2025 Tax Brackets and How They Work

Below we cover what the 2025 tax brackets are and why the tax bracket you’re in isn’t the percent of your income that you’ll actually owe in tax when you file in 2026.

2025 tax brackets

If you’re single (known as an individual filer), your brackets are:

10 percent: Up to $11,925

12 percent: $11,926 to $48,475

22 percent: $48,476 to $103,350

24 percent: $103,351 to $197,300

32 percent: $197,301 to $250,525

35 percent: $250,526 to $626,350

37 percent: Over $626,350

People who are married but file separately (known as married filing separately) have the same tax brackets as individual filers do until the top two. Those amounts are:

35 percent: $250,526 to $375,800

37 percent: Over $375,800

If you are married and file a single tax return as a couple (known as married filing jointly), your brackets are:

10 percent: Up to $23,850

12 percent: $23,851 to $96,950

22 percent: $96,951 to $206,700

24 percent: $206,701 to $394,600

32 percent: $394,601 to $501,050

35 percent: $501,051 to $751,600

37 percent: Over $751,600

If you are unmarried, pay for more than half your household’s expenses and have a dependent (known as head of household), your brackets are:

10 percent: Up to $17,000

12 percent: $17,001 to $64,850

22 percent: $64,851 to $103,350

24 percent: $103,351 to $197,300

32 percent: $197,301 to $250,500

35 percent: $250,501 to $626,350

37 percent: Over $626,350

Calculating your marginal tax bracket vs. your effective tax rate

What you owe in taxes is the income on your W-2 form multiplied by your tax bracket percentage, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

For starters, the income on your W-2 isn’t likely to be the amount that is actually taxed. That’s because when you file, you’re probably going to take deductions that will lower your taxable income. You may choose to take the standard deduction (which, for tax year 2025 is $15,750 for single filers, or $31,500 if you’re filing jointly) or a host of other deductions you choose to itemize on your tax return. Your 1040 form helps you determine what your taxable income will be.

Second, the U.S. income tax system is a progressive tax, not a flat tax. That means as your income rises, so does the percentage that you pay in taxes—and your income is actually taxed in chunks at graduated rates that follow the steps of the tax brackets.

Here’s a simple example of what we mean. Let’s say you’re single, and after deductions, your taxable income is $70,000, which lands you in the 22 percent tax bracket. You won’t be paying 22 percent on all $70,000 (which would be $15,400 in federal tax). Rather …

• The first $11,925 will be taxed at 10 percent, which is $1,192.50.
• The income between $11,926 and $48,475 (or $36,550) will be taxed at 12 percent, or about $4,386.
• The income between $48,476 and $70,000 (or $21,524) will be taxed at 22 percent, or about $4,735.

So, in this example, your total 2025 federal income tax owed would be $10,313.50, substantially less than the $15,400 you would have owed if you paid a flat 22 percent on your entire taxable income.

Your marginal tax bracket is the tax rate you paid on your last dollar of income and is how you determine which tax bracket you’re in. Your effective tax rate, meanwhile, is the percentage of your income that you paid in taxes after all was said and done—in this case, a little less than 15 percent ($10,313.50/$70,000).

Changing tax brackets

Of course, your tax bracket and effective tax rate aren’t something that you figure out once and then never again. For instance, if you got a raise in the last year, it could push you into the next higher tax bracket (that’s why the tax brackets also increase over time). On the flip side, if your income drops or you become eligible to take more deductions, you could fall into a lower tax bracket. So make sure you check each year to see what the new tax brackets are and how that could impact the amount you will pay.

This publication is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult with a tax professional for tax advice specific to your situation.