Introduction
This free Income Tax Calculator helps you estimate your federal tax refund or the amount you owe for the 2025 or 2026 tax year. Just enter your income, filing status, deductions, and credits, and the tool does the math for you in seconds. It uses the latest IRS tax brackets, standard deduction amounts, and credit rules to give you a clear picture of where your money goes.
The calculator covers W-2 wages, self-employment income, 401(k) contributions, the Child Tax Credit, and more. It also shows your effective tax rate, marginal tax bracket, and a simple breakdown of your total tax bill. Whether you file as single, married filing jointly, head of household, or another status, this tool adjusts all numbers to match your situation.
Use it to plan ahead, check your withholding, or see how changes in income or deductions affect what you owe. No sign-up is needed, and your data stays right here in your browser.
How to Use Our Income Tax Calculator
Enter your income, filing details, and deductions below. The calculator will estimate your federal tax, effective tax rate, and whether you can expect a refund or owe money.
Tax Year: Pick the tax year you want to estimate. Choose 2025 for taxes filed in 2026, or 2026 for taxes filed in 2027.
Filing Status: Select how you plan to file. Your options are Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, or Qualified Widow(er). This changes your tax brackets and standard deduction.
Age: Enter your age. If you are 65 or older, you get a higher standard deduction.
Legally Blind: Check this box if you are legally blind. This adds an extra amount to your standard deduction.
Wages (W-2 Box 1): Enter your total wages from your W-2 form. This is your main job income before taxes. If you need to convert between hourly and annual figures, try our Salary to Hourly Calculator or Hourly to Salary Calculator.
Federal Tax Withheld (Box 2): Enter the federal income tax your employer already took out of your paychecks. Find this on your W-2.
State Tax Withheld (Box 17): Enter the state income tax your employer withheld from your pay.
Local Tax Withheld (Box 19): Enter any local taxes withheld from your pay. Put zero if none apply.
Other Taxable Income: Enter any extra taxable income such as interest, dividends, or other earnings not on a W-2. If you receive dividend income, our Dividend Calculator can help you estimate those amounts.
Self-Employment Income: Toggle this on if you earn money from a business or freelance work. Enter your net self-employment income after business expenses. This adds self-employment tax to your estimate. For a deeper look at your SE tax obligations, see our dedicated Self Employment Tax Calculator.
Estimated Tax Payments Made: If you are self-employed, enter any quarterly estimated tax payments you already sent to the IRS.
Spouse Information: If you file Married Filing Jointly, a spouse section will appear. Fill in your spouse's age, wages, withholding, and other income the same way you did for yourself.
Deduction Method: Choose Standard Deduction or Itemized Deductions. Most people use the standard deduction. If you itemize, enter your total itemized amount. The calculator will use whichever option saves you more money.
Pre-Tax 401(k) Contributions: Enter how much you put into a traditional 401(k) this year. This lowers your taxable income. The calculator applies the yearly contribution limit based on your age. For a full projection of your retirement savings growth, check out our 401k Calculator.
Children Under 17 (CTC): Enter the number of your children under age 17. Each qualifying child gives you up to a $2,000 Child Tax Credit.
Other Dependents (ODC): Enter the number of other dependents you claim, such as older children or qualifying relatives. Each one gives you a $500 credit.
Other Tax Credits: Enter the dollar amount of any other tax credits you qualify for, such as education credits or electric vehicle credits.
State + Local Tax Rate: Enter your estimated combined state and local income tax rate as a percentage. The calculator uses this to give you a rough state tax estimate. You can also use our Sales Tax Calculator to figure out sales tax separately.
Click Calculate to see your results. Click Reset to clear all fields and start over.
What Is an Income Tax Calculator?
An income tax calculator helps you estimate how much federal tax you owe or how big your refund will be. You enter basic information like your wages, filing status, and deductions. The calculator then uses the official IRS tax brackets to figure out your tax bill. It compares that bill to the taxes already taken out of your paycheck. If you paid more than you owe, you get a refund. If you paid less, you owe money. For a focused look at which bracket your income falls into, our Tax Bracket Calculator shows the exact breakdown.
How Federal Income Tax Works
The United States uses a progressive tax system. This means you do not pay one flat rate on all your income. Instead, your income is split into chunks called tax brackets. Each chunk is taxed at a different rate. The first chunk is taxed at the lowest rate (10%), and each chunk after that is taxed at a higher rate, up to 37%. Only the money in each chunk gets that chunk's rate. So even if you are in the 22% bracket, not all of your income is taxed at 22%.
Key Terms You Should Know
Gross income is all the money you earned before anything is taken out. If you want to figure out your total yearly earnings from an hourly wage, our Annual Income Calculator can help. Adjusted gross income (AGI) is your gross income minus certain deductions like 401(k) contributions. Taxable income is your AGI minus your standard or itemized deduction. This is the number the IRS actually taxes.
The standard deduction is a set dollar amount the IRS lets you subtract from your income. For 2025, it is $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married couples filing jointly. If you are 65 or older or legally blind, you get an extra amount added on. Itemized deductions let you list specific expenses like mortgage interest and charitable gifts instead of taking the standard deduction. You should pick whichever one is higher. If you own a home and want to understand your mortgage interest deduction, our Mortgage Calculator can show you how much interest you pay each year.
Filing Status
Your filing status affects your tax brackets, standard deduction, and credit limits. The five options are Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er). Married Filing Jointly usually gives the best tax rates and highest deduction. Head of Household is for unmarried people who pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying dependent.
Tax Credits vs. Deductions
A deduction lowers the amount of income that gets taxed. A tax credit directly lowers your tax bill, dollar for dollar. Credits are more valuable. The Child Tax Credit gives you up to $2,000 per child under 17. Up to $1,700 of that can be refunded to you even if you owe no tax. The Other Dependent Credit gives $500 per dependent who does not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.
Self-Employment Tax
If you work for yourself, you pay self-employment tax in addition to income tax. This covers Social Security and Medicare. The rate is 15.3% on 92.35% of your net self-employment income. The good news is you can deduct half of that tax from your income when calculating AGI. Use our Self Employment Tax Calculator to see exactly how much SE tax you owe, and consider our Payroll Tax Calculator if you also have employees.
Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rate
Your marginal tax rate is the rate on the last dollar you earned. Your effective tax rate is the total tax you owe divided by your total income. The effective rate is always lower than the marginal rate because of how the bracket system works. Your effective rate gives you a better picture of what you actually pay overall. To see how your after-tax pay breaks down each pay period, try our Take Home Pay Calculator or Biweekly Paycheck Calculator.