Tax brackets for single filers in 2026

Single tax brackets 2026 and 2025

Single tax brackets apply if you are unmarried on December 31 and do not qualify for head of household. The 2026 ranges are used on the return you file in 2027; the 2025 ranges are for the return covering 2025 income.

The 2027 single thresholds are not yet announced; the IRS usually publishes them in October or November. The seven rates will stay the same because the 2025 tax law made them permanent.

Tax owed at each single-filer threshold

The table below shows what a single filer owes with taxable income exactly at the top of each bracket in 2026, and what share of that income goes to federal income tax. The effective rate climbs slowly because every filer pays the lower rates on the first slices of income.

To find tax on any figure between two rows, take the total at the row below your income and add your bracket rate times the amount above that row. For example, $70,000 of taxable income: $5,800 plus 22% of $19,600, which is $10,112.

What tax bracket is $60,000 single?

It depends on whether $60,000 is your salary or your taxable income. Brackets apply after deductions, and that changes the answer.

• $60,000 salary, standard deduction: taxable income is $43,900. That is in the 12% bracket. Tax is $1,240 plus 12% of $31,500, or $5,020.
• $60,000 of taxable income: that is in the 22% bracket. Tax is $5,800 plus 22% of $9,600, or $7,912.

With only the standard deduction, a single filer's wages have to top $66,500 ($50,400 plus $16,100) before any dollar is taxed at 22%. The full breakdown for that salary, including payroll taxes, is on the tax on a $60,000 salary page, and the what tax bracket am I in page lets you check other amounts.

Single filing status tax rates at three salaries

These examples assume a single filer under 65 with wage income only, the $16,100 standard deduction and no credits. They show federal income tax only, not Social Security, Medicare or state tax.

Moving from $75,000 to $150,000 in wages doubles income but more than triples the tax, because the added $75,000 lands in the 22% and 24% bands. Still, the share of wages paid stays well below the 24% top bracket.

Who can file as single?

Your status is set by your situation on the last day of the tax year. According to IRS Publication 501, you file as single if on December 31 you are unmarried, or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and no other status fits better.

• Divorce final by December 31: you are single for the entire year, even if you were married for eleven months of it.
• Spouse died during the year: you are treated as married for that whole year and can file a joint return. You may qualify as a surviving spouse for the following two years if you have a dependent child.
• Unmarried with a qualifying child or relative: check whether you qualify as head of household first. It uses wider low brackets and a $24,150 standard deduction. See head of household requirements.

Single vs head of household and other status choices

Head of household is the status most often missed by single parents. Its 10% band reaches $17,700 and its 12% band $67,450, against $12,400 and $50,400 for single, so the savings can reach about $1,800 a year in bracket differences alone. The head of household brackets page runs the numbers for a parent at $55,000.

If you marry by December 31, compare these figures with the married filing jointly brackets. A married person filing separately uses the single table up to $256,225 but moves to 37% above $384,350.

Single standard deduction for 2026

The standard deduction for single filers is $16,100 in 2026, up from $15,750 for 2025. Add $2,050 if you are 65 or older and another $2,050 if you are blind.