Tax brackets are the government’s way of ensuring that taxpayers who earn more money pay more in taxes. Each bracket consists of a tax rate that’s applied to taxable income within a specific range. Those income ranges vary according to filing status — the range for a single filer is different than the range for someone filing as head of household, for example.
What Is My Tax Bracket for 2024?
Your federal income tax bracket is based on your tax filing status and your income. To help you quickly figure out which IRS income tax bracket you’re in, check the IRS federal tax table for tax year 2024 and tax year 2025.
Tax Brackets 2024
| Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse | Married Filing Separately | Head of Household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $23,200 | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $16,550 |
| 12% | $11,601 to $47,150 | $23,201 to $94,300 | $11,601 to $47,150 | $16,551 to $63,100 |
| 22% | $47,151 to $100,525 | $94,301 to $201,050 | $47,151 to $100,525 | $63,101 to $100,500 |
| 24% | $100,526 to $191,950 | $201,051 to $383,900 | $100,526 to $191,950 | $100,501 to $191,950 |
| 32% | $191,951 to $243,725 | $383,901 to $487,450 | $191,951 to $243,725 | $191,951 to $243,700 |
| 35% | $243,726 to $609,350 | $487,451 to $731,200 | $243,726 to $365,600 | $243,701 to $609,350 |
| 37% | $609,351 or more | $731,201 or more | $365,601 or more | $609,351 or more |
Tax Brackets 2025
| Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Surviving Spouse | Married Filing Separately | Head of Household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $0 to $11,925 | $0 to $23,850 | $0 to $11,925 | $0 to $17,000 |
| 12% | $11,926 to $48,475 | $23,851 to $96,950 | $11,926 to $48,475 | $17,001 to $64,850 |
| 22% | $48,476 to $103,350 | $96,951 to $206,700 | $48,476 to $103,350 | $64,851 to $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,351 to $197,300 | $206,701 to $394,600 | $103,351 to $197,300 | $103,351 to $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,301 to $250,525 | $394,601 to $501,051 | $197,301to $250,525 | $197,301 to $250,500 |
| 35% | $250,526 to $626,350 | $501,051 to $751,600 | $250,526 to $375,800 | $250,501 to $626,350 |
| 37% | $626,351 or more | $751,601 or more | $375,801 or more | $626,351 or more |
What Is a Tax Bracket?
The U.S. uses federal income tax brackets to determine your tax liability. IRS tax brackets are divided based on your taxable income level, with different incomes taxed at different federal income tax rates. There are seven brackets for 2024 earnings, ranging from 10% to 37%. These 2024 tax brackets apply to the income you earned in 2024 and the taxes you will pay in early 2025.
The IRS releases annual tax inflation adjustments. The 2025 adjustments still include the seven tax brackets from 2024, but they increase the income ranges for each tax bracket to allow for inflation. The 2025 tax brackets apply to the income that you will earn in 2025 and the taxes you will pay in early 2026. Understanding these tax rates can help you plan ahead for the coming year and make sure that you’re prepared to pay any taxes owed.
In addition to reviewing the 2024 and 2025 tax brackets, you’ll also want to familiarize yourself with the capital gains tax rates. If you sell a capital asset, like real estate or a vehicle, for more than you paid for it, you will need to pay taxes on the profits that you made. Just as tax brackets can change from year to year, capital gains tax rates can also change. Familiarizing yourself with the capital gains rates will help you determine how much of your profits you’ll need to set aside to pay your taxes.
How Tax Brackets Work
The IRS applies tax brackets to your adjusted gross income — the taxable amount that remains after deductions, credits and exemptions. However, because tax rates are tiered, the rate for a particular tax bracket only applies to the amount of income within that bracket. So if you have more than $11,600 in taxable income, only the first $11,600 is taxed at the 10% rate. The rest is taxed at the rate for whichever bracket the amount falls into.
Take, for example, a single filer with an adjusted gross income of $60,000. Although $60,000 falls within the 22% tax bracket, only income that falls within the range for the 22% bracket gets taxed at the 22% rate. The first $11,600 is taxed at 10%. The next $35,549, which is the amount represented by the 12% bracket ($47,150 – $11,601 = $35,549), is taxed at 12%. The last $12,851 ($60,000 – $47,149) is taxed at 22%.
Knowing where you stand within your income threshold will help when it comes to navigating how much you’ll owe or standard deductions. Keep in mind higher tax brackets are less likely to get rebates. These brackets are only based on income and don’t include nuances such as tax cuts for the Jobs Act or other assistance programs.
How to Prepare to Pay Your Taxes
Finding out you owe large amounts in taxes can be stressful, but there are several ways to make sure you’re prepared, including by having the right amount of tax witheld from your pay. Knowing your effective tax rate can help you estimate your federal tax liability, but it doesn’t provide the information you need to calculate how much tax you should have withheld from your pay.
For that, use the IRS tax withholding estimator to compare your options — married filing jointly vs. married filing separate returns, for example. Then use the most favorable scenario to fill out a Form W-4. Your employer will calculate the correct withholding based on your preferences.
If you are self-employed, freelance, or do gig work, carefully track your monthly income. Speak with an accountant to determine whether you need to pay quarterly estimated taxes and to learn how to calculate and pay those quarterly taxes. Be sure to send in those quarterly payments on time to avoid tax penalties, and monitor your income and set money aside for taxes every month. It can be helpful to put your money for taxes into an entirely separate savings account, so you don’t accidentally spend it.
How to Lower Your Tax Bracket
A change in your income, such as if you’re laid off or take a lower-paying job, may mean that you fall into a lower tax bracket and pay a lower tax rate. You might also be able to lower your tax bracket by reducing your taxable income. The IRS gives you several ways to do that:
- Claim all the legal deductions you’re entitled to. Common tax deductions include charitable donations, home business costs and some education-related expenses.
- Contribute to tax-deferred retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or an individual retirement account.
- Claim any tax credits you qualify for, such as the child tax credit, earned income tax credit and credit for qualified educational expenses and retirement savings contributions.
- If you’re married, calculate your taxes using both filing statuses — married filing jointly and married filing separately — and compare the results. In some cases, one status results in a lower tax liability than the other.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about taxes.- What are the tax brackets in 2025?
- The tax brackets for 2025 remain the same as the 2024 brackets at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The IRS adjusted the income rates for each bracket to allow for inflation.
- What will the tax brackets be in 2026?
- According to the Tax Foundation, if the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires as scheduled in 2025, the 2026 tax brackets could reflect higher tax rates. For example, taxpayers in bracket 2 could face a 15% tax rate instead of their current 12% rate, and taxpayers in bracket 3 could pay a 25% rate in place of the current 22% rate. The maximum tax rate in bracket 7 could increase from 37% to 39.6%.
- What is the tax credit for 2025?
- In 2025, eligible taxpayers may receive a child tax credit of up to $2,000 per child, which is the same as it was in 2024. If you owe less in taxes than your child tax credit amount, you could receive up to $1,700 of that per-child credit back as a tax refund.
Paige Cerulli, Krista Baum, Daria Uhlig and John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.