Federal brackets
7
10% to 37%, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32
7 guides · 2026 tax year
Plain-language guides to US income tax
No marketing, no upsells, no hedge words. Each guide walks the 2026 federal and state rules through worked examples, and cites the official source for every number.
State jurisdictions
51
all 50 states + DC covered
FICA combined rate
7.65%
employee share, payroll-side
Top combined marginal
50.3%
federal 37% + CA state 13.3%
All guides
Seven guides covering bracket mechanics, rates, state schedules, self-employment, investing, and edge cases.
Mechanics
How Federal Tax Brackets Actually Work
Marginal brackets are not flat rates. Walk through the 2026 federal schedule with worked examples for $50K, $100K, and $250K filers.
Read guide → RatesEffective Rate vs Marginal Rate
Why your last-dollar tax rate is always higher than your average rate, with worked examples from $25K to $1M.
Read guide → MechanicsBrackets vs Deductions vs Credits
The three knobs that determine your final tax, and why a credit beats a deduction of the same size, dollar-for-dollar.
Read guide → State taxesThe 9 States with No Income Tax
Which states forgo wage income tax, what they charge instead, and how the tradeoffs actually shake out.
Read guide → Self-employmentSelf-Employment Tax (SECA) Explained
Why the self-employed pay 15.3% on top of income tax, the $184,500 wage base, and the deductible-half offset.
Read guide → InvestingCapital Gains: Short-Term vs Long-Term 2026
The 0%, 15%, and 20% preferential brackets, the 3.8% NIIT surtax, and the one-year holding-period rule.
Read guide → Edge casesAlternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Primer
When AMT still applies after the 2017 TCJA reforms, the 2026 exemptions, and the ISO-exercise trap.
Read guide →Every figure on PlainSalary is computed directly from official IRS, state Department of Revenue, and SSA tax data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on IRS, state Department of Revenue, and SSA source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.