Washington, D.C.: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) On Thursday, revealed new federal income tax brackets and standard deductions for 2026. These changes will effect returns that are due in early 2027. The changes show that the income limits for all tax brackets have gone up, and so has the standard deduction.
In 2026, the standard deduction, which lowers taxable income and decreases federal tax bills, will go up by around 2.2% for all filing statuses.
Filing as a single person or as a married couple: $16,100 (up from $15,750 in 2025)
$32,200 for married couples filing together or surviving spouses (up from $31,500)
$24,150 for heads of household (increase from $23,625)
The IRS has changed the federal income tax brackets. The highest tax rate is still 37% for people who make more than $640,600 or married couples who file jointly and make more than $768,700. The lowest rate is still 10%, which applies to single filers with taxable income up to $12,400 and married couples filing jointly with taxable income up to $24,800.
According to CNBC, these modifications let Americans figure out how much federal tax they owe by taking their adjusted gross income and subtracting either the standard deduction or the itemized deductions.
The announcement comes when the federal government is partially shut down because former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans couldn’t agree on a financing deal with Democrats. The IRS has put over half of its workers on leave because of the shutdown. This might make it harder for taxpayers to file and process their returns.