary households, not just high earners.
Find your headroom before you decide anything
Take last year’s return, adjust for expected raises or retirement income, and subtract this year’s deductions. The gap between that number and the next bracket cutoff is your headroom. Our calculator above shows it in dollars. Most of the moves below are about either filling that space deliberately or keeping a one-time event from spilling over it.
Use pre-tax contributions to stay below a line
Each dollar into a traditional 401(k), 403(b), deductible IRA or HSA comes off your taxable income at your marginal rate. If you’re $3,000 above the 22% line, a $3,000 extra contribution saves 22% on it rather than 12%. It can also keep you under a phase-out that would otherwise shrink a credit or deduction.
Fill low brackets on purpose in a quiet year
A gap year between jobs, early retirement before Social Security, or a sabbatical can leave the 10% and 12% brackets half empty. That’s often the cheapest time you’ll ever have to convert traditional IRA money to a Roth or realize long-term gains at 0%. The deadline for both is December 31; there’s no going back once the year closes.
Bunch deductions if you’re near the standard deduction
With the joint standard deduction at $33,200, many couples itemize only in some years. Grouping two years of charitable giving into one, often through a donor-advised fund, can push you over the line every other year and take the standard deduction in between.
Spread out a one-time income spike
A large bonus, a business sale or a big IRA withdrawal for a home repair can push income into a much higher bracket for one year. Where you have a choice, splitting the income across December and January, or across two tax years, can keep more of it in a lower bracket.
Keep proof for the newer deductions
Tips, overtime, the senior deduction and qualified car loan interest each have their own documentation rules. Keep pay records, lender statements and anything that shows the amounts, so claiming them doesn’t depend on memory a year later.
One caution about all of this: the tax tail shouldn’t wag the financial dog. Turning down a raise, skipping a needed withdrawal or holding an investment you’d rather sell just to avoid the next bracket rarely makes sense, because the higher rate only touches the extra dollars. Bracket planning works best on choices you were already free to time.
Free Tax Help, Useful Tools and How to Find It Near You
You don’t need to pay for help to apply these brackets correctly. Several free programs exist, and some focus on seniors and lower-income households.
Check your withholding in January
Your employer updates withholding automatically, but the standard tables assume a simple situation. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator with your first paystub of 2027 if you have two jobs, a working spouse, side income, or tips and overtime you expect to deduct. Adjusting early spreads the change over the whole year.
Use free filing if you qualify
IRS Free File partners offer free guided software to taxpayers under an income limit set each filing season, and Free File Fillable Forms are available to everyone. Many states also offer their own free options.
Get free in-person help
The IRS’s VITA program helps people who generally earn up to a set income limit, people with disabilities and limited-English speakers, and the TCE program focuses on people 60 and older. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide also offers free preparation with an emphasis on older adults. Sites open in late January or February.
If you have a problem with the IRS
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent office inside the IRS that helps when a tax issue is causing financial hardship or isn’t being resolved through normal channels. Its help is free.
Free tax help map
Every year, the release of new tax numbers brings scam calls and texts claiming you’re owed a special refund or must “update” your tax account. The IRS generally contacts people first by mail, not by text, social media or a demand for gift cards. If something feels off, hang up and call the IRS directly, or report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Our Verdict
If your income stays about the same, the wider brackets and bigger standard deduction will lower your federal income tax by roughly $70 to $560, and your paychecks will reflect it from January without any action. The bigger opportunity is planning: knowing where your income sits relative to the next bracket edge lets you time Roth conversions, IRA withdrawals, gains and retirement contributions to pay a lower rate.
The senior, tips and overtime deductions are fixed and set to expire after 2028, and the Social Security taxation thresholds haven’t moved in decades. If your plans lean on any of these, run the numbers each year rather than assuming they keep pace with inflation.
Questions people still ask
Are these the brackets for the return I’m filing this coming spring?
No. The return you file in early 2027 covers 2026 income and uses the 2026 brackets. The 2027 brackets in this guide apply to income earned during 2027, reported in 2028.
Why did the brackets go up more than last year?
The IRS adjusts most amounts using a chained measure of consumer prices. Inflation ran higher during 2026 than the year before, so the adjustments for 2027 are larger. Congress didn’t change the rates.
Is my bracket based on gross pay or taxable income?
Taxable income: gross income minus pre-tax contributions, adjustments such as deductible IRA contributions, and your standard or itemized deduction, plus the newer deductions for seniors, tips and overtime if you qualify.
What tax bracket is $100,000 of income in?
It depends on filing status. A single filer earning $100,000 has $83,400 of taxable income after the standard deduction, which falls in the 22% bracket. A married couple earning $100,000 has $66,800 of taxable income, in the 12% bracket.
How do I know which filing status to use?
Your status is based on your situation on December 31. Married people choose between filing jointly and separately; joint is usually cheaper. Unmarried people who pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying person, typically a child, can usually file as head of household, which has wider brackets and a bigger standard deduction than single. A surviving spouse with a dependent child may use the joint brackets for two years after the year of death.
Do states use the same brackets?
No. State income taxes have their own rates and brackets, and some states have no income tax at all. This guide covers federal income tax only.
Is Social Security income taxed using these brackets?
Up to 85% of your benefits can be added to taxable income depending on your “provisional income,” and that taxable portion is then taxed at your regular bracket rates. The thresholds that decide how much is taxable aren’t adjusted for inflation.
Will the 401(k) and IRA limits go up too?
The IRS announces retirement plan limits separately. As of November 9 they hadn’t been released for 2027; the 2026 limits are $24,500 for a 401(k) and $7,500 for an IRA. Check the IRS newsroom for the official 2027 figures.
What are the new estate and gift tax amounts?
The estate tax basic exclusion is $15,480,000 per person, and the annual gift exclusion rises to $20,000 per recipient.
What are the brackets for estates and trusts?
They’re very compressed: 10% up to $3,400, 24% up to $12,100, 35% up to $16,500, and 37% above that. That’s why trusts often distribute income to beneficiaries.
Could Congress change these numbers before the year ends?
It can. The rates were made permanent by the 2025 tax law, but Congress can pass new legislation at any time. The figures here are the official ones under current law as of the IRS’s November announcement.
How this page was checked. Brackets, standard deductions, capital gains thresholds, credit amounts and estate and gift figures come directly from IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-35 and the IRS announcement of November 5. 2026 comparison figures come from the prior year’s IRS adjustments. Social Security figures come from the Social Security Administration’s October announcement. Worked examples, the calculator and all illustrations are our own calculations and simplify real returns.
This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Your own return depends on details this guide can’t see.
Key sources: Internal Revenue Service · Social Security Administration