2024-2025 Tax Brackets and Tax Rates
When you pay your federal taxes, your federal income tax is determined by the IRS tax tables. There are seven tax brackets you can fall into based on your income, with each bracket increasing the percentage of tax you pay on that portion of income. Find out more about IRS tax tables, which tax brackets you fall into, and how much you can expect to pay in federal income tax.
Key Takeaways
- Tax brackets show you the tax rate that will be applied to each dollar of your taxable income.
- There are currently seven federal income tax rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.
- As your federal taxable income increases, the percentage of tax you pay on some of your income will increase if you move into a higher tax bracket.
- Your marginal tax rate is the tax rate that’s applied to the last dollar of your taxable income, while your effective tax rate is the percentage of your taxable income that you owe in taxes.
What are tax brackets and the current federal tax rates?
Each year, the IRS releases “tax brackets” that match each of the seven federal income tax rates – 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% – with a taxable income range. There’s generally a separate set of tax brackets for each filing status, except the brackets are the same for the Married Filing Jointly and Qualifying Surviving Spouse filing statuses.
Once you know your filing status and total taxable income, you can use the tax brackets to see the federal income tax rate that will be applied to each dollar of your taxable income.
The tax brackets are also used to determine your marginal tax rate (defined below). For instance, if your total taxable income falls within the 22% tax bracket for your filing status, your marginal tax rate is 22%. But as I’ll explain in a minute, that doesn’t mean the tax you owe is equal to 22% of your overall taxable income.
TurboTax Tip:
"While the tax brackets determine your marginal tax rate, keep in mind that if you have net earnings from self-employment, you will generally be required to pay self-employment taxes on those earnings at the rate of 15.3%. This covers both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. This tax is in addition to the income tax due on all your income." – Kelly Wallace, CPA, Homedale, Idaho
When you look at the U.S. federal tax brackets, you’ll also see that they’re “progressive,” which basically means that higher tax rates are applied as your taxable income grows.
Finally, it’s also important to realize that the taxable income ranges are adjusted each year to account for inflation. This helps reduce “bracket creep,” which is when you move into a higher tax bracket than you were in the previous year even though your income didn’t grow as much as the rate of inflation.
What are the 2024 tax brackets and rates (for filing federal tax returns in 2025)?
The following tax brackets are for the 2024 tax year – this is, they are to be used for federal income tax returns due in 2025. First, find the column for your filing status. Then move down the column to determine the tax rate for each dollar of your taxable income. The rate that applies to your total taxable income is your marginal tax rate.
What are the 2024 tax brackets and rates (for filing federal tax returns in 2025)?
The following tax brackets are for the 2024 tax year – this is, they are to be used for federal income tax returns due in 2025. First, find the column for your filing status. Then move down the column to determine the tax rate for each dollar of your taxable income. The rate that applies to your total taxable income is your marginal tax rate.
|
Single |
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse |
Married Filing Separately |
Head of Household |
|---|---|---|---|
|
10% on the first $11,600 |
10% on the first $23,200 |
10% on the first $11,600 |
10% on the first $16,550 |
|
12% on amounts over $11,600 and up to $47,150 |
12% on amounts over $23,200 and up to $94,300 |
12% on amounts over $11,600 and up to $47,150 |
12% on amounts over $16,550 and up to $63,100 |
|
22% on amounts over $47,150 and up to $100,525 |
22% on amounts over $94,300 and up to $201,050 |
22% on amounts over $47,150 and up to $100,525 |
22% on amounts over $63,100 and up to $100,500 |
|
24% on amounts over $100,525 and up to $191,950 |
24% on amounts over $201,050 and up to $383,900 |
24% on amounts over $100,525 and up to $191,950 |
24% on amounts over $100,500 and up to $191,950 |
|
32% on amounts over $191,950 and up to $243,725 |
32% on amounts over $383,900 and up to $487,450 |
32% on amounts over $191,950 and up to $243,725 |
32% on amounts over $191,950 and up to $243,700 |
|
35% on amounts over $243,725 and up to $609,350 |
35% on amounts over $487,450 and up to $731,200 |
35% on amounts over $243,725 and up to $365,600 |
35% on amounts over $243,700 and up to $609,350 |
|
37% on amounts over $609,350 |
37% on amounts over $731,200 |
37% on amounts over $365,600 |
37% on amounts over $609,350 |
What are the 2025 tax brackets and rates (for filing federal tax returns in 2026)?
If you’re thinking ahead to the federal income tax return that will be due in 2026, you can use the tax brackets below for the 2025 tax year to estimate the tax you’ll owe. Again, find the column for your filing status, then work down the column to see the tax rate for each dollar of your estimated taxable income.
|
Single |
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse |
Married Filing Separately |
Head of Household |
|---|---|---|---|
|
10% on the first $11,925 |
10% on the first $23,850 |
10% on the first $11,925 |
10% on the first $17,000 |
|
12% on amounts over $11,925 and up to $48,475 |
12% on amounts over $23,850 and up to $96,950 |
12% on amounts over $11,925 and up to $48,475 |
12% on amounts over $17,000 and up to $64,850 |
|
22% on amounts over $48,475 and up to $103,350 |
22% on amounts over $96,950 and up to $206,700 |
22% on amounts over $48,475 and up to $103,350 |
22% on amounts over $64,850 and up to $103,350 |
|
24% on amounts over $103,350 and up to $197,300 |
24% on amounts over $206,700 and up to $394,600 |
24% on amounts over $103,350 and up to $197,300 |
24% on amounts over $103,350 and up to $197,300 |
|
32% on amounts over $197,300 and up to $250,525 |
32% on amounts over $394,600 and up to $501,050 |
32% on amounts over $197,300 and up to $250,525 |
32% on amounts over $197,300 and up to $250,500 |
|
35% on amounts over $250,525 and up to $626,350 |
35% on amounts over $501,050 and up to $751,600 |
35% on amounts over $250,525 and up to $375,800 |
35% on amounts over $250,500 and up to $626,350 |
|
37% on amounts over $626,350 |
37% on amounts over $751,600 |
37% on amounts over $375,800 |
37% on amounts over $626,350 |
How do tax brackets work?
Just because your total taxable income falls within, say, the 22% bracket, that doesn’t mean you pay a flat 22% tax on all your income. Instead, the federal tax brackets divide your taxable income into different brackets or ranges, applying a different tax rate to each bracket your taxable income falls under. This means you won’t pay taxes at your highest tax rate on all of your taxable income.
Let’s take a look at an example.
Suppose your taxable income for the 2024 tax year (filing in 2025) is $90,000, and you file as a single taxpayer. Based on the tax brackets, your total taxable income falls within the third tax bracket (taxable income between $47,150 and $100,525), which has a tax rate of 22%. However, you won’t pay a 22% tax rate on the entirety of your $90,000 taxable income, which would be equal to $19,800 of tax ($90,000 x 0.22 = $19,800).
Instead, here’s what you pay:
- 10% on the first $11,600, which is $1,160
- 12% on amounts over $11,600 and up to $47,150, which is $4,266
- 22% on amounts over $47,150 and up to $90,000, which is $9,427
When you add it all up, your tax liability for the 2024 tax year is $14,853 ($1,160 + $4,266 + $9,427 = $14,853).
That’s a savings of $4,947 when compared to the amount that would be due if you paid a flat 22% rate on all your taxable income ($19,800 - $14,853 = $4,947).
What is a marginal tax rate?
When you hear someone refer to themselves as being in the 22% tax bracket, for example, this refers to their “marginal tax rate.” Basically, your marginal tax rate is the tax rate that’s applied to the last dollar of your taxable income. It’s also the highest tax rate – but typically not the only tax rate – you’ll pay on your taxable income.
But as you may have figured out from the example above, that’s typically not a great indicator of how much tax you’ll owe. Since a portion of your income will usually be taxed at different rates (unless you’re in the lowest tax bracket), you can’t just look at your marginal tax rate when calculating your tax liability.
For instance, if you’re single and you have $90,000 of taxable income for the 2024 tax year (as in the example above), you’re in the 22% tax bracket. That means your marginal tax rate is 22% – but more than half of your taxable income (the first $47,150) is taxed at either a 10% or 12% rate.
What is an effective tax rate?
There’s another “tax rate” that many people use to measure how much tax they pay – their “effective tax rate.”
Most people define their effective tax rate as the percentage of their taxable income that they owe in taxes. To calculate your federal effective tax rate, divide your total tax before tax payments and refundable tax credits are subtracted (Line 24 on your 2024 Form 1040) by your taxable income (Line 15 of Form 1040). While this doesn’t take tax payments and refundable credits into account, it does include additional taxes from Schedule 2 and non-refundable credits.
To illustrate, let’s start with the example above – you’re a single person with $90,000 of taxable income in 2024. We already know that your marginal tax rate is 22% and that your tax liability for that amount using the tax brackets comes to $14,853. But let’s tack on $1,750 in self-employment taxes and a $900 nonrefundable Child and Dependent Care Credit. That results in a total tax of $15,703 ($14,853 + $1,750 - $900 = $15,703). If we divide that by your taxable income ($90,000), we get an effective tax rate of about 17.45% ($15,703 ÷ $90,000 = 0.174477) – which is 4.55% lower than your 22% marginal tax rate.
How can you get into a lower tax bracket?
The key moving into a lower tax bracket is reducing your taxable income. If you can cut your taxable income enough, it will eventually fall into an income range for a lower bracket. That will reduce your marginal tax rate, too.
A good way to slash your taxable income is to claim all the tax deductions possible. Common tax deductions you should check include those for:
- student loan interest payments
- mortgage interest payments
- contributions to a traditional IRA or health savings account
- donations to charity
- medical bills
- state and local taxes (up to $10,000)
If you don’t qualify for any of these deductions, you still might qualify for some of the less popular ones.
It’s also important to make a smart decision when picking either the Standard Deduction or itemized deductions (you have to pick one or the other). In most cases, you can select whichever one saves you the most money. The one exception is if you claim the Married Filing Separately filing status. In that case, both spouses must either claim the Standard Deduction or itemize. You might miss out on some tax deductions if you claim the Standard Deduction – such as the deductions for medical expenses and charitable donations – but you’ll still save more in the long run if the Standard Deduction is greater than the total amount of your itemized deductions.
Putting money in a traditional 401(k) plan at work (or a similar kind of employer-sponsored retirement plan) will also reduce your taxable income. That’s because that money won’t be included in the taxable income reported on your W-2 form. (Contributions to a Roth 401(k) plan are included in your taxable income.)
Note that tax credits won’t reduce your taxable income. That’s because you claim them on your tax return after your taxable income is set. However, since nonrefundable credits are included in the calculation of your total tax, they can lower your effective tax rate.
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