Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates: 2022-2023

here are seven federal tax brackets for the 2022 tax year: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. Your bracket depends on your taxable income and filing status.

2022 federal income tax brackets

(for taxes due in April 2023)

Single filers

Tax rate	Taxable income bracket	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $10,275.	10% of taxable income.
12%	$10,276 to $41,775.	$1,027.50 plus 12% of the amount over $10,275.
22%	$41,776 to $89,075.	$4,807.50 plus 22% of the amount over $41,775.
24%	$89,076 to $170,050.	$15,213.50 plus 24% of the amount over $89,075.
32%	$170,051 to $215,950.	$34,647.50 plus 32% of the amount over $170,050.
35%	$215,951 to $539,900.	$49,335.50 plus 35% of the amount over $215,950.
37%	$539,901 or more.	$162,718 plus 37% of the amount over $539,900.

Married, filing jointly

Tax rate	Taxable income bracket	Taxes owed
10%	$0 to $20,550.	10% of taxable income.
12%	$20,551 to $83,550.	$2,055 plus 12% of the amount over $20,550.
22%	$83,551 to $178,150.	$9,615 plus 22% of the amount over $83,550.
24%	$178,151 to $340,100.	$30,427 plus 24% of the amount over $178,150.
32%	$340,101 to $431,900.	$69,295 plus 32% of the amount over $340,100.
35%	$431,901 to $647,850.	$98,671 plus 35% of the amount over $431,900.
37%	$647,851 or more.	$174,253.50 plus 37% of the amount over $647,850.

Married, filing separately

Tax rate	Taxable income bracket	Taxes owed
10%	$0 to $10,275.	10% of taxable income.
12%	$10,276 to $41,775.	$1,027.50 plus 12% of the amount over $10,275.
22%	$41,776 to $89,075.	$4,807.50 plus 22% of the amount over $41,775.
24%	$89,076 to $170,050.	$15,213.50 plus 24% of the amount over $89,075.
32%	$170,051 to $215,950.	$34,647.50 plus 32% of the amount over $170,050.
35%	$215,951 to $323,925.	$49,335.50 plus 35% of the amount over $215,950.
37%	$323,926 or more.	$87,126.75 plus 37% of the amount over $323,925.

Head of household

Tax rate	Taxable income bracket	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $14,650.	10% of taxable income.
12%	$14,651 to $55,900.	$1,465 plus 12% of the amount over $14,650.
22%	$55,901 to $89,050.	$6,415 plus 22% of the amount over $55,900.
24%	$89,051 to $170,050.	$13,708 plus 24% of the amount over $89,050.
32%	$170,051 to $215,950.	$33,148 plus 32% of the amount over $170,050.
35%	$215,951 to $539,900.	$47,836 plus 35% of the amount over $215,950.
37%	$539,901 or more.	$161,218.50 plus 37% of the amount over $539,900.

2023 federal income tax brackets

(for taxes due in April 2024)

Expand the filing status that applies to you.

Single filers

Tax rate	Taxable income bracket	Tax owed
10%	$0 to $11,000.	10% of taxable income.
12%	$11,001 to $44,725.	$1,100 plus 12% of the amount over $11,000.
22%	$44,726 to $95,375.	$5,147 plus 22% of the amount over $44,725.
24%	$95,376 to $182,100.	$16,290 plus 24% of the amount over $95,375.
32%	$182,101 to $231,250.	$37,104 plus 32% of the amount over $182,100.
35%	$231,251 to $578,125.	$52,832 plus 35% of the amount over $231,250.
37%	$578,126 or more.	$174,238.25 plus 37% of the amount over $578,125.

Married, filing jointly

Married, filing separately

Head of household

» Learn more: How to track the status of your federal and state refunds

How tax brackets work

The United States has a progressive tax system, meaning people with higher taxable incomes pay higher federal income tax rates.

• Being “in” a tax bracket doesn’t mean you pay that federal income tax rate on everything you make. The progressive tax system means that people with higher taxable incomes are subject to higher federal income tax rates, and people with lower taxable incomes are subject to lower federal income tax rates.
• The government decides how much tax you owe by dividing your taxable income into chunks — also known as tax brackets — and each chunk gets taxed at the corresponding tax rate. The beauty of this is that no matter which bracket you’re in, you won’t pay that tax rate on your entire income.
• The percentage of your taxable income that you pay in taxes is called your effective tax rate. To determine effective tax rate, divide your total tax owed (line 16) on Form 1040 by your total taxable income (line 15).
• Income thresholds for tax brackets are updated annually. Several provisions in the tax code, including the income thresholds that inform the federal tax brackets, are adjusted annually to reflect the rate of inflation. This indexing aims to prevent taxpayers from experiencing “bracket creep,” or the process of being pushed into a higher tax bracket because of inflation.

Example #1: Let’s say you’re a single filer with $32,000 in taxable income. That puts you in the 12% tax bracket in 2022. But do you pay 12% on all $32,000? No. Actually, you pay only 10% on the first $10,275; you pay 12% on the rest. (Look at the tax brackets above to see the breakout.)

Example #2: If you had $50,000 of taxable income, you’d pay 10% on that first $10,275 and 12% on the chunk of income between $10,276 and $41,775. And then you’d pay 22% on the rest because some of your $50,000 of taxable income falls into the 22% tax bracket. The total bill would be about $6,600 — about 13% of your taxable income, even though you’re in the 22% bracket. That 13% is your effective tax rate.

• That’s the deal only for federal income taxes. Your state might have different brackets, a flat income tax or no income tax at all.

» Learn more: See state income tax brackets here

What is a marginal tax rate?

The term “marginal tax rate” refers to the tax rate paid on your last dollar of taxable income. This typically equates to your highest tax bracket.

For example, if you’re a single filer with $35,000 of taxable income, you would be in the 12% tax bracket. If your taxable income went up by $1, you would pay 12% on that extra dollar too.

If you had $46,000 of taxable income, however, most of it would still fall within the 12% bracket, but the last few hundred dollars would land in the 22% tax bracket. Your marginal tax rate would then be 22%.

How to get into a lower tax bracket and pay a lower federal income tax rate

Two common ways of reducing your tax bill are credits and deductions.

• Tax credits can reduce your tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis; they don’t affect what bracket you’re in.
• Tax deductions, on the other hand, reduce how much of your income is subject to taxes. Generally, deductions lower your taxable income by the percentage of your highest federal income tax bracket. So if you fall into the 22% tax bracket, a $1,000 deduction could save you $220.

In other words: Take all the tax deductions you can claim — they can reduce your taxable income and could kick you to a lower bracket, which means you pay a lower tax rate.