2026 tax brackets: marginal vs effective, worked on $70,000

On October 9, 2025 the IRS published the inflation-adjusted figures for tax year 2026 — the return filed in early 2027. The brackets below are those figures. They apply to taxable income, which is income after the standard deduction or itemized deductions, and each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its band.

Federal income tax brackets, tax year 2026
Rate	Single, taxable income	Married filing jointly, taxable income
10%	up to $12,400	up to $24,800
12%	$12,400 – $50,400	$24,800 – $100,800
22%	$50,400 – $105,700	$100,800 – $211,400
24%	$105,700 – $201,775	$211,400 – $403,550
32%	$201,775 – $256,225	$403,550 – $512,450
35%	$256,225 – $640,600	$512,450 – $768,700
37%	over $640,600	over $768,700

Internal Revenue Service, tax year 2026 inflation adjustments, published October 9, 2025. Head-of-household brackets differ.

The standard deduction for 2026 is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly ($24,150 for head of household). Those amounts come off gross income before the table is applied.

The worked example

A single filer with $70,000 of wages, no other income, taking the standard deduction.

Single filer, $70,000 wages, standard deduction, tax year 2026
Slice	Rate	Tax
Standard deduction: $16,100	0%	$0
$0 – $12,400 of taxable income	10%	$1,240
$12,400 – $50,400	12%	$4,560
$50,400 – $53,900	22%	$770
Total on $70,000		$6,570 — 9.4% effective

Wealth Signal calculation from the IRS 2026 figures. Federal income tax only; Social Security and Medicare (7.65%) and state tax are separate.

Wealth Signal calculation

Tax is $6,570 — a 9.4% effective rate, with a 22% marginal rate
Taxable income is $70,000 − $16,100 = $53,900. Only the last $3,500 of it sits in the 22% band. The other $50,400 is taxed at 10% and 12%. Divide the $6,570 of tax by the $70,000 of wages and the effective rate is 9.4%. Both numbers are true; they answer different questions.

Run the same filer at $60,000 and something else appears: taxable income is $43,900, which is below the $50,400 where the 22% band starts. A $60,000 earner who says they are in the 22% bracket is wrong; they are in the 12% bracket, paying $5,020 — 8.4% of their wages. The bracket is tested on taxable income, and the standard deduction moves the line.

Why the distinction matters

A raise never costs money. Moving from $50,000 to $52,000 of taxable income puts $1,600 into the 22% band. Tax on that slice rises from 12% to 22% of $1,600 — $160 more. The other $50,400 is taxed exactly as before. Nobody has ever taken home less because of a raise.
A deduction is worth the marginal rate, not the effective rate. A $1,000 deduction for the $70,000 filer above saves $220, because it comes off the top slice. That is the rate used throughout this section.
The bracket decides Roth against traditional, and it decides it on the marginal rate — the guide on that choice uses these numbers.

Interpretation

The number that describes a tax burden is the effective rate; the number that describes a decision is the marginal rate
"I pay 22%" is wrong for almost everyone who says it. "My next dollar is taxed at 22%" is right for the same people, and it is the sentence that matters when deciding whether to contribute, deduct or defer.

These are federal figures only. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia also tax wage income, at rates from about 2.5% to over 13%, on their own brackets and with their own deductions.

Education, not advice. This guide explains how a rule works and what it costs. It does not know your income, your state or your situation, and Wealth Signal does not publish recommendations. Tax figures are the 2026 federal amounts on the date shown in the sources. Full disclaimer.

2026 tax brackets: why a $70,000 earner 'in the 22% bracket' pays 9.4%

The worked example

Why the distinction matters

Sources