2026 federal tax brackets and standard deductions, all four filing statuses

Last reviewed July 2026 · 5 min read

These are the federal income tax numbers for tax year 2026 — the return you will file in early 2027 — as set by IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, the first annual inflation adjustment issued after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made the seven-rate structure permanent. The rates themselves (10% through 37%) did not change; the dollar boundaries between them moved up with inflation.

Two things to keep straight when reading the tables. First, brackets apply to taxable income — what is left after subtracting the standard deduction (or itemized deductions) from your adjusted gross income. Second, rates are marginal: crossing into the 22% bracket taxes only the dollars above the boundary at 22%, not your whole income. Each range below runs from just above the lower number through the upper number.

2026 standard deductions

Retirees get more. For 2026, taxpayers who are 65 or older (or blind) add an extra $1,650 per married person ($2,050 if unmarried) to the standard deduction. On top of that, OBBBA created a temporary $6,000 senior deduction per person aged 65+, available 2025 through 2028 whether or not you itemize — it phases out above $75,000 of MAGI ($150,000 on a joint return). A 65+ couple under that MAGI line can shield $32,200 + $3,300 + $12,000 = $47,500 before the first bracket starts.

2026 ordinary-income brackets

Note the quirks. Married-filing-separately mirrors single through the 35% bracket, but its 37% bracket starts at $384,350 — half the joint threshold — so MFS is the one status where the top rate arrives early. Head of household gets wider 10% and 12% brackets than single, then converges. And the joint brackets are exactly double the single brackets only up to the 32% bracket; above that, two high earners marrying can hit the “marriage penalty.”

2026 long-term capital gains and qualified dividends

Long-term gains and qualified dividends use a separate three-rate schedule that stacks on top of your ordinary taxable income: the 0% rate applies until the combined stack crosses the first threshold, 15% until the second, and 20% above that.

How the pieces fit together

The order of operations matters for planning. Income minus deductions gives taxable income; ordinary income fills the brackets from the bottom; gains and qualified dividends stack on top and use their own thresholds. That is why a retired couple with $32,200 of deductions and modest ordinary income can realize tens of thousands of dollars of long-term gains at 0% — and why a Roth conversion, which is ordinary income, can push gains that were at 0% into the 15% rate at the same time it climbs the ordinary brackets. Every dollar boundary in these tables is also indexed again next year, so a plan aimed at “the top of the 12% bracket” is aiming at a moving line.

Try it in Deorbit Plan

The Household panel has a Filing status selector covering all four statuses in these tables, and the simulator applies the matching bracket, deduction, and LTCG schedules (indexed along each simulated inflation path). The Strategy panel’s Fill to top of bracket Roth-conversion setting converts up to the top of the 12%, 22%, 24%, or 32% bracket each year, and the Taxes & MAGI chart shows the resulting federal, state, and IRMAA taxes year by year.

Educational content only — not financial, tax, or investment advice.

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