Income Tax Calculator
Enter your values below and click Calculate for instant results.
$
$
Estimate your 2026 federal income tax from any pay type: hourly, daily, weekly, or annual. Works for employees, part-time workers, contractors, and first-time earners.
Enter your values below and click Calculate for instant results.
The US uses a progressive tax system, which means different portions of your income are taxed at different rates as your income increases. The lowest earners pay 10%, and the rate steps up to 37% at the highest income levels. The critical thing to understand is that only the portion of income within each bracket is taxed at that rate. Your entire income is never taxed at your highest bracket rate.
Common misconception: if you earn a little more and move into a higher tax bracket, you do not lose money. Only the dollars above the old bracket threshold get taxed at the higher rate. Everything below it is still taxed at the same lower rate as before. A raise will always increase your take-home pay, regardless of brackets.
You do not need to know your annual salary to use this calculator. If you earn $13 an hour and work 30 hours a week for 48 weeks a year, enter that. If you make $200 per day as a contractor and work about 220 days a year, enter that. The calculator converts your actual earning situation into an annual figure before applying the tax brackets, so the result is accurate no matter how you get paid.
If this is your first job, here is the good news: at typical part-time student wages, you will fall entirely within the 10% or 12% federal tax bracket. That means for every dollar you earn, the federal government takes roughly 10 to 12 cents. There is also a standard deduction of $15,000 for single filers in 2026, which means the first $15,000 you earn is not taxed at all. Many teenagers who work part-time will owe very little in federal income tax.
Enter your hourly rate, your typical hours per week, and how many weeks per year you work. If you take summer off or only work seasonally, adjust the weeks accordingly. The calculator will annualize your earnings and show your estimated federal tax and effective rate based on that total.
Self-employed workers and contractors need to be aware of an important additional tax: self-employment tax. As an employee, your employer pays half of Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) on your behalf. As a self-employed person, you pay both halves, which adds up to 15.3% on top of income tax for income up to the Social Security wage base. This calculator estimates federal income tax only and does not include self-employment tax. If you are self-employed, set aside additional funds to cover that obligation.
The standard deduction is a flat amount subtracted from your income before tax brackets are applied. For 2026, it is $15,000 for single filers, $30,000 for married filing jointly, and $22,500 for heads of household. These amounts are adjusted for inflation each year. Most people take the standard deduction rather than itemizing because it produces a lower tax bill for the majority of taxpayers.
This calculator estimates federal income tax only. It does not account for state income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, self-employment tax, tax credits, retirement account contributions, capital gains, or other factors that affect your actual tax bill. For decisions with real financial consequences, consult a tax professional or use official IRS tools at irs.gov.