The tax brackets below apply to income earned during the 2026 calendar year. This is the income you report on the tax return due April 15, 2027 (or Oct. 15 with an extension).
These are the final, official figures. The IRS published them on Oct. 9, 2025, in Revenue Procedure 2025-32, and they are the first set to reflect the July 2025 tax overhaul known as OBBBA (Public Law 119-21, formally titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). Most inflation-indexed amounts rose about 2.3 percent over 2025. The 10 percent and 12 percent brackets rose about 4 percent because OBBBA gave the two lowest brackets one extra year of indexing. The seven rates themselves did not move, and OBBBA wrote them into law for good.
The grid below covers all four filing statuses for 2026. Each cell is the highest amount of taxable income taxed at that row’s rate; anything beyond it spills into the next rate. Your taxable income is whatever remains after you subtract the standard deduction or your itemized deductions from adjusted gross income.
| Individual Income Tax Brackets: Tax Year 2026 (Top of Each Bracket, Taxable Income) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | Single | Joint | Separate | Head of Household |
| 10% | $12,400 | $24,800 | $12,400 | $17,700 |
| 12% | $50,400 | $100,800 | $50,400 | $67,450 |
| 22% | $105,700 | $211,400 | $105,700 | $105,700 |
| 24% | $201,775 | $403,550 | $201,775 | $201,750 |
| 32% | $256,225 | $512,450 | $256,225 | $256,200 |
| 35% | $640,600 | $768,700 | $384,350 | $640,600 |
| 37% | Above $640,600 | Above $768,700 | Above $384,350 | Above $640,600 |
Joint refers to spouses who combine everything on one return; Separate refers to spouses who each file on their own. Separate filers use the single thresholds through the 32 percent bracket, but their 35 percent bracket ends at $384,350, half of the joint figure.
Trusts & Estates Tax Brackets
Trusts and estates get their own, much narrower, rate schedule. The top rate arrives once taxable income passes just $16,000.
| Trusts and Estates Tax Brackets: Tax Year 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Taxable Income | Rate |
| Up to $3,300 | 10% |
| $3,300 to $11,700 | 24% |
| $11,700 to $16,000 | 35% |
| Beyond $16,000 | 37% |
Standard Deductions
Here is the 2026 standard deduction for each filing status alongside the prior year. The 2025 column shows the amounts after OBBBA retroactively raised them in July 2025, not the lower figures the IRS had announced in late 2024. OBBBA also locked in the larger deduction going forward.
| Standard Deduction Amounts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing Status | 2026 | 2025 | Increase |
| Single | $16,100 | $15,750 | $350 |
| Joint | $32,200 | $31,500 | $700 |
| Separate | $16,100 | $15,750 | $350 |
| Head of Household | $24,150 | $23,625 | $525 |
Taxpayers who are 65 or older, blind or both get an additional amount per condition: $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse, otherwise $1,650. Separately, OBBBA created a temporary deduction of $6,000 for each taxpayer 65 or older, available for the 2025 through 2028 tax years. It shrinks by 6 cents for every dollar of modified AGI beyond $75,000 for a single filer or $150,000 on a joint return.
AMT Exemptions and Phase-Outs
The table below shows the 2026 AMT exemptions and the income level at which each one starts to shrink.
| AMT Exemption Amounts: Tax Year 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Filing Status | Phase-Out Starts At | Exemption |
| Joint (and surviving spouses) | $1,000,000 | $140,200 |
| Single filers and heads of household | $500,000 | $90,100 |
| Married, filing separately | $500,000 | $70,100 |
| Estates and trusts | $104,800 | $31,400 |
The phase-out is where OBBBA bites. In 2025 a single filer kept the full exemption until alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) passed $626,350, and a couple until $1,252,700. OBBBA pulled those starting points back to a flat $500,000 and $1,000,000 (indexing resumes after 2026) and made the exemption disappear twice as fast: each dollar of AMTI beyond the threshold now wipes out half a dollar of exemption instead of a quarter. A single filer has no exemption left at $680,200 of AMTI, and a couple at $1,280,400.
Capital Gains
How a capital gain is taxed depends first on how long you owned the asset. Short-term gains, from assets owned 12 months or less, are added to your other income and taxed at the ordinary rates above.
Long-term gains come from assets owned longer than 12 months. The three rates (0 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent) are unchanged for 2026, but the taxable income levels that separate them have moved up. The table shows the top of the 0 percent band and the top of the 15 percent band for each filing status; anything higher is taxed at 20 percent.
| Long-Term Capital Gains Thresholds: Tax Year 2026 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Filing Status | Top of 0% Band | Top of 15% Band |
| Single | $49,450 | $545,500 |
| Joint | $98,900 | $613,700 |
| Separate | $49,450 | $306,850 |
| Head of Household | $66,200 | $579,600 |
| Estates and trusts | $3,300 | $16,250 |
Note that the 20 percent rate does not begin where the 37 percent bracket begins. A single filer reaches 20 percent once taxable income passes $545,500, roughly $95,000 before the 37 percent bracket starts at $640,600. Collectibles are capped at a 28 percent rate, and the 3.8 percent net investment income tax still applies above $200,000 of modified AGI ($250,000 for joint filers).
Conclusion
Use these amounts as a guide in understanding your tax situation for 2026, when you prepare and submit the return in 2027. Because these are official IRS figures rather than projections, you can rely on them now for withholding, estimated payments and year-end planning. They are also a good starting point for a conversation with your tax advisor.
