Calculator

Federal Income Tax Estimator

Enter wages, dependents and withholding to estimate your federal tax, your refund or balance due, and the marginal and effective rates behind it.

Already net of 401(k) and pre-tax benefits.
Interest, pensions, taxable Social Security, side profit.
HSA, deductible IRA, student loan interest, half of SE tax.
Leave at 0 to use the standard deduction.

Estimated refund

$870
Adjusted gross income$68,000
Standard deduction$16,100
Taxable income$51,900
Tax before credits$6,130
Child and dependent credits$0
Total federal tax$6,130
Already withheld$7,000
Effective rate on AGI / marginal bracket9.0% / 22%

Federal only. State income tax, the alternative minimum tax, earned income credit and education credits are not modelled here.

How this is calculated

Adjusted gross income is your wages plus other ordinary income, minus above-the-line adjustments. The larger of your standard deduction or your itemized total comes off that, and the remainder runs through the seven federal brackets one slice at a time. That is why your marginal bracket is never the rate you actually pay on the whole amount.

The child tax credit is applied at the statutory amount per qualifying child, reduced by $50 for every $1,000 of income above the phase-out threshold, with the refundable portion limited to 15 percent of earned income above $2,500. The 65-and-older bonus deduction phases out at 6 percent of income above its threshold.

Bracket, standard deduction and credit figures come from the IRS annual inflation adjustments: tax year 2026 and current federal rates and brackets. This is an estimate for planning, not a prepared return. It does not model state tax, the alternative minimum tax, the earned income credit, education credits or the premium tax credit.