Income Tax Calculator

Using the income tax estimate

This is an educational estimate of US federal income tax for the tax year displayed by the calculator. It separates income, modeled deductions, credits and tax already withheld. Liability and withholding are different: a refund generally means payments exceeded the modeled liability, not that income was untaxed. The advanced W-2-style fields are planning inputs, not a complete tax return or a validated transcription of every W-2 code.

Step-by-step inputs

1. Annual gross income (W-2 Box 1). Start with annual wages for the estimate. If using W-2 Box 1, many payroll exclusions are already reflected; do not subtract the same retirement or benefit amount again. Starting example: $85,000 .
2. Filing status. Choose the available filing status that applies. Other filing statuses and their eligibility rules are not represented by the two options. Starting example: Single .
3. Federal income tax withheld · W-2 Box 2 (Advanced options). Federal income tax withheld is Box 2, distinct from Social Security and Medicare withholding. Enter payments you want compared with the federal income-tax estimate. Starting example: $0.00 .
4. Dependent care benefits · Box 10 (Advanced options). The model subtracts this input as an adjustment; it does not perform a full dependent-care exclusion and credit eligibility calculation. Starting example: $0.00 .
5. 401(k) / retirement contributions · Box 12a (Advanced options). Only include adjustments not already excluded from the income input. W-2 Box 12 contains letter-coded items; the slot alone does not establish deductibility. Starting example: $0.00 .
6. HSA contributions · Box 12b (Advanced options). Do not deduct an HSA amount twice if it is already excluded from wages. Eligibility and contribution limits require separate checking. Starting example: $0.00 .
7. Other pre-tax items · Box 14 (Advanced options). Box 14 can contain varied information, not universally deductible items. Entering an amount here makes the model subtract it; verify treatment first. Starting example: $0.00 .
8. Other income (interest, side work) (Advanced options). Add taxable income not already included in wages. This simplified model does not apply separate capital-gain, self-employment or other special tax calculations. Starting example: $0.00 .
9. Dependents under 17 (child tax credit) (Advanced options). The engine applies a simplified per-child credit without a full eligibility or income-phaseout calculation. Verify credit rules before relying on the estimate. Starting example: 0 .
10. Deduction (Advanced options). The engine uses the standard deduction unless the selected itemized total is larger. It does not determine whether each item is legally deductible. Starting example: Standard deduction .
11. Other tax credits (education, savers) (Advanced options). Enter credits only after checking eligibility and limits. This tool does not calculate refundable-credit rules or validate supporting facts. Starting example: $0.00 .

Worked example with the starting values

Using the starting inputs, the estimate is Estimated federal income tax: $9,870 .

The starting case uses wages and the selected standard deduction, with no extra credits or withholding entered. Each taxable-income slice is charged at its bracket rate. The marginal bracket applies to the next taxable dollar in that model, while the effective rate compares estimated tax with entered gross income.

2026 tax year · standard deduction

Adjusted gross income

$85,000

Standard deduction

$16,100

Taxable income

$68,900

Tax before credits

$9,870

Effective tax rate

11.6%

Compare annual gross income (w-2 box 1) scenarios

All other inputs stay at their starting values. These are modeled comparisons, not quotes, predictions or individual recommendations.

Make a useful comparison

Keep a wages-only baseline before adding advanced adjustments. Then check the change caused by each input against the treatment on your tax documents. A lower calculated liability is not evidence that an adjustment is legally available.

Enter federal withholding to compare payments with estimated liability. Social Security, Medicare and state-withholding lines are separate information; they are not interchangeable with federal Box 2 payments and do not form a complete multi-jurisdiction refund calculation.

Use the displayed tax year and published tax instructions when preparing a return. Special income, credit phaseouts, additional schedules and household eligibility can change the result. Use qualified tax assistance or tax-preparation software for filing.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not copy every W-2 contribution into a deduction field. Box 1 can already exclude some contributions, creating double subtraction.
• This simplified child-credit calculation does not implement full current-year eligibility, phaseouts or refundable treatment. It is not a verified credit determination.
• An estimated refund is not an IRS payment promise. State taxes, self-employment taxes and omitted income or payments can substantially change what is actually owed.