Effective Tax Rate Calculator: 2025 US Federal Income Tax
Your effective tax rate and your marginal tax rate tell two different stories about your federal income tax burden. The marginal rate is the rate that applies to your last dollar of income: the bracket your income tops out in. The effective rate is the average rate across all your income: total tax divided by total taxable income. Because the US uses a progressive system, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. This calculator applies the 2025 federal income tax brackets to your taxable income and shows both rates, along with a full bracket-by-bracket breakdown of how your tax bill is assembled. Enter your taxable income (gross income minus deductions, as reported on your tax return) and your filing status. The table shows how much of your income falls into each bracket and the tax owed at each rate. The effective rate output gives you a single percentage that represents your average federal tax burden, which is more meaningful than the marginal rate for comparing your situation to others or to prior years. State taxes are not included.
Formulas
For each bracket: tax in bracket = min(income, bracket top) - bracket bottom (floored at 0) x rate
Total tax = sum of tax in each bracket
Effective rate = total tax / taxable income x 100
Marginal rate = rate of the highest bracket your income reaches
After-tax income = taxable income - total tax
Brackets: 2025 IRS figures (IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40), inflation-adjusted.
2025 standard deductions (not applied here; enter post-deduction taxable income): Single: $15,000. Married filing jointly: $30,000. Head of household: $22,500.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your taxable income. This is the figure after subtracting the standard deduction or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.
- Select your filing status: single, married filing jointly, or head of household.
- Read your total tax, effective rate, marginal rate, and after-tax income from the output panel.
- Review the bracket breakdown table to see exactly how your income is distributed across brackets and where each portion of your tax bill originates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between effective and marginal tax rate?
The marginal tax rate is the rate you pay on your next dollar of income (the rate of the bracket your top dollar falls into). The effective rate is total tax divided by total income. Because the US uses a progressive system where only income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate.
What is taxable income?
Taxable income is your gross income minus allowable deductions. For most individuals, this is adjusted gross income (AGI) minus the standard deduction ($15,000 for single filers, $30,000 for married filing jointly, $22,500 for head of household in 2025) or itemized deductions if greater. This calculator takes taxable income as a direct input; it does not subtract the standard deduction for you.
Does this include state income tax?
No. This calculator shows only federal income tax. State income taxes vary widely, from 0% in states like Florida, Texas, and Washington to over 13% in California. Use our after-tax income calculator to add a state tax estimate.
Are the 2025 brackets adjusted for inflation?
Yes. The IRS adjusts tax brackets annually for inflation under Internal Revenue Code Section 1(f). The 2025 brackets were published in IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40. The adjustments prevent "bracket creep," where inflation pushes taxpayers into higher brackets without real income gains.
What filing status should I choose?
Use "single" if you are unmarried and do not qualify for another status. Use "married filing jointly" if you are married and file a joint return with your spouse. Use "head of household" if you are unmarried, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and have a qualifying person living with you. Head of household has wider brackets than single, resulting in lower tax.
Official sources
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40 (2025 tax brackets): irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-24-40.pdf.
- IRS Tax Topic 409: irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 14 June 2026. See our methodology.