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Free 2025 + 2026 Tax Estimator

Federal Tax & Refund Calculator (2025–2026)

Estimate 2025 or 2026 federal income tax using ordinary-income tax brackets. Enter annual income, deductions, verified credits and payments to see taxable income, estimated tax, and a possible refund or balance due. State tax and special tax rules are outside this estimate.

IRS-sourced tables
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Tax Year

2026 planning estimates for income earned in 2026

2026 IRS inflation-adjusted tables; returns generally filed in 2027. Last reviewed October 7, 2026.

Your federal estimate

A clearer view of tax season

Free
Income and filing status

Income & filing status

Use annual 2026 amounts. Joint filers should combine both spouses.

Choose the status you qualify for. This tool does not determine eligibility.

Use total W-2 box 1 or expected taxable annual wages. Do not subtract pretax payroll contributions twice.

Optional: taxable interest, taxable pension amounts or other verified ordinary income. Exclude preferential gains and qualified dividends.

Deductions

Choose your deduction

A deduction lowers taxable income; it is not a payment or credit.

Assumes you are eligible, under 65, not blind, not a dependent and not required to itemize. For other situations use an already determined allowed deduction.

Annual payments

Payments already covered

Compare full-year liability with actual or expected full-year payments.

W-2 box 2 plus other federal income-tax withholding. Exclude Social Security, Medicare and state withholding.

Federal estimated payments made or planned for this year. Do not include the withholding entered beside it.

Adjustments, verified credits & other taxes

Optional. Enter amounts you have already verified; this calculator does not determine eligibility or special limits.

Allowed adjustments before AGI, such as a verified deductible IRA amount. Exclude items already removed from your W-2 wages.

Verified deductions in addition to the selected standard/itemized amount, after eligibility and phaseouts. Do not enter the same deduction twice.

Verified credit amounts only. Applied up to ordinary income tax; the remainder does not create a refund in this model.

Verified refundable portion only. Included separately with payments. No CTC, ACTC or EITC eligibility is calculated.

Other taxes already calculated elsewhere, including applicable SE tax, AMT or NIIT. This tool does not calculate those taxes.

Calculated in your browser. No account required; financial values stay out of tool analytics and URLs.

Annual planning result2026

Your estimate starts here

$—

Enter income and payments to see estimated liability and the difference.

Liability first. Payments second.

Your income tax is calculated in progressive layers. Withholding changes what remains to pay or receive; it does not lower the tax itself.

  • Taxable income after deductions
  • Tax in each bracket
  • Payments, refund or balance due

Ordinary-income rate-schedule estimate. Special rules and credit eligibility are not calculated. Read the scope and sources.

Federal income tax & refund estimate

Calculate an estimate before printing. Ordinary U.S. federal income-tax rate-schedule planning estimate. Credit eligibility, special deduction limits, preferential capital gains/qualified dividends, taxable Social Security, QBI, SE/payroll taxes, AMT, NIIT and penalties are not calculated. Verified other taxes, deductions and credits enter only as supplied amounts. State/local taxes are excluded. IRS tax tables, whole-dollar rounding and special worksheets can differ; this is not a filed return.

Understand your estimate

How is federal income tax calculated?

Deduct eligible amounts from ordinary income, apply the rate to each taxable layer, then account for verified credits and other taxes. Compare that liability with annual payments to estimate a refund or balance due.

  1. 1. Find taxable income

    Taxable wages and other ordinary income, minus verified adjustments and allowed deductions. W-2 box 1 usually already excludes pretax payroll contributions.

  2. 2. Calculate progressive tax

    Each rate applies only to the income in that bracket. A 22% marginal rate does not mean all your income is taxed at 22%. Nonrefundable credits reduce ordinary income tax up to zero.

  3. 3. Compare annual payments

    Add any other verified federal taxes. Withholding, estimated payments and verified refundable credits cover the resulting liability. An excess suggests a refund; a shortfall suggests an amount due.

Same income. Two tax years.

Both examples use $80,000 of taxable W-2 wages, single status, the basic standard deduction and $13,000 in federal income-tax withholding. No other deductions, taxes or credits. These are illustrations, not actual client results.

2025 rate-schedule estimate

$3,951.00 estimated refund

Subtract the $15,750.00 basic deduction to get $64,250.00 taxable income. Estimated income tax is $9,049.00. Withholding of $13,000 exceeds that liability by $3,951.00.

2026 rate-schedule estimate

$4,230.00 estimated refund

Subtract the $16,100.00 basic deduction to get $63,900.00 taxable income. Estimated income tax is $8,770.00. Withholding of $13,000 exceeds that liability by $4,230.00.

In the 2026 example, $8,000 of withholding instead produces a $770.00 estimated balance due. The $8,770.00 tax liability stays the same. Rate-schedule estimates can differ from IRS tax-table or special-worksheet results.

Federal tax calculator questions

What income should I enter?

Enter taxable W-2 wages from box 1, or your expected full-year taxable wages. For joint returns combine both spouses. Other income should include only amounts already known to be taxable at ordinary rates, such as taxable interest or the taxable portion of a pension. Gross salary can differ from W-2 box 1. Do not subtract payroll contributions again if already excluded.

How does this calculator estimate my refund?

It estimates ordinary federal income tax, subtracts allowed nonrefundable income-tax credits up to that tax, and adds any verified other federal taxes entered. It compares that liability with federal income-tax withholding, estimated payments and verified refundable credits. Excess payments indicate a possible refund; a shortfall indicates a balance due.

Which standard deduction does it use?

For 2026 the basic deduction is $16,100 for single or married separate, $32,200 for joint or qualifying surviving spouse, and $24,150 for head of household. For 2025 those amounts are $15,750, $31,500 and $23,625. The basic option assumes eligibility, under age 65, not blind, not a dependent and not required to itemize. Use a verified allowed deduction for other situations.

Will it calculate my Child Tax Credit or EITC?

No. It does not determine eligibility, phaseouts or refundable limits for CTC, ACTC, EITC or other credits. Optional fields accept amounts you have already verified. Nonrefundable income-tax credits cannot reduce ordinary income tax below zero; refundable credits are included separately with payments.

What is the difference between marginal and effective rates?

The marginal rate is the rate on the top layer of taxable ordinary income before credits. The effective ordinary income-tax rate is income tax after nonrefundable credits divided by the entered ordinary income. Withholding changes the refund comparison, not these rates. Payroll and other taxes are outside these rate measures.

Why might my filed return show a different result?

This is a rate-schedule planning estimate. IRS tax-table rounding, special worksheets, preferential gains, qualified dividends, credit eligibility, additional taxes and deduction limits may change a return. The calculator does not determine taxable Social Security, QBI, AMT, NIIT, SE/payroll tax or penalties; other amounts must be verified separately.

Should I enter annual withholding or what I have paid so far?

Compare a full-year tax estimate with full-year withholding and payments. For a filed-year estimate use actual annual totals. For planning, enter the annual totals you expect. This tool does not annualize a paycheck or recommend W-4 entries; use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for withholding guidance.

Can I save the result for free?

Yes. Calculate, then download the text summary or use Print / PDF. No account or email is required. Changing inputs or the year marks the result stale and disables saving until you recalculate. Calculations happen in your browser; financial values are not included in tool events or URLs.

Scope, sources & maintenance

Ordinary U.S. federal income-tax rate-schedule planning estimate. Credit eligibility, special deduction limits, preferential capital gains/qualified dividends, taxable Social Security, QBI, SE/payroll taxes, AMT, NIIT and penalties are not calculated. Verified other taxes, deductions and credits enter only as supplied amounts. State/local taxes are excluded. IRS tax tables, whole-dollar rounding and special worksheets can differ; this is not a filed return.

The basic standard deduction assumes eligibility, under age 65, not blind, not a dependent and not required to itemize. Custom amounts must already reflect restrictions and limits, including applicable itemized-deduction restrictions. Other special deductions and taxes are not calculated here; enter verified amounts only.

Published by IntegraFin Tax & Accounting. Rules checked ; interface updated . Review when official rules change and before adding a tax year. Linked Form 1040 instructions currently cover 2025. Displayed cents can differ from the sum of rounded components.

Choose the next step for your situation

Use a focused tool for business profit or payment planning. For paycheck withholding and W-4 guidance, use the IRS estimator.