Tax Calculator

A tax calculator works out what you owe in United States federal income tax for the 2024 tax year, given your income, your filing status, and your deductions. It is used by employees checking their withholding, by self-employed people setting money aside for the year ahead, and by anyone weighing up a raise or a move between states. The whole method is one subtraction and one banded calculation: taxable income is your gross income minus the larger of the standard deduction or your itemised deductions, and the tax is charged band by band on that taxable figure.

How to Use the Tax Calculator

1. Enter your total gross income for the year, which is wages, self-employment profit, rental income and any other taxable income added together.
2. Choose your filing status: single, or married filing jointly. The brackets and the standard deduction are different for each.
3. Enter itemised deductions only if they beat the standard deduction. Leave the field blank to use the standard amount.
4. Click calculate to see your taxable income, your federal income tax, and your marginal and effective rates.
5. Read the breakdown row by row. It shows how much of your income fell in each bracket and what that slice cost.

The tool covers federal income tax on ordinary income for 2024. State tax, Social Security and Medicare withholding, and credits are separate, and the sections below say what that means for the number you see.

The Formula

Taxable income = gross income minus the larger of the standard deduction or itemised deductions.

The 2024 standard deduction is $14,600 for a single filer and $29,200 for a married couple filing jointly. Income tax is then charged in bands, so each rate applies only to the income inside its own band rather than to the whole amount.

Two consequences follow from the band structure. The first is that a raise never reduces your take-home pay, because the higher rate applies only to the extra income. The second is that your marginal rate, the rate on your last dollar, is always higher than your effective rate, the tax you pay divided by your total income.

Real-World Example

A single filer earns $75,000 and takes the standard deduction.

• Taxable income: $75,000 - $14,600 = $60,400
• 10% band: $11,600 x 10% = $1,160
• 12% band: $35,550 x 12% = $4,266
• 22% band: $13,250 x 22% = $2,915
• Total federal income tax: $8,341
• Effective rate: $8,341 / $75,000 = 11.12%
• Marginal rate: 22%

The same $75,000 earned by a married couple filing jointly gives taxable income of $45,800 and a federal income tax bill of $5,032, an effective rate of 6.71%. The brackets and the standard deduction both move, which is why filing status is the single biggest lever on the figure after income itself.

Reference Table: Payroll tax components and an effective-rate illustration

The first table lists the United States payroll tax rates, which have been stable for years. The second table shows what those rates take from a range of salaries and then adds a flat 22% income-tax assumption so you can see how a marginal rate becomes a lower effective rate. Confirm current brackets with the IRS before filing.

The income-tax column is a flat 22% of gross pay, which is a simplification rather than a result. The banded calculation above gives $8,341 of federal income tax on $75,000, not $16,500, because the standard deduction and the two lower bands come first. Treat the second table as a payroll-withholding illustration, not as a tax bill.

Worked Example on Screen

The capture below shows the Tax Calculator with the default inputs of $75,000 and a single filing status, with the result on screen. Enter the same values to reproduce it.

Captured from solved.tools on 10 September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this calculator include Social Security and Medicare? No. It estimates federal income tax only. Payroll tax is charged separately at 6.2% for Social Security up to the annual wage base and 1.45% for Medicare with no ceiling, plus an additional 0.9% for Medicare on earnings above $200,000 for a single filer. On $75,000 of wages that payroll tax comes to $5,738, which is why the amount in your payslip is smaller than the income tax figure alone suggests.

What is the difference between my marginal rate and my effective rate? The marginal rate is the rate charged on your last dollar of income, and on $60,400 of taxable income that is 22%. The effective rate is the total tax divided by total income, which on the same figures is 11.12%. The gap exists because the lower bands are filled first. Plan with the marginal rate when you are comparing an extra hour of work or an extra withdrawal, and use the effective rate when you want the average cost of your income.

Should I take the standard deduction or itemise? Take whichever is larger. Most filers take the standard deduction. Itemising is worth the extra work when mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable giving and medical expenses above the floor add up to more than $14,600 for a single filer or $29,200 for a married couple filing jointly. The tool uses the larger of the two automatically, so enter your itemised total and let it decide.

How is self-employment income taxed differently? A self-employed person pays income tax on net profit in the same way as anyone else, and then pays self-employment tax on top. That tax covers Social Security and Medicare, and it is charged at 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings up to the Social Security wage base, with 2.9% above it. Half of the self-employment tax is deductible against income. The section below works through an example.

Does it include state income tax? No. State rates and rules vary, and nine states charge no income tax at all. A resident of a state with a flat or banded income tax should add the state bill to the federal figure. The tool states its federal scope on the page so the number is not mistaken for a total tax bill.

Self-Employment Tax at 2024 Rates

Self-employment tax is the self-employed equivalent of the payroll tax an employer withholds from a wage. The IRS applies it to 92.35% of net earnings, which is a standard adjustment for the employer half of the tax, and charges 15.3% on that base up to the Social Security wage base. Everything above the wage base is charged at 2.9% for Medicare only. Half of the tax is deductible against income on the return.

On $55,000 of net profit the arithmetic runs as follows.

The same $55,000 as an employee's wages attracts $3,410 of Social Security at 6.2% and $797.50 of Medicare at 1.45%, a total payroll tax of $4,207.50, with the employer paying the same amount again behind the scenes. The self-employed person pays both halves personally, which is why the self-employment tax is roughly double the employee's share, and why the deduction exists.

Filing Status Changes the Numbers

A married couple filing jointly gets wider bands and a double standard deduction, so two earners on the same combined income part with less tax than a single filer on the same figure.

The gap at $100,000 is $5,809, and it does not come from one band. Part of it is the extra $14,600 of standard deduction, and part is the low 10% and 12% bands stretching to $23,200 and $94,300 instead of $11,600 and $47,150. A couple where both partners earn should still check the figures separately against a joint return, because two single returns are not always the more expensive option.

What the Estimate Covers and What It Leaves Out

The figure on this page covers federal income tax on ordinary income for the 2024 tax year. It excludes Social Security and Medicare tax, state and local income tax, and the credits that can reduce the bill, including the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. Capital gains and qualified dividends follow their own rates and sit outside the banded calculation. Contributions to a traditional retirement account reduce taxable income and would change the answer, and so would any prior-year adjustment, the alternative minimum tax, or income from a foreign account. Where a return includes a business, rental property, or credits that phase out with income, a preparer's figures will beat an estimate.

The Published Rates Behind the Figures

The 2024 brackets and the two standard deduction amounts are the inflation-adjusted figures the IRS published for tax year 2024. The self-employment tax rate and the 92.35% base are the figures the IRS publishes for the tax, and the Social Security wage base used in the payroll table is the figure for 2024. Each source is linked in the references below.

Related Tools

• Salary Calculator - convert an annual figure into a monthly and hourly rate
• Budget Calculator - put the take-home figure to work in a monthly plan
• UK Income Tax Calculator - the same idea for the United Kingdom's bands and National Insurance
• Net Worth Calculator - track what you keep rather than what you earn

References

• Internal Revenue Service, "IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2024". https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2024. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service, "Federal income tax rates and brackets". https://www.irs.gov/filing/federal-income-tax-rates-and-brackets. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service, "Topic no. 551, Standard deduction". https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc551. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service, "Self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes)". https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service, "Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide". https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service, "Topic no. 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates". https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751. Accessed 2026-09-27.
• Internal Revenue Service (U.S.), filing