Enter your income and filing status to see federal tax owed, your marginal bracket and your effective rate.
How income tax is worked out
The US federal income tax is progressive: each slice of income is taxed at its own rate, so moving into a higher bracket only affects the income above that threshold. This calculator applies each bracket in turn and shows the total.
Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar earned; your effective rate is total tax divided by total income. The two are usually far apart, and the effective rate is the more useful number.
How to fill it in
- Enter your gross annual income.
- Choose your filing status and tax year.
- Switch to itemized deductions if they exceed the standard deduction.
Formula reference
Try it with these numbers
The calculator opens with a gross annual income of 75,000. On those figures the federal tax owed is $8,114. Underneath, Taxable income comes out at $60,000 and Deduction used at $15,000. Change any field and every figure updates as you type.