Introduction
This free US tax calculator shows what you will owe the IRS, or get back, for tax year 2025 or 2026. Enter your income, deductions, and credits, and see your federal refund or balance due right away.
The calculator figures your adjusted gross income (AGI), picks the better of the standard or itemized deduction, runs your income through each tax bracket, and adds FICA, self-employment tax, state income tax, and any city tax for your location. It also checks credits like the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit, education credits, and child care credit.
The results go past a single number. See your take-home pay by week, two weeks, month, or year. See how much tax comes from each bracket. Read a step-by-step solution that shows every line of the math. You can also test a "what if" scenario (a raise, a pay cut, a new filing status, or a different deduction method) and compare it side by side.
Use it to plan ahead, check your paycheck withholding, or avoid a surprise bill in April.
How to use our US Tax Calculator
Enter your filing details, income, deductions, and credits, and this federal income tax calculator shows your taxable income, total tax, refund or balance due, and your take-home pay.
Tax Year: Pick the year you are filing for. Brackets, limits, and the standard deduction change each year.
Your Date of Birth: Type your birth date. It sets your age for the 65+ extra deduction and catch-up limits.
Spouse Date of Birth: Add your spouse's birth date if you are married. Skip it if you are not.
Are you married?: Choose Yes or No for the last day of the tax year.
Filing jointly with your spouse?: Choose Yes for one joint return or No to file separately.
Head of Household?: Choose Yes if you are single, paid over half your home costs, and a qualifying person lived with you most of the year.
Qualifying Surviving Spouse?: Choose Yes if your spouse died in the last two years and you support a dependent child.
City & State: Type your city and pick it from the list. This loads your state and city income tax rates.
Can someone else claim you as a dependent?: Check the box if a parent or another person claims you.
Children age 16 or under: Enter how many qualifying kids you have. This drives the Child Tax Credit.
Dependents 17 to 23 in full-time school: Enter how many student dependents you support.
Other dependents: Enter other people you claim, like a parent or adult relative.
Taxable Wages / Salary: Enter your pay for the year. If you use W-2 Box 1, do not also enter your 401(k) below.
Net Business / Self-Employment Income: Enter your Schedule C profit. Use a minus sign for a loss.
Federal Income Tax Withheld: Enter the tax taken out of your pay, from W-2 Box 2 and any 1099s.
Federal Estimated Tax Payments: Enter the quarterly payments you already sent the IRS.
Taxable IRA / Pension Distributions: Enter the taxable amount from your Form 1099-R.
Social Security Benefits Received: Enter your total benefits. The tool works out how much is taxed.
Unemployment Compensation: Enter the amount from Form 1099-G, Box 1.
Other Taxable Income: Enter prizes, gambling wins, jury pay, or old alimony you received.
State Tax Refund (Prior Year): Enter last year's state refund only if you itemized last year.
Interest Income: Enter bank and bond interest from Form 1099-INT.
Total Dividend Income: Enter all dividends from Form 1099-DIV, Box 1a.
Qualified Dividends: Enter Box 1b. This part gets lower tax rates and cannot be more than your total dividends.
Short-Term Capital Gains / Losses: Enter gains on things you held one year or less. Losses can be negative.
Long-Term Capital Gains / Losses: Enter gains on things you held over one year. These get 0%, 15%, or 20% rates.
Tax-Exempt Interest: Enter muni bond interest. It is not taxed but can raise the taxable part of Social Security.
Spouse Income & Payments: If you file jointly, fill in your spouse's wages, self-employment income, withholding, estimated payments, pension, Social Security, unemployment, and other income.
Deduction Method: Pick Standard or Itemized. The tool tells you which one saves more.
Your Standard Deduction: This box fills in by itself based on your filing status and age.
State & Local Taxes Paid (SALT): Enter state income or sales tax plus property tax. A cap may apply.
Mortgage Interest Paid: Enter the amount from Form 1098, Box 1.
Charitable Contributions: Enter cash and goods you gave to charity.
Medical & Dental Expenses: Enter what you paid out of pocket. Only the part over 7.5% of your AGI counts.
Other Itemized Deductions: Enter disaster losses, gambling losses up to your winnings, and similar items.
Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction: Enter your 20% pass-through business deduction if you qualify.
401(k) / 403(b) Contributions: Enter your pre-tax retirement savings from your paycheck.
Traditional IRA Contributions: Enter what you put in. The tool shows how much is deductible.
Roth IRA Contributions: Enter your Roth savings. It is not deductible but shows in your take-home chart.
HSA Contributions: Enter money you put into a health savings account outside of payroll.
HSA Coverage Type: Pick No HSA, Self-only, or Family to set your limit.
FSA Contributions: Enter your health flexible spending account amount.
Student Loan Interest Paid: Enter the amount from Form 1098-E. The $2,500 cap is applied for you.
Self-Employed Health Insurance: Enter premiums you paid, up to your business profit.
Other Pre-Tax Deductions: Enter educator costs, SEP or SIMPLE plans, or old alimony you paid.
Covered by a retirement plan at work?: Choose Yes or No. This affects your IRA deduction.
Child or dependent care: Check the box, then enter what you paid for care and how many people it covered.
College (first 4 years): Check the box and enter school costs for the American Opportunity Credit.
Other higher-education expenses: Check the box and enter costs for the Lifetime Learning Credit.
Clean-energy home improvements: Check the box and enter what you spent on solar panels or a battery.
Energy-efficiency improvements: Check the box and enter costs for windows, insulation, or HVAC.
Marketplace health insurance: Check the box and enter your net Premium Tax Credit from Form 8962.
Other Tax Credits: Enter credits like the saver's credit, foreign tax credit, or EV credit.
Calculate and Reset: Click Calculate to see full results, or Reset to start over.
Rate column shows: Switch between Marginal Rate and Effective Rate in the tax results table.
Compare a Scenario: Change your wages, filing status, or deduction method to see how your tax and refund would change.
Understanding Your US Income Taxes
Income tax is the money you pay the government on what you earn. Most workers pay it all year through paycheck withholding. At tax time you add up your real income, subtract what you are allowed to subtract, and see if you paid too much or too little. If you paid too much, you get a refund. If you paid too little, you owe a balance due.
How Federal Income Tax Is Figured
The IRS uses a step-by-step order. Each step lowers the amount that gets taxed:
- Total income: wages, business profit, interest, dividends, capital gains, retirement money, and the taxable part of Social Security.
- Adjusted gross income (AGI): total income minus adjustments like IRA and HSA contributions, student loan interest, and half of self-employment tax.
- Taxable income: AGI minus the standard deduction or your itemized deductions, plus any QBI or senior deduction.
- Tax: taxable income run through the tax brackets.
- Credits and payments: subtract credits, withholding, and estimated payments to get your refund or balance due.
Tax Brackets Are Not All-or-Nothing
The US uses marginal tax brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Only the income inside each bracket pays that bracket's rate. If you land in the 22% bracket, your first dollars are still taxed at 10% and 12%. Your effective rate (total tax divided by total income) is always lower than your top marginal rate.
Filing Status Matters
Your status sets your bracket sizes and your standard deduction. The five choices are Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Surviving Spouse. Head of Household is for unmarried people who pay more than half the cost of a home for a qualifying child or relative, and it gives a bigger deduction than Single.
Standard vs. Itemized Deductions
You take whichever is bigger. The standard deduction for 2025 is $15,750 for Single and $31,500 for Married Filing Jointly, with extra amounts if you are 65 or older. Itemized deductions add up state and local taxes (SALT, capped at $40,000 in 2025), mortgage interest, charity gifts, and medical costs above 7.5% of your AGI. Most people take the standard deduction.
Credits Beat Deductions
A deduction lowers the income that gets taxed. A credit cuts your tax bill dollar for dollar, so it is worth more. Common credits include the Child Tax Credit ($2,200 per child under 17), the $500 Credit for Other Dependents, the Earned Income Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, and education credits like the American Opportunity Credit. Some credits are refundable, meaning they can pay you money even if your tax is already zero.
Taxes Beyond Income Tax
- FICA: 6.2% Social Security on wages up to $176,100 (2025) plus 1.45% Medicare on all wages, with an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on high earners.
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% if you work for yourself, since you pay both the worker and employer share. Half of it is deductible.
- Capital gains: long-term gains and qualified dividends get lower rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%. Short-term gains are taxed like wages.
- Net Investment Income Tax: an extra 3.8% on investment income once AGI passes $200,000 (Single) or $250,000 (Joint).
- State and local tax: rates change by where you live. Nine states have no income tax, and some cities add their own.
Simple Ways to Lower Your Tax
Put money in a traditional 401(k), IRA, HSA, or FSA to cut your taxable income. Hold investments longer than a year for lower gain rates. Claim every dependent and credit you qualify for. And check your W-4 withholding during the year so you are not surprised by a large bill in April.