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- There are seven federal income tax brackets, ranging from 10% for the lowest income levels up to 37% for the highest income levels.
- Brackets are part of a progressive taxation system that charges increasingly higher rates on different tiers of income.
- Your marginal tax rate is what you pay on the last dollar of income, while your effective tax rate is the overall average rate you pay on all of your income.
The US uses a progressive federal income tax system. To determine the tax someone owes, the government uses a system of brackets, where different chunks of a person's earnings are taxed at rates that get gradually higher as the total amount of income increases.
You can use tax brackets to estimate how much you'll pay in taxes for the year. However, a common misperception is that someone whose total taxable income puts them into, say, the 22% tax bracket means that they pay 22% on all of their earnings. In fact, they would only pay that much on the upper-most portion of it. The rate they pay on the last dollar is known as the marginal tax rate.
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How tax brackets work
There are seven brackets for 2023 and 2024, ranging from 10% to 37%. The rate at which your income will be taxed will depend on how much you earn and your filing status.
"Your tax bracket is evaluated by viewing all your income, including required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs, Social Security and possibly even a pension if you are fortunate to have one," says Peter J. Klein, founder and chief investment officer at ALINE Wealth. From this income, you can take deductions and adjustments to reduce your taxable income, thus lowering your tax bracket.
2023 and 2024 federal income tax brackets by filing status
Below are the federal income tax brackets for single filers, heads of household, and married people who file either jointly and separately for 2023 and 2024.
2023 federal income tax brackets
Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household |
10% | $0 to $11,000 | $0 to $22,000 | $0 to $11,000 | $0 to $15,700 |
12% | $11,00 to $44,725 | $22,000 to $89,450 | $11,00 to $44,725 | $15,700 to $59,850 |
22% | $44,725 to $95,375 | $89,450 to $190,750 | $44,725 to $95,375 | $59,850 to $95,350 |
24% | $95,375 to $182,100 | $190,750 to $364,200 | $95,375 to $182,100 | $95,350 to $182,100 |
32% | $182,100 to $231,250 | $364,200 to $462,500 | $182,100 to $231,250 | $182,100 to $231,250 |
35% | $231,250 to $578,125 | $462,500 to $693,750 | $231,250 to $578,125 | $231,250 to $578,100 |
37% | $578,125 and over | $693,750 and over | $578,125 and over | $578,100 and over |
2024 federal income tax brackets
Rate | Single | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately | Head of household |
10% | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $23,200 | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $16,550 |
12% | $11,600 to $47,150 | $23,200 to $94,300 | $11,600 to $47,150 | $16,550 to $63,100 |
22% | $47,150 to $100,525 | $94,300 to $201,050 | $47,150 to $100,525 | $63,100 to $100,500 |
24% | $100,525 to $191,950 | $201,050 to $383,900 | $100,525 to $191,950 | $100,500 to $191,950 |
32% | $191,950 to $243,725 | $383,900 to $487,450 | $191,950 to $243,725 | $191,950 to $243,700 |
35% | $243,725 to $609.350 | $487,450 to $731,200 | $243,725 to $365,000 | $243,700 to $609,350 |
37% | $609.350 and over | $731,200 and over | $365,00 and over | $609.350 and over |
How to calculate your tax liability using brackets
So let's say you're an individual filer with adjusted gross income of $65,000 in 2023 and take the standard deduction of $13,850. That leaves taxable income of $51,150, putting you in the 22% bracket. But it doesn't mean you pay 22% tax on all of your earnings. Instead, your income would be taxed as follows:
- $11,000 taxed at 10%, resulting in $1,100 of income taxes
- The amount between $11,001 and $44,725 (or $33,724) taxed at 12%, for a total tax of $4,047
- The amount between $44,726 and $51,050 (or $6,324) taxed at 22%, for a total tax of $1,391
So putting it all together, your total federal income tax for the year would be $6,538.
The actual percentage you pay on the entirety of your taxable income is called the effective tax rate. You calculate your effective tax rate by dividing your total tax liability, $6,538, by your annual taxable income, $51,150. That's an effective tax rate of 12.8%.
Why is it important to know your tax bracket?
If your marginal tax rate doesn't tell you how much tax you'll actually pay, why do you even need to know what it is? For one thing, it's because you can only determine your effective tax rate by calculating total tax liability.
Likewise, understanding which bracket you're in helps you understand how changes in your earnings will affect your overall tax burden, says Sri Reddy, senior vice president of retirement and income solutions at Principal Financial Group.
Knowing your marginal tax bracket can also influence how you approach the available deductions, such as if you choose to use the standard deduction or itemize, and perhaps give a large lump sum to charity to reduce your taxable income, Reddy says.
Your marginal tax rate can also inform your other financial decisions.
"We often find clients will calculate the amount to convert to Roth, how to contribute to a retirement plan, when to sell or hold long-term capital gains, and potentially how much to give to charity based on their tax bracket," says David S. Elder, wealth manager and partner at Merit Financial Advisors.
If you're in a higher tax bracket, you may want to prioritize pre-tax savings such as those in a traditional IRA or 401(k) to reduce your current tax bill. Meanwhile, someone in a lower tax bracket may use the opportunity to fund a Roth IRA, which doesn't qualify for a current tax deduction but can also generate tax-free income in retirement.
Understanding your marginal tax bracket is particularly important for retirees and pre-retirees. "If you have accounts that are pre-tax and will require minimum distributions upon reaching age 72, you may not want to wait that long if you're in a lower tax bracket," says Neel Shah, a certified financial planner and estate planning attorney with Shah Total Planning.