A rough guide, with the assumptions shown
Estimate your federal income tax
Enter your income and filing status to see roughly how much federal income tax you owe and whether you are due a refund. It uses the IRS brackets and standard deduction, and it tells you what it leaves out.
This is an estimate for planning, not a tax return and not tax advice.
Estimate only
You may owe $5,020
Federal income tax of $5,020 on taxable income of $43,900.
- Standard deduction
- $16,100
- Top bracket you reach
- 12%
- Tax before credits
- $5,020
- Share of income paid as tax
- 8.37%
| Rate | Income in bracket | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $12,400 | $1,240.00 |
| 12% | $31,500 | $3,780.00 |
What this estimate assumes, and leaves out
- Ordinary income only. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends have their own, lower rates and are not modeled.
- No self-employment tax, Social Security or Medicare tax, alternative minimum tax, or net investment income tax.
- No other deductions: the newer deductions on Schedule 1-A (qualified tips, overtime pay, car loan interest and, for people 65 or older, the enhanced deduction for seniors) and the deduction for qualified business income are not modeled.
- Credits are whatever you type in. We do not work out the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Credit or any other credit, and we do not model credit phase-outs.
- Standard deduction for your filing status, plus the extra amount for each box you tick. If someone can claim you as a dependent, your standard deduction can be smaller, and we do not model that.
- No state or local tax. No itemized-deduction limits: if you itemize, we use the amount you enter.
For a closer look at your paycheck withholding, the IRS has its own Tax Withholding Estimator .
Where these numbers come from
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments, including the changes made by Public Law 119-21 (the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act). Published October 9, 2025. irs.gov
- IR-2025-103, IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026, including amendments from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. Published October 9, 2025. irs.gov
- Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals. Published February 12, 2026. irs.gov
- Rev. Proc. 2024-40, 2025 inflation adjustments. Published October 22, 2024. irs.gov
- IR-2024-273, IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2025. Published October 22, 2024. irs.gov
The brackets and standard deductions are the IRS figures shown on our tax brackets and standard deduction pages. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is this estimate?
It is a rough guide for an ordinary return. It applies the IRS brackets and standard deduction exactly, but it leaves out many things a real return includes, such as self-employment tax, capital gains rates and credits it does not calculate. Treat it as a starting point and not as the amount on your return.
Which numbers do I enter?
For a job, use the total of box 1 on your W-2s for income and box 2 for tax already withheld. If you contribute to a traditional IRA or HSA and plan to deduct it, enter that under adjustments. Enter credits only if you already know the amount.
Does it work out the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Credit?
No. Credits depend on details like your children's ages, your earned income and income limits, so we do not guess. If you know the amount, enter it under credits. The IRS pages for each credit explain who qualifies.
Is there an official IRS tool?
Yes. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator helps you check whether your paycheck withholding is on track. It is on irs.gov, and it asks for more detail than this page.
Does it store what I type?
No. The numbers stay in your browser and are not sent to us or saved.
Looking for the rules in one place? See all our tax pages.