Estimate your 2025 federal income tax using IRS tax brackets, standard deductions, and marginal rate breakdown. Free federal tax calculator with tax refund estimator — updated 2025.
An income tax calculator estimates the federal tax you owe by applying the IRS tax brackets to your taxable income after the standard deduction. It shows your total tax, effective tax rate and marginal tax bracket for the year based on your filing status.
2025 IRS tax brackets & standard deductions
This income tax calculator applies the 2025 IRS tax brackets to your gross income, subtracts the standard deduction for your filing status, and calculates both your total federal tax owed and your effective tax rate. The 2025 standard deduction is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filing jointly — the highest ever, reflecting inflation adjustments under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. On a $75,000 salary, a single filer's taxable income after the standard deduction is $60,000, which falls across the 10%, 12%, and 22% brackets for a total federal tax of roughly $8,800 — an effective rate of about 11.7%, not 22%.
Understanding the difference between marginal tax rate and effective tax rate is one of the most common areas of confusion in US personal finance. Your marginal rate is your top bracket — 22% for most middle-income earners — but it applies only to income above the 22% bracket threshold ($47,150 for single filers in 2025). Every dollar below that is taxed at 10% or 12%. Your effective rate — total tax divided by gross income — is almost always significantly lower than your marginal rate. This tax refund estimator also shows your after-tax income and monthly take-home, useful for budgeting and financial planning without state income tax factored in.
Seven IRS brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, 37% — applied to taxable income after deductions. The 37% top bracket kicks in above $626,350 for single filers and $751,600 for married couples filing jointly.
$15,000 for Single and Married Filing Separately. $30,000 for Married Filing Jointly. $22,500 for Head of Household. The calculator automatically applies the standard deduction unless you enter higher itemized amounts.
Being "in the 22% bracket" doesn't mean you pay 22% on all income. A single filer earning $75,000 pays 10% on the first $11,925, 12% on the next $36,550, and 22% on only the remaining $11,525 — for an effective rate near 11%–12%.
This calculator covers federal income tax only — not state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), or AMT. States like California (up to 13.3%), New York (up to 10.9%), and New Jersey (up to 10.75%) add significantly to your total tax burden.
US federal income tax is marginal, and almost every misunderstanding about it comes from forgetting that. Your bracket is not a rate applied to your whole income — it is the rate applied to the last dollar you earned. Income is first reduced by the standard or itemised deduction, and the remainder is then poured into brackets in sequence, each slice taxed at its own rate. The result is that the effective rate you actually pay is always well below the bracket you are "in". This is also why a raise can never leave you worse off: only the portion above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate.
Taxable income = Gross − deductionsTax = Σ (income within each bracket × that bracket's rate)Effective rate = Total tax ÷ Gross incomewhere:
Assumptions: Federal only; state income tax, FICA and credits are separate. Assumes the standard deduction and no above-the-line adjustments, credits or alternative minimum tax.
Watch the income pour through the 2026 single brackets one slice at a time.
Result$12,514 federal tax — 22% marginal, 13.17% effective
The nine-point gap between marginal and effective is the number that matters. A $1,000 raise costs $220 in federal tax, not $220 plus a reassessment of everything below it. Equally, a $1,000 pre-tax 401(k) contribution saves $220, because deductions come off at the margin.