2026 Federal Tax Brackets

What changed in 2026

2026 was the first year since TCJA's enactment that the bracket thresholds did not increase year-over-year. The late-2025 TCJA extension legislation, which preserved the 7-bracket structure beyond its scheduled December 31, 2025 sunset, also froze the thresholds at 2025 levels rather than applying the customary chained-CPI inflation adjustment. The standard deduction of $15,000 single / $30,000 MFJ remained unchanged. The 37% bracket continued to begin at $626,350 single / $751,600 MFJ. The practical consequence is bracket creep in slow motion: any nominal income increase in 2026 - a cost-of-living raise, a market-rate adjustment, normal salary progression - pushes more income into higher brackets even though the bracket boundaries didn't move. A single filer with $200,000 taxable income in 2026 owed federal income tax of approximately $40,200, an effective rate of 20.1%. A married couple with $200,000 taxable income owed approximately $30,500, an effective rate of 15.25%. The Additional Medicare Tax thresholds ($200K single / $250K MFJ) and Net Investment Income Tax thresholds (same levels) remained unindexed for their 13th consecutive year. The Inflation Reduction Act's 15% corporate AMT continued into year 4 of effectiveness.