Income Tax Calculator
Estimate your 2025 federal income tax, effective rate, and marginal bracket from taxable income and filing status.
What is Income Tax Calculator?
This federal income tax calculator uses the 2025 IRS tax brackets to estimate what you owe the federal government on a given amount of taxable income. It reports the total tax, your after-tax take-home, your overall effective rate, and the marginal bracket the last dollar of your income falls into.
Remember: taxable income is your adjusted gross income minus the standard deduction (or itemized deductions) and any qualified deductions like 401(k) and HSA contributions. It is not the same as gross salary.
Formula
Federal tax is progressive. Each slice of income is taxed at the rate for the bracket it falls in, not a single rate on the whole amount. The 2025 single-filer brackets are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%, with the 37% rate kicking in above $626,350.
Effective rate = total tax ÷ taxable income × 100. It is always lower than your marginal rate because lower brackets only apply to the income within them.
Worked example
A single filer with $80,000 of taxable income in 2025:
- 10% on first $11,925 = $1,192.50
- 12% on next $36,550 ($11,925–$48,475) = $4,386.00
- 22% on remaining $31,525 ($48,475–$80,000) = $6,935.50
- Total federal tax ≈ $12,514
- Effective rate ≈ 15.6%; marginal bracket 22%.
How to use this calculator
- Choose your filing status.
- Enter your taxable income — not your gross salary. Use IRS Form 1040 line 15 if you already filed last year.
- Review your estimated federal tax, effective rate, and the marginal bracket you fall into.
This calculator does not include FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes, state income tax, AMT, or credits like the Child Tax Credit. Use our Paycheck Calculator for a full take-home estimate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between marginal and effective tax rate?
Your marginal rate is the tax on your next dollar of income — the top bracket you reach. Your effective rate is total tax divided by total taxable income, blended across all brackets. The effective rate is always lower and is the honest answer to "how much of my income went to federal tax?"
What is taxable income?
Taxable income equals your gross income minus pre-tax adjustments (401(k), HSA, traditional IRA, student loan interest, etc.) minus either the standard deduction ($15,000 single, $30,000 MFJ for 2025) or your itemized deductions.
Does this include state income tax?
No. State rates vary from 0% (Texas, Florida, Washington and 6 others) to over 13% (California top bracket). Our Paycheck Calculator lets you add a state rate.
Are long-term capital gains taxed at these rates?
No. Qualified long-term capital gains and qualified dividends use a separate schedule (0%, 15%, or 20%). This calculator handles ordinary income only.