Income tax · federal refund estimate

Free income tax & refund calculator

Enter what you earned and what was withheld. We run it through the real federal brackets and show whether you’re getting money back — and exactly where every dollar of tax comes from.

Estimated refund —

Taxable income: —
Total tax: —
Effective rate: —
Marginal rate: —

Where your tax comes from

Only the income inside each band is taxed at that band’s rate — your marginal rate applies to the top slice, not the whole paycheck.

How federal income tax is calculated

US federal income tax isn’t a single percentage of your pay. It’s built from marginal brackets: your income is sliced into bands, and each band is taxed at its own rate, climbing from 10% at the bottom to 37% at the top. Before any of that happens, you subtract a deduction from your gross income to get your taxable income — the figure the brackets actually apply to. Most people use the standard deduction, a flat amount set by the IRS that changes with your filing status (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household) and rises a little each year.

That taxable income produces your tax liability — the total you owe for the year. Whether you get money back depends on how that compares to your withholding: the federal tax your employer already took out of each paycheck (W-2 box 2), plus any estimated payments. Withhold more than your liability and you get a refund; withhold less and you owe the difference. A refund isn’t a bonus — it’s your own money coming back after you overpaid through the year. This tool estimates federal income tax only. It doesn’t calculate state income tax, payroll taxes, tax credits, or self-employment tax.

How to use this calculator

The inputs are deliberately short. Work through them top to bottom:

Pick a tax year. The tabs cover the current year and the previous one, using the real published IRS brackets for each.
Choose your filing status. This sets both the bracket thresholds and your standard deduction.
Enter your gross income. Use total wages — your W-2 box 1, before deductions.
Enter federal tax withheld. That’s W-2 box 2 plus any estimated payments you made.
Choose your deduction. Leave Standard deduction checked for the flat amount, or uncheck it to type in your total itemized deductions.

As you type, the verdict block shows your estimated refund or balance due, and the panel below breaks out your taxable income, total tax, effective rate and marginal rate. The “tax stack” bar shows where each dollar of tax comes from, band by band.

A worked example

Say you’re a single filer earning $75,000. Take the standard deduction and your taxable income drops to roughly $60,000. That $60,000 doesn’t all get taxed at one rate — it’s spread across the bands: the first slice at 10%, the next and largest slice at 12%, and only the portion above the 22% threshold at 22%. Added up, the tax comes to around $8,100 (the exact figure shifts each year as the IRS adjusts thresholds for inflation, which is why the tool uses live brackets rather than a fixed table).

That $8,100 on $75,000 of income is an effective rate of about 11%, even though your marginal rate — the rate on your last dollar — is 22%. If you had $9,000 withheld over the year, you’d be looking at a refund of roughly $900. Withhold only $7,000 and the verdict flips: you’d owe about $1,100 instead.

Effective vs. marginal rate

These two numbers get mixed up constantly, and the difference matters. Your marginal rate is the rate on your next dollar — the top bracket your taxable income reaches. It’s what tells you how much of a raise, bonus, or extra freelance check you’ll keep. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income — your real, blended rate across every band. Because the early brackets tax you lightly, your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate. When someone says they’re “in the 22% bracket,” that’s their marginal rate; the share of their income that actually goes to federal tax is smaller.

Common mistakes

Confusing the two rates. Don’t multiply your whole income by your marginal rate — that overstates the bill badly. Use the effective rate for “what share am I really paying.”
Thinking a raise into a new bracket taxes everything more. It doesn’t. Crossing a threshold only raises the rate on the dollars above it, so a raise always leaves you with more take-home pay, never less.
Forgetting this is federal only. Most states levy their own income tax on top, and a few don’t. Your total tax burden is higher than this estimate unless you live in a no-income-tax state.
Chasing a big refund. A large refund means you over-withheld and lent the government money interest-free all year. Aiming closer to zero keeps that cash in your paychecks.

Related tools & guides

Tax is only part of the gap between your salary and your bank balance. To see what actually lands in your account after tax and other deductions, run the take-home pay calculator. If you’re weighing a pay bump, the raise vs. inflation tool shows whether it’s real growth or just keeping pace, and the mortgage calculator helps you turn that income into a housing budget. Browse the full set on the calculators page. And if a return leaves you owing more than you can pay, read our guide on how to settle your taxes with the IRS before you panic. This calculator is an educational estimate, not financial advice — for a filed return, use tax software or a preparer.

Income tax calculator FAQ

How is my refund estimated?

We compute your federal tax from the real IRS brackets for your filing status, subtract that from what you’ve already had withheld (W-2 box 2, plus any estimated payments), and show the difference. A positive number is a refund; a negative one is what you’d owe. It’s an estimate of federal income tax only — it doesn’t include state tax, credits like the Earned Income or Child Tax Credit, self-employment tax, or other adjustments.

What’s the difference between my effective and marginal rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar — the top bracket your taxable income reaches. Your effective rate is your total tax divided by your income, which is always lower because the early brackets tax you less. The “tax stack” bar shows this: only the top slice of your income is taxed at the marginal rate, not the whole amount.

Should I use the standard deduction?

Most filers do — it’s a flat amount subtracted from your income, no receipts required, and for the majority it beats itemizing. Uncheck “Standard deduction” to enter your total itemized deductions instead (mortgage interest, state and local taxes up to the cap, charitable gifts, and so on). The calculator uses whichever you choose to work out your taxable income.

Does this include state income tax?

No — it estimates federal income tax only. Most states charge their own income tax on top, with their own brackets and deductions, while a handful charge none at all. If you live in a state with income tax, your total bill is higher than the figure shown here, so treat this as the federal piece of the picture rather than the whole thing.

Will a raise that pushes me into a higher bracket leave me with less money?

No, and this is the most common tax myth. The brackets are marginal, so a higher rate only applies to the dollars above the threshold, not to your whole income. A raise always increases your take-home pay — only the portion that crosses into the new band is taxed at the higher rate.

Is this the exact amount I’ll get back?

Treat it as a close estimate, not a filed return. It covers federal income tax on ordinary wage income using the standard or itemized deduction you choose. It doesn’t model tax credits, capital-gains rates, the Alternative Minimum Tax, state income tax, or payroll taxes. For your actual refund, file with tax software or a preparer — but this gives you a fast, honest read on where you stand.

Free · every Sunday

This week’s money, digested.

What moved in the markets, the guides worth reading, and what it all means — in one short email. No noise, no bank linking, leave anytime.

Keep reading

How to Save Money

Sign in