IRS announces new federal income tax brackets for 2026

[mystery-ak]

IRS announces new federal income tax brackets for 2026
Published Thu, Oct 9 202510:30 AM EDTUpdated 2 Hours Ago
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Kate Dore, CFP®, EA
@in/katedore/

Key Points

    The IRS has unveiled higher federal tax brackets for 2026 to adjust for inflation.

    The standard deduction will increase to $32,200 for married couples filing together and $16,100 for single taxpayers.

    There are also changes to the long-term capital gains brackets, estate tax exemption, child tax credit eligibility and more.
 
    The IRS announcements come a day after the agency said it would furlough nearly half its workforce due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The IRS has announced new federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for 2026.

In its announcement Thursday, the agency raised the income thresholds for each bracket, which apply to tax year 2026 for returns filed in 2027.

The IRS also boosted figures for other provisions, including long-term capital gains brackets, estate and gift tax exemption and eligibility for the earned income tax credit, among others.

For 2026, the top rate of 37% applies to individuals with taxable income above $640,600 and married couples filing jointly earning $768,700 or more for 2026.

Federal income tax brackets show how much you owe on each part of your “taxable income,” which you calculate by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.

more
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/09/2026-federal-tax-brackets.html

[jafo2010]

I have a HUGE problem with the IRS making any changes.  It is the responsibility of Congress to set tax policy, not the IRS.  This is a combination of the bureaucrats usurping Congress' power, and Congress abdicating their responsibility to establish this policy.

Considering that Congress can't develop a budget prior to the start of a fiscal year, I would say it would behoove President Trump to develop a commission working with Congress to focus on what can be done to end the moronic process they currently abide by.

Our government is nonfunctional, has been nonfunctional most of my 72 years, and this nonsense must end.

I say there are too many cooks in the kitchen.  With the average puke in Congress having 60 staff, I suggest we make changes to end the bullsh*t!

Why do we have 2 Senators from each state?    REDUCE IT TO 1 SENATOR PER STATE

                       Savings:    50 Senators   x   $174,000 per year                                      $8,700,000
                                        SOPOEA* Budget:  $588,381,000     50% reduction           $294,190,500

*  Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account

                                        435 current House members
                                        326 (cost saving reduction, 25%)

                                        109 US Reps    x   $174,000                                               $18,966.000
                                        Members' Represential Allowance  $844,000,000                $211,000,000
                                              25% reduction   

                                              Total Savings:                                                      $532,856,500

Note:  Above does not reflect savings in benefits                                                      

[jafo2010]

And on establishing a budget for the federal government, I think the time has come to fine members of Congress the equivalent of their annual salary if they cannot complete a final budget by Setember 1, one full month before the start of the new fiscal year.  That is one of the primary reasons they are there, to determine the purse strings.

CONGRESS NOT DOING THEIR JOB IS UNACCEPTABLE.  FINE THEM THEIR ANNUAL SALARY AND WATCH HOW THAT BUDGET IS COMPLETED BY THE DUE DATE.

[Bigun]

I have a HUGE problem with the IRS making any changes.  It is the responsibility of Congress to set tax policy, not the IRS.  This is a combination of the bureaucrats usurping Congress' power, and Congress abdicating their responsibility to establish this policy.

Considering that Congress can't develop a budget prior to the start of a fiscal year, I would say it would behoove President Trump to develop a commission working with Congress to focus on what can be done to end the moronic process they currently abide by.

Our government is nonfunctional, has been nonfunctional most of my 72 years, and this nonsense must end.

I say there are too many cooks in the kitchen.  With the average puke in Congress having 60 staff, I suggest we make changes to end the bullsh*t!

Why do we have 2 Senators from each state?    REDUCE IT TO 1 SENATOR PER STATE

                       Savings:    50 Senators   x   $174,000 per year                                      $8,700,000
                                        SOPOEA* Budget:  $588,381,000     50% reduction           $294,190,500

*  Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account

                                        435 current House members
                                        326 (cost saving reduction, 25%)

                                        109 US Reps    x   $174,000                                               $18,966.000
                                        Members' Represential Allowance  $844,000,000                $211,000,000
                                              25% reduction   

                                              Total Savings:                                                      $532,856,500

Note:  Above does not reflect savings in benefits                                                    

 

How in the hell does anyone plan for anything while the tax code remains subject to the whims of congress? 

[Hoodat]

There should be only one tax bracket.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

There should be only one tax bracket.

And Everybody needs to pay taxes.

[Kamaji]

I have a HUGE problem with the IRS making any changes.  It is the responsibility of Congress to set tax policy, not the IRS.  This is a combination of the bureaucrats usurping Congress' power, and Congress abdicating their responsibility to establish this policy.

Considering that Congress can't develop a budget prior to the start of a fiscal year, I would say it would behoove President Trump to develop a commission working with Congress to focus on what can be done to end the moronic process they currently abide by.

Our government is nonfunctional, has been nonfunctional most of my 72 years, and this nonsense must end.

I say there are too many cooks in the kitchen.  With the average puke in Congress having 60 staff, I suggest we make changes to end the bullsh*t!

Why do we have 2 Senators from each state?    REDUCE IT TO 1 SENATOR PER STATE

                       Savings:    50 Senators   x   $174,000 per year                                      $8,700,000
                                        SOPOEA* Budget:  $588,381,000     50% reduction           $294,190,500

*  Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account

                                        435 current House members
                                        326 (cost saving reduction, 25%)

                                        109 US Reps    x   $174,000                                               $18,966.000
                                        Members' Represential Allowance  $844,000,000                $211,000,000
                                              25% reduction   

                                              Total Savings:                                                      $532,856,500

Note:  Above does not reflect savings in benefits                                                      

Congress did set tax policy.  Congress set the original bracket amounts and then instructed that they be adjusted for inflation each year using a statutorily identified formula. The IRS is doing nothing more than making a ministerial computation.  It is not making tax policy.

[Hoodat]

And Everybody needs to pay taxes.

Yep.

[The_Reader_David]

I have a HUGE problem with the IRS making any changes.                                     

But Congress mandates certain changes:  some things are indexed to inflation, some things have other statutory changes required between tax years (e.g. a new provision of the tax code coming into force, or one sunsetting).  The IRS announcing such things does not mean the IRS is making policy in defiance of Congress.

[jafo2010]

I stand corrected on the IRS.

However, everyone does not pay taxes.  Last number I heard, 57% of Americans do not pay one dime in taxes.  With a system where the majority do not contribute to paying taxes, I say the tax model is seriously flawed.

When I was 15 years of age, I made minimum wage in a union job, making $1.60 per hour, giving up 15 cents of every hour to the union, and paying federal income taxes.  I did not get exempted from paying federal income taxes.

[The_Reader_David]

Last number I heard, 57% of Americans do not pay one dime in taxes. 

Then you heard wrong.  Mostly likely 57% of Americans pay no Federal income tax (though I wonder, does that include children?), but that is not the same as "not paying one dime in taxes".  Everyone who drives a gasoline or diesel vehicle pays an excise tax on the fuel.  Everyone who earns a wage or is self-employed pays Social Security and Medicare taxes. Anyone who lived in a state with a sales tax who buys anything to which it applies (some states exclude food and medicine) pays sales tax.  There may be a few monks and nuns who manage to pay not one dime in taxes, but certainly not 57% of the populace.

[Bigun]

Then you heard wrong.  Mostly likely 57% of Americans pay no Federal income tax (though I wonder, does that include children?), but that is not the same as "not paying one dime in taxes".  Everyone who drives a gasoline or diesel vehicle pays an excise tax on the fuel.  Everyone who earns a wage or is self-employed pays Social Security and Medicare taxes. Anyone who lived in a state with a sales tax who buys anything to which it applies (some states exclude food and medicine) pays sales tax.  There may be a few monks and nuns who manage to pay not one dime in taxes, but certainly not 57% of the populace.

And no person in this country can determine the amount of tax they pay with any degree of precision and I  personally do not believe that to be accidental.

[Smokin Joe]

And no person in this country can determine the amount of tax they pay with any degree of precision and I  personally do not believe that to be accidental.

Right. Because the corporate taxes are also paid by the consumer.

[Bigun]

Right. Because the corporate taxes are also paid by the consumer.

  And ALL of the compliance costs associated with them. Those two things cascade through the entire supply chain.

[GtHawk]

Right. Because the corporate taxes are also paid by the consumer.

And what is really sad is the morons crying for higher taxes on corporations not comprehending that those cost will just be passed on as higher prices.

[Kamaji]

Right. Because the corporate taxes are also paid by the consumer.

It’s a little more complicated than that. 

[Bigun]

It’s a little more complicated than that.

Yeah! That's why no one, including yourself, can determine the amount of tax they pay with any degree of precision.

[Smokin Joe]

It’s a little more complicated than that.

Granted.

The more complicated it is, the harder it is to determine just how much you end up paying, directly or indirectly, to the government, and at what level.

[Kamaji]

Yeah! That's why no one, including yourself, can determine the amount of tax they pay with any degree of precision.

I can determine the amount of tax I pay quite easily - the figure shown on the “tax” line of my 1040.

[Bigun]

I can determine the amount of tax I pay quite easily - the figure shown on the “tax” line of my 1040.

 

You're a phunny guy that also happens to be FOS!

[libertybele]

We were audited this year over $6.00 , I sent in the appropriate documentation and still waiting for confirmation or some sort of response.   

[GtHawk]

We were audited this year over $6.00 , I sent in the appropriate documentation and still waiting for confirmation or some sort of response.   

I’m waiting for the letter from the IRS, couldn’t get my wife’s earning statement from social security and had to hand the accountant estimates for my wife’s business expenses. The accountant Did a bang up job, said it was a wash…..so I am waiting for the letter from the IRS

[Kamaji]

You're a phunny guy that also happens to be FOS!

You’re getting confused about who writes the check and who bears the economic burden.  Two completely different matters.  And no, you do not bear 100% of the economic burden of the income tax you pay; that, like the economic burden of the tax paid by a business, depends on a lot of different factors. 

You also have no idea what portion of any tax you economically bear; that applies just as much to you died fixe of the misnamed “fair tax” as well as to VATs and sales taxes.

[Bigun]

You’re getting confused about who writes the check and who bears the economic burden.  Two completely different matters.  And no, you do not bear 100% of the economic burden of the income tax you pay; that, like the economic burden of the tax paid by a business, depends on a lot of different factors. 

You also have no idea what portion of any tax you economically bear; that applies just as much to you died fixe of the misnamed “fair tax” as well as to VATs and sales taxes.

I'm not confused about anything my friend! Whatever names you choose to assign, ALL of the $$$ comes out of the @$$ pockets of Americans and under the current Marxist income tax system they have no way of knowing how much they actually pay. Under the Fairtax it would ALL be right there on every receipt.

[Kamaji]

I'm not confused about anything my friend! Whatever names you choose to assign, ALL of the $$$ comes out of the @$$ pockets of Americans and under the current Marxist income tax system they have no way of knowing how much they actually pay. Under the Fairtax it would ALL be right there on every receipt.

Yes, you are.

[Bigun]

Yes, you are.

If you say so, but MY bread is not buttered by the current tax system unlike some others we know.

[Kamaji]

If you say so, but MY bread is not buttered by the current tax system unlike some others we know.

Whatever.  If you call helping people to avoid having their bank accounts and their houses seized because of mistakes made by the government, or because they chose not to file, the wrong thing to do, then so be it.  Better to be helping people save their homes and their savings than lying about things from the comfort of my arm-chair.

[Bigun]

Whatever.  If you call helping people to avoid having their bank accounts and their houses seized because of mistakes made by the government, or because they chose not to file, the wrong thing to do, then so be it.  Better to be helping people save their homes and their savings than lying about things from the comfort of my arm-chair.

How did their bank accounts or homes of those you purport to help become in jeopardy in the first-place councilor? And I am not lying about anything!

[Kamaji]

How did their bank accounts or homes of those you purport to help become in jeopardy in the first-place councilor? And I am not lying about anything!

Because they were assessed tax.  Most often, it's sales tax - one of your favorites - not income tax.  Other times it's payroll tax - again, not income tax.

[Smokin Joe]

Because they were assessed tax.  Most often, it's sales tax - one of your favorites - not income tax.  Other times it's payroll tax - again, not income tax.

The one I object to is property tax.
It's also the one most likely to take your home after you have paid it off.
Valuations increase with market prices or arbitrary reassessments, and with those, taxes.
Once retired, you have what you have to work with, and the parasites keep demanding rent on your property.

[libertybele]

The one I object to is property tax.
It's also the one most likely to take your home after you have paid it off.
Valuations increase with market prices or arbitrary reassessments, and with those, taxes.
Once retired, you have what you have to work with, and the parasites keep demanding rent on your property.

Agreed; property taxes is basically rent on the property that you own!

[DB]

I can determine the amount of tax I pay quite easily - the figure shown on the “tax” line of my 1040.

No you can't.

Taxes are buried in everything. You, I and everyone else has no idea how much they actually pay in taxes.

Income taxes.
Property taxes.
Electricity taxes.
Gasoline taxes.
Natural gas taxes.
Cable taxes.
Land line taxes.
Cell phone taxes.
Sales taxes.
Business license taxes.
Permit taxes - take your pick - many things require a permit to do.
Car taxes.

This list goes on and on...

Taxes buried into all the things you buy.

There is no freaking way anyone can accurately figure out what they actually pay over the course of a year.

[Smokin Joe]

No you can't.

Taxes are buried in everything. You, I and everyone else has no idea how much they actually pay in taxes.

Income taxes.
Property taxes.
Electricity taxes.
Gasoline taxes.
Natural gas taxes.
Cable taxes.
Land line taxes.
Cell phone taxes.
Sales taxes.
Business license taxes.
Permit taxes - take your pick - many things require a permit to do.
Car taxes.

This list goes on and on...

Taxes buried into all the things you buy.

There is no freaking way anyone can accurately figure out what they actually pay over the course of a year.

Yep. Excise taxes on tires, the whole string of add-on communications fees on a Cell Phone bill, the rate 'adjustments' on electrical and gas bills down to the federal taxes on fuels for vehicles.

That's what you pay directly, not the other layer of corporate taxes you pay when you buy their products (because that's written into the price).

It defies calculation, because most of them are essentially unseen.

[Kamaji]

No you can't.

Taxes are buried in everything. You, I and everyone else has no idea how much they actually pay in taxes.

Income taxes.
Property taxes.
Electricity taxes.
Gasoline taxes.
Natural gas taxes.
Cable taxes.
Land line taxes.
Cell phone taxes.
Sales taxes.
Business license taxes.
Permit taxes - take your pick - many things require a permit to do.
Car taxes.

This list goes on and on...

Taxes buried into all the things you buy.

There is no freaking way anyone can accurately figure out what they actually pay over the course of a year.

Yes, I can.  You’re confusing two different concepts:  who writes the check and who bears the economic burden. 

[DB]

Yes, I can.  You’re confusing two different concepts:  who writes the check and who bears the economic burden.

"I can determine the amount of tax I pay quite easily"

Your words. You didn't qualify it as "income tax" only. And no, you have no idea the amount of tax you pay. It isn't possible to accurately determine.

The end user pays all the taxes down the line of producing something. If they end user doesn't buy it, the tax will stop being paid for that supply chain down the line too.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The one I object to is property tax.
It's also the one most likely to take your home after you have paid it off.
Valuations increase with market prices or arbitrary reassessments, and with those, taxes.
Once retired, you have what you have to work with, and the parasites keep demanding rent on your property.

I don't disagree with this, but what gets me is when people say retired people shouldn't have to pay this tax... and the rest of us should. Nope. Retired people use just as many resources as working people.

[Kamaji]

"I can determine the amount of tax I pay quite easily"

Your words. You didn't qualify it as "income tax" only. And no, you have no idea the amount of tax you pay. It isn't possible to accurately determine.

The end user pays all the taxes down the line of producing something. If they end user doesn't buy it, the tax will stop being paid for that supply chain down the line too.

“Pay” - very easily defined word; means “writes the check for it”.


Totally different concept from bearing the economic cost.

Maybe if you stopped confusing yourself over such basic issues, you might have something more meaningful to say than what amounts to “taxes suck”.   Yes, they do, but that whinging doesn’t advance the discussion one iota.

[Bigun]

“Pay” - very easily defined word; means “writes the check for it”.


Totally different concept from bearing the economic cost.

Maybe if you stopped confusing yourself over such basic issues, you might have something more meaningful to say than what amounts to “taxes suck”.   Yes, they do, but that whinging doesn’t advance the discussion one iota.

Stop trying to muddy the water Mr. Tax Lawyer! Everybody already knows how upset you would be if YOUR rice bowl got broken.

[Kamaji]

Stop trying to muddy the water Mr. Tax Lawyer! Everybody already knows how upset you would be if YOUR rice bowl got broken.

You know nothing of the kind, and the fact that you continue to recite that canard as your only “argument” against me simply demonstrates (a) your lack of honesty and candor, and (b) your lack of any actual rational or even reasonable argument. 



I really don’t give a rats ass if they change the tax system.  In point of fact, I’m all in favor of a significant number of reforms, including getting rid of PFICs and CFCs, which cause a lot more headaches than you whinging on about how much of your social security is subject to income tax.

[DB]

“Pay” - very easily defined word; means “writes the check for it”.


Totally different concept from bearing the economic cost.

Maybe if you stopped confusing yourself over such basic issues, you might have something more meaningful to say than what amounts to “taxes suck”.   Yes, they do, but that whinging doesn’t advance the discussion one iota.

I suggest you look up the meaning of "pay". It says nothing about a check being required. Bad sophistry. To pay for something means it has a cost to you. Period. You know that. I know that. Why play this stupid game?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

And Everybody needs to pay taxes.

Sure, but increase standard deduction to where it accurately reflects living costs. 12k or whatever it is is ridiculous. After that, we all pay, sure.