2021-2022 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates Bankrate Caret RightMain Menu Mortgage Mortgages Financing a home purchase Refinancing your existing loan Finding the right lender Additional Resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Bank Banking Compare Accounts Use calculators Get advice Bank reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Credit Card Credit cards Compare by category Compare by credit needed Compare by issuer Get advice Looking for the perfect credit card? Narrow your search with CardMatch Caret RightMain Menu Loan Loans Personal Loans Student Loans Auto Loans Loan calculators Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Invest Investing Best of Brokerages and robo-advisors Learn the basics Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Home Equity Home equity Get the best rates Lender reviews Use calculators Knowledge base Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Loan Home Improvement Real estate Selling a home Buying a home Finding the right agent Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Insurance Insurance Car insurance Homeowners insurance Other insurance Company reviews Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Caret RightMain Menu Retirement Retirement Retirement plans & accounts Learn the basics Retirement calculators Additional resources Elevate your Bankrate experience Get insider access to our best financial tools and content Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. SHARE: topseller/Shutterstock.com April 07, 2022 Checkmark Bankrate logo How is this page expert verified? At Bankrate, we take the accuracy of our content seriously. "Expert verified" means that our Financial Review Board thoroughly evaluated the article for accuracy and clarity. The Review Board comprises a panel of financial experts whose objective is to ensure that our content is always objective and balanced. Their reviews hold us accountable for publishing high-quality and trustworthy content. Sarah Foster covers the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy and economic policy. She previously worked for Bloomberg News, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Daily Herald. Lance Davis is the Vice President of Content for Bankrate. Lance leads a team responsible for creating educational content that guides people through the pivotal steps in their financial journey. Kenneth Chavis IV is a senior wealth manager who provides comprehensive financial planning, investment management and tax planning services to business owners, equity compensated executives, engineers, medical doctors and entertainers. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Our banking reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the best banks, latest rates, different types of accounts, money-saving tips and more — so you can feel confident as you’re managing your money. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. There are seven tax brackets for most ordinary income for the 2021 tax year: 10 percent, 12 percent, 22 percent, 24 percent, 32 percent, 35 percent and 37 percent. Your tax bracket depends on and your filing status: single, married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), married filing separately and head of household. Generally, as you move up the pay scale, you also move up the tax scale. 2021 tax brackets (taxes due April 2022 or October 2022 with an extension) Tax rate Single Head of household Married filing jointly or qualifying widow Married filing separately Source: IRS 10% $0 to $9,950 $0 to $14,200 $0 to $19,900 $0 to $9,950 12% $9,951 to $40,525 $14,201 to $54,200 $19,901 to $81,050 $9,951 to $40,525 22% $40,526 to $86,375 $54,201 to $86,350 $81,051 to $172,750 $40,526 to $86,375 24% $86,376 to $164,925 $86,351 to $164,900 $172,751 to $329,850 $86,376 to $164,925 32% $164,926 to $209,425 $164,901 to $209,400 $329,851 to $418,850 $164,926 to $209,425 35% $209,426 to $523,600 $209,401 to $523,600 $418,851 to $628,300 $209,426 to $314,150 37% $523,600 or more $523,600 or more $628,300 or more $314,151 or more The IRS started accepting taxpayers’ returns for back in January. Most Americans , though they can . The IRS on Nov. 10 announced new tax brackets for the 2022 tax year, for taxes you’ll file in April 2023, or October 2023 if you file an extension. There are seven tax brackets for most ordinary income for the 2022 tax year: 10 percent, 12 percent, 22 percent, 24 percent, 32 percent, 35 percent and 37 percent.” Learn about other changes to this year’s tax season that may impact your filing in . 2022 tax brackets (taxes due April 2023 or October 2023 with an extension) Tax rate Single Head of household Married filing jointly or qualifying widow Married filing separately Source: IRS 10% $0 to $10,275 $0 to $14,650 $0 to $20,550 $0 to $10,275 12% $10,276 to $41,775 $14,651 to $55,900 $20,551 to $83,550 $10,276 to $41,775 22% $41,776 to $89,075 $55,901 to $89,050 $83,551 to $178,150 $41,776 to $89,075 24% $89,076 to $170,050 $89,051 to $170,050 $178,151 to $340,100 $89,076 to $170,050 32% $170,051 to $215,950 $170,051 to $215,950 $340,101 to $431,900 $170,051 to $215,950 35% $215,951 to $539,900 $215,951 to $539,900 $431,901 to $647,850 $215,951 to $323,925 37% $539,901 or more $539,901 or more $647,851 or more $323,926 or more How federal tax brackets work
Tax brackets are not as intuitive as they seem because most taxpayers have to look at more than one bracket to know their . Instead of looking at what tax bracket you fall in based on your income, determine how many individual tax brackets you overlap based on your . Figuring that out is easier in practice: Example one: Say you’re a single individual who earned $40,000 of taxable income in the 2021 tax year. Technically, you’d be aligned in the 12 percent tax bracket, but your income wouldn’t be levied a 12 percent rate across the board. Instead, you would follow the tax bracket up on the scale, paying 10 percent on the first $9,950 of your income and then 12 percent on the next chunk of your income between $9,951 and $40,525. Because you don’t make above $40,525, none of your income would be hit at the 22 percent rate. That often amounts into Americans being charged a rate that’s smaller than their individual federal income tax bracket, known as their effective tax rate. Example two: Say you’re a single individual in 2021 who earned $70,000 of taxable income. You would pay 10 percent on the first $9,950 of your earnings ($995); then 12 percent on the chunk of earnings from $9,951 to $40,525 ($3,669), then 22 percent on the remaining income ($6,484.50) Your total tax bill would be $11,148.50. Divide that by your earnings of $70,000 and you get an effective tax rate of roughly 16 percent, which is lower than the 22 percent bracket you’re in. The brackets above show the tax rates for 2021 and 2022. The brackets are adjusted each year for . Marginal tax rate definition and example
Another way of describing the U.S. tax system is by saying that most Americans are charged a marginal tax rate. That’s because as income rises, it is taxed at a higher rate. In other words, the last dollar that an American earns is taxed more than the first dollar. This is what’s known as a progressive tax system. The technical definition of a would be the rate that each individual taxpayer pays on their additional dollars of income. How to get into a lower tax bracket
Americans have two main ways to get into a lower tax bracket: . Tax credits are a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your income tax bill. If you have a $2,000 tax bill but are eligible for $500 in tax credits, your bill drops to $1,500. Tax credits can save you more in taxes than deductions, and Americans can qualify for a variety of different credits. The federal government gives tax credits for the cost of buying solar panels for your house and to offset the cost of adopting a child. Americans can also use , and , to name a few. Many states also offer tax credits. While tax credits reduce your actual tax bill, tax deductions reduce the amount of your income that is taxable. If you have enough deductions to exceed the for your filing status, you can itemize those expenses to lower your taxable income. For example, if your exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income in 2021, you can claim those and lower your taxable income. Tax brackets from previous years
Essential tax reading
SHARE: Sarah Foster covers the Federal Reserve, the U.S. economy and economic policy. She previously worked for Bloomberg News, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Daily Herald. Lance Davis is the Vice President of Content for Bankrate. Lance leads a team responsible for creating educational content that guides people through the pivotal steps in their financial journey. Kenneth Chavis IV is a senior wealth manager who provides comprehensive financial planning, investment management and tax planning services to business owners, equity compensated executives, engineers, medical doctors and entertainers. Related Articles