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Federal Income Tax Calculator and Refund Estimator 2025-2026

Estimate your 2026 tax refund or bill using our free income tax calculator. Enter your income, age and filing status to get started.

Tax details

Estimated tax refund or bill

For the 2025 tax year, your estimated taxes owed are

$13,448.88

How this federal tax calculator works

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

How is this page expert verified?

NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible.

Sabrina Parys

Editor & Content Strategist

---

Expertise

• Taxes
• Investing

Sabrina Parys is an editor and content strategist on the taxes and investing team at NerdWallet, where she manages and writes content on personal income taxes. Her previous experience includes five years as a copy editor and associate editor in academic and educational publishing. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Published in

Editor & Content Strategist

Sabrina Parys is an editor and content strategist on the taxes and investing team at NerdWallet, where she manages and writes content on personal income taxes. Her previous experience includes five years as a copy editor and associate editor in academic and educational publishing. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Pamela de la Fuente

Managing Editor

---

23 years of experience

Expertise

• Personal Finance
• Budgeting
• Taxes
• Retirement
• Underrepresented communities

Pamela de la Fuente is a managing editor of NerdWallet's personal finance content. She leads budgeting, money-making, consumer credit and and debt coverage.

Ask her and her talented team about why credit scores matter, how to save money on your grocery bill, finding the right side hustle, how to protect your identity for free and more.

Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and the National Association of Black Journalists Executive Leadership Academy. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She was also founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

Managing Editor

Pamela de la Fuente is a managing editor of NerdWallet's personal finance content. She leads budgeting, money-making, consumer credit and and debt coverage.

Ask her and her talented team about why credit scores matter, how to save money on your grocery bill, finding the right side hustle, how to protect your identity for free and more.

Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and the National Association of Black Journalists Executive Leadership Academy. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She was also founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

How to fill out your tax details

First, you'll want to download or gather any tax forms you've received from your employer, bank or brokerage. This may include W-2s, 1099s, 5498s and other documents. In the next section, we'll show you where on the forms to find information that corresponds to specific calculator fields.

Tax year: The calculator is automatically set to 2025, which will help you estimate the bill or refund you may receive when you file your taxes in 2026. You can also toggle between different tax years to compare how your taxes stack up year over year.

Tax filing status: Choose from one of the four tax filing statuses available (single, head of household, married filing separately or married filing jointly). Your filing status helps determine which deductions and credits you can claim.

Annual gross income: In this field, enter your estimated total household income before taxes (also known as your gross income). Include wages from W-2 work, income from 1099 work, tips, commission, and income earned from interest, dividends, investments, rental income, retirement distributions, unemployment compensation and Social Security benefits.

Age: Enter your age as of Dec. 31, 2025. Your age can affect certain tax rules and deductions. For example, people 65 and older get a higher standard deduction.

Standard/itemized deductions: Select either “standard deduction” or “itemized deductions.” Most Americans claim the standard deduction, which we’ve pre-filled. If you’re not one of them, fill in the sum of your itemized deductions. (Exclude 401(k) and traditional IRA contributions.)

? Tax tip for seniors: New this tax season, filers who are 65 and older may be able to claim a "senior bonus deduction" of up to $6,000 ($12,000 for joint filers). This deduction is in addition to the existing standard deduction for age, which this tool automatically calculates. If you are eligible for the bonus senior deduction, enter it in the "Other deductions" field.

Taxes withheld: Enter how much your employer withheld on your behalf or how much you paid in estimated taxes for the year. If you're unsure, estimate. You will still get insights into how much you may owe.

401(k) contributions: Enter any pre-tax contributions you made to your traditional 401(k) account. The maximum 401(k) contribution for 2025 was $23,500 (under the age of 50) and $31,000 (50 and older). Thanks to changes ushered in by the Secure 2.0 Act, people ages 60, 61, 62 and 63 had larger 401(k) catch-up contributions caps of up to $34,750.

IRA contributions: Enter contributions to a traditional IRA. The IRA contribution limit for 2025 is $7,000 ($8,000 for those 50 and older). You can make a 2025 contribution until the tax filing deadline in April 2026.

? An important note: Contributing to a traditional IRA may not have any immediate tax benefits if your income exceeds a threshold set by the IRS and you or your spouse is also covered by a 401(k).

Other deductions: In this field, enter any other contribution you made throughout the year not accounted for elsewhere (e.g., HSA or student loan deduction).

Tax credits: Enter how much you expect to claim in tax credits on your return. Common tax credits include the child tax credit, the child and dependent care credit, the earned income credit, and the American opportunity credit.

Explore related content

Tax Brackets and Rates

Capital Gains Tax Calculator

Retirement Calculator

Where to find these tax details on different forms

Annual gross income: Our calculator uses gross income instead of taxable income, which can be slightly different than what you'd find on your W-2 form. For the most accurate calculations, you'll want to locate your last pay stub from 2025 and find your year-to-date gross pay. If you received any 1099 forms, certain ones may show gross income information in Box 1.

Taxes withheld: On a W-2 form, the amount of federal income tax you had withheld will be shown in Box 2. While it's not as common to have income tax withheld on 1099 income, many of these forms detail this information in Box 4 if applicable.

401(k) contributions: On a W-2 form, Box 12d will detail how much you contributed to your traditional 401(k) last year. You may also be able to find this in your employee portal or in the brokerage where your 401(k) lives.

IRA contributions: Form 5498 shows how much you contributed to a traditional IRA in Box 1. SEP and SIMPLE IRA contributions are noted in separate boxes on the form.

About this income tax calculator

This estimator takes your gross income and then subtracts applicable deductions and adjustments, such as 401(k) contributions, HSA contributions, and your standard or itemized deductions. This, among other factors, determines your taxable income, or the amount of income subject to tax.

Then, we apply the appropriate tax bracket and rate(s) based on your filing status to calculate what amount in taxes the government expects you to pay.

Keep in mind that federal tax rates aren't flat — the U.S. has a progressive tax system. Generally speaking, this means your income is divided into portions, and each portion is taxed at a different rate. Tax rates can range from 10% to 37% depending on how much you make.

Here are the tax brackets for 2025 (taxes filed in 2026).

Tax rate

Single filer

Married filing jointly / Surviving spouse

Head of household

Married filing separately

10%

$0 to $11,925

$0 to $23,850

$0 to $17,000

$0 to $11,925

12%

$11,926 to $48,475

$23,851 to $96,950

$17,001 to $64,850

$11,926 to $48,475

22%

$48,476 to $103,350

$96,951 to $206,700

$64,851 to $103,350

$48,476 to $103,350

24%

$103,351 to $197,300

$206,701 to $394,600

$103,351 to $197,300

$103,351 to $197,300

32%

$197,301 to $250,525

$394,601 to $501,050

$197,301 to $250,500

$197,301 to $250,525

35%

$250,526 to $626,350

$501,051 to $751,600

$250,501 to $626,350

$250,526 to $375,800

37%

$626,351 or more

$751,601 or more

$626,351 or more

$375,801 or more

Source: IRS

The calculator also accounts for tax credits, which can further reduce your bill.

If you have a simple tax situation and have filled out your W-4 correctly, taxes already withheld from your paychecks might cover that bill for the year. Likewise, if you’re a freelancer or a taxpayer who must pay estimated taxes, payments you made during the year might also cover your bill.

If it turns out that your tax withholding, payments, or any credits you qualify for did not cover your liability, you may need to pay the rest at tax time. If you’ve paid too much, you’ll get a refund.

This estimator assumes:

A standard deduction, but you may change to itemized deductions in the “deductions” section.

Tax credit amounts entered are assumed to be nonrefundable. Although a handful of credits can result in a refund of the overage, we do not factor this into our calculations.

The rules for whether a traditional IRA contribution is tax-deductible are complex, so this calculator assumes your IRA contributions are not tax-deductible if you already contribute to a 401(k). 

Numbers entered in the “withheld” field include taxes withheld by your employer and/or any estimated taxes you have paid.

Note that this calculator does not take into account state income taxes, another type of income tax you may have to account for when filing your tax return.

✔️ Ready to file?

Our picks for this year's best tax software

How to find a CPA near you

How tax refunds work

When you file your taxes, you may either get a tax bill or a tax refund. When you receive a refund, it generally means you overpaid your taxes the previous year, and the government is now reimbursing you for that overpayment. This can happen, for example, when your W-4 isn't optimized, leading your employer to withhold too much from your paycheck.

The estimated wait time for the IRS to process your tax return and refund is 21 days for e-filed returns. The wait time can increase if you file by paper. Your refund may also be delayed if the IRS finds an error on your return that needs to be corrected.

IRS acceptance time:

E-filed returns: 24 to 48 hours.

Paper returns: four weeks.

Estimated refund time:

E-filed returns: 21 days.

Paper returns: four-plus weeks.

You can find the status or your tax return and refund directly on the IRS website. Most state websites also have tools for tracking down your state refund.

» Next step: Learn how to track the status of your tax refund

Deciding how to take your deductions — that is, how much to subtract from your adjusted gross income, thus reducing your taxable income — can make a huge difference in your tax bill. But making that decision isn’t always easy.

The standard deduction is a flat reduction in your adjusted gross income. The amount is determined by Congress and meant to keep up with inflation. Nearly 90% of filers take it because it makes the tax-prep process quick and easy. People 65 and older are eligible for a higher standard deduction and another bonus deduction.

People who itemize tend to do so because their deductions exceed the standard deduction, saving them money. The IRS allows you to deduct a litany of expenses from your income, but record-keeping is key — you need to be able to prove, usually with receipts, that the expenses you’re deducting are valid. This means effort, but it might also mean savings.

Both reduce your tax bill but in different ways. Tax credits directly reduce the amount of tax you owe, dollar for dollar. A tax credit valued at $1,000, for instance, lowers your tax bill by $1,000.

Tax deductions, on the other hand, reduce how much of your income is subject to taxes. Deductions lower your taxable income by the percentage of your highest federal income tax bracket. For example, if you fall into the 25% tax bracket, a $1,000 deduction saves you $250.

This could be a sign that you’re having too much tax withheld from your paycheck and living on less of your earnings all year. You can use Form W-4 to reduce your withholding easily now so you don’t have to wait for the government to give you your money back later.

You can sign up for a payment plan on the IRS website. There are several to choose from, and they can provide peace of mind. Here’s how IRS installment plans work, plus some other options for paying a big tax bill.

Deciding how to take your deductions — that is, how much to subtract from your adjusted gross income, thus reducing your taxable income — can make a huge difference in your tax bill. But making that decision isn’t always easy.

The standard deduction is a flat reduction in your

adjusted gross income

. The amount is determined by Congress and meant to keep up with inflation. Nearly 90% of filers take it because it makes the tax-prep process quick and easy. People 65 and older are eligible for a higher standard deduction and another bonus deduction.

People who

itemize

tend to do so because their deductions exceed the standard deduction, saving them money. The IRS allows you to deduct a litany of expenses from your income, but record-keeping is key — you need to be able to prove, usually with receipts, that the expenses you’re deducting are valid. This means effort, but it might also mean savings.

Both reduce your tax bill but in different ways. Tax credits directly reduce the amount of tax you owe, dollar for dollar. A tax credit valued at $1,000, for instance, lowers your tax bill by $1,000.

Tax deductions

, on the other hand, reduce how much of your income is subject to taxes. Deductions lower your taxable income by the percentage of your highest federal income tax bracket. For example, if you fall into the 25% tax bracket, a $1,000 deduction saves you $250.

This could be a sign that you’re having too much tax withheld from your paycheck and living on less of your earnings all year. You can use Form W-4 to reduce your withholding easily now so you don’t have to wait for the government to give you your money back later.

You can sign up for a payment plan on the IRS website. There are several to choose from, and they can provide peace of mind. Here’s how

IRS installment plans work

, plus some other

options for paying a big tax bill

.