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.
Download the compiled take-home extract: take-home-pay-by-state.csv (same extract as /statistics).
7 guides · 7 federal brackets
PlainSalary publishes 7 plain-language 2026 tax guides covering federal brackets, effective vs marginal rate, no-tax states, self-employment tax, capital gains, and AMT. Every figure cites IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 or a state DOR schedule across 51 jurisdictions.
- 7 federal brackets (10% to 37%, Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
- 51 jurisdictions covered in state guides
- 2026 tax year · worked examples, not marketing copy
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 →Individual income tax topics
PlainSalary covers wage income tax only: federal brackets, state schedules, and payroll taxes. Corporate, sales, property, and unemployment-insurance taxes are outside this registry.
Federal bracket mechanics
Seven marginal brackets from 10% to 37%, inflation-adjusted in IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Lower bands fill before higher ones.
- How federal brackets work
- Effective vs marginal rate
- Brackets vs deductions vs credits
- Full 7-bracket schedule by filing status
2026 standard deductions
- Single filer: $16,100
- Married filing jointly: $32,200
- Married filing separately: $16,100
- Head of household: $24,150
Federal schedules by filing status
Single filer
Standard deduction $16,100 · top marginal 37%
Married filing jointly
Standard deduction $32,200 · top marginal 37%
Married filing separately
Standard deduction $16,100 · top marginal 37%
Head of household
Standard deduction $24,150 · top marginal 37%
Bracket stacking rules
Lower brackets fill first; capital gains and ordinary income use separate stacks.
Inflation-adjusted boundaries
IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets 2026 dollar thresholds from chained CPI.
Standard vs itemized deduction
PlainSalary defaults to the standard deduction; itemized schedules are out of scope for this registry.
Investing and edge cases
Preferential capital-gains brackets, the 3.8% net-investment-income surtax, and the post-TCJA AMT floor for high earners.
Capital gains preferential brackets
Long-term gains use 0%, 15%, and 20% rates with separate thresholds from ordinary income. Short-term gains stack on ordinary brackets.
State income tax structures
Every US jurisdiction falls into one of three wage-income-tax shapes. PlainSalary computes the state line from each Department of Revenue schedule.
No wage income tax
9 states take $0 from wage income in 2026.
Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming.
Alaska
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Florida
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Nevada
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
New Hampshire
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
South Dakota
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Tennessee
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Texas
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Washington
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Wyoming
No broad wage income tax · Schedule
Flat-rate states
16 jurisdictions apply one rate from the first dollar of taxable income.
- Arizona · 2.50%
- Colorado · 4.40%
- Georgia · 5.19%
- Idaho · 5.30%
- Illinois · 4.95%
- Indiana · 2.95%
- Iowa · 3.80%
- Kentucky · 3.50%
- …and 8 more on /states
Progressive bracket states
26 jurisdictions use multi-bracket schedules (including DC).
California tops the headline rate at 13.3%; Oregon often leads the $100K bill because brackets bite earlier.
Browse state rankings →State burden rankings
Highest tax states
Effective state-tax burden at $50K, $100K, and $200K.
Lowest tax states
Where wage income keeps the largest share after state tax.
Highest state tax at $100K
The largest state-income-tax lines on a six-figure salary.
Lowest state tax at $100K
The smallest state bills on a $100,000 single salary.
Lowest state tax at $200K
Where high earners keep more once brackets diverge.
Payroll and self-employment taxes
FICA sits on top of federal income tax. Employee and self-employed rates come from the SSA wage base and IRS payroll rules.
Employee Social Security (OASDI)
6.2% on wages up to $184,500.
Employee Medicare
1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 joint.
Interactive tools
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, the data changelog, or report a data issue on this page.
These figures are estimates for informational purposes only and are not tax, financial, or legal advice; consult a qualified tax professional before making filing or financial decisions. Read the full disclaimer.
Open Data
Download the compiled take-home extract as take-home-pay-by-state.csv (same CSV as /statistics). When reusing the table, name PlainSalary as the compiler; underlying IRS / state DOR / SSA schedules remain public-source.