What is my marginal tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate that applies to your next dollar of taxable income. If your taxable income is $80,000 (single, 2026), your marginal rate is 22 percent because your income falls in the $48,476 to $103,350 bracket.

How much more tax would I pay on an additional $10,000?

The cost depends on whether the extra income stays inside your current bracket or crosses into the next. If it stays inside, the extra tax is $10,000 times your marginal rate. If it crosses, the portion above the threshold is taxed at the higher rate. The calculator on this page handles both cases.

What are the 2026 brackets for single filers?

10% on taxable income up to $12,150; 12% on $12,151 to $49,300; 22% on $49,301 to $105,150; 24% on $105,151 to $200,750; 32% on $200,751 to $254,800; 35% on $254,801 to $636,350; 37% above $636,350.

§ IX

Chapter IX

Filed under: marginal rate, bracket finder, bonus tax, freelance income.

Marginal Tax Rate Calculator: The Cost of the Next Dollar

Enter your income and filing status. The tool below shows your marginal rate, your distance to the next bracket, and the after-tax keep on a hypothetical bonus or freelance project.

Worksheet, Tool 2

Find Your Bracket

2026

Line 1. Annual gross income

Line 2. Filing status

Line 3. Hypothetical extra income (bonus, freelance project)

Marginal rate

22%

on the next dollar

Effective rate

11.3%

average across all dollars

Bracket position

You are $40,451 of taxable income away from the next bracket at 24%.

Tax on extra

$2,200

Rate on extra

22.0%

You keep

$7,800

All 2026 Brackets, Single

10%$0 – $12,150
12%$12,151 – $49,300
(you)22%$49,301 – $105,150
24%$105,151 – $200,750
32%$200,751 – $254,800
35%$254,801 – $636,350
37%$636,351 – and up

§ 2When to Use the Marginal Rate

Use the marginal rate for any forward-looking decision: take an extra freelance project, negotiate the bonus, or contribute another dollar to a 401(k). The marginal rate tells you both the tax cost of the next earned dollar and the tax saving of the next deducted dollar. They are the same number.

For retrospective questions ("what share of last year went to the IRS?") use the effective rate instead. The effective rate appears in the calculator for context, but the question this tool exists to answer is the marginal one.

§ 3Edge Cases

Bonus withholding. Employers commonly withhold supplemental wages (bonuses) at a flat 22 percent (federal), or 37 percent for amounts above $1 million in a year. This withholding is not your final tax, it is an estimate. The actual tax owed is determined at filing time using your real marginal rate.

Phase-outs and credits. Some credits and deductions phase out as income rises (Premium Tax Credit, child tax credit, retirement saver's credit). These produce an "effective marginal rate" higher than the bracket rate alone, because each extra dollar of income costs not just the bracket rate but also a piece of the lost credit. Phase-outs are the closest thing to a real bracket cliff in the code, though they almost never produce a negative take-home.