The IRS quietly released new tax brackets for 2026. Some Americans will save thousands while others won't be so lucky

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Even a government shutdown — and the furlough of 34,000 employees at the Internal Revenue Service — doesn’t change the need to file your 2026 taxes.

The shutdown was big news. But right after the IRS announced employee furloughs (1), it released important news without much fanfare: updated tax brackets affecting every taxpayer in the U.S.

-snip-

For individual filers, these are the new income tax brackets:

10% tax bracket: $0—$12,400

12% tax bracket: $12,401—$50,400

22% tax bracket: $50,401—$105,700

24% tax bracket: $105,701—$201,775

32% tax bracket: $201,776—$256,225

35% tax bracket: $256,225—$640,600

37% tax bracket: $640,601 and up

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/irs-quietly-released-tax-brackets-200000886.html

[TheBlackAdder]

1. Wow! You really get Effed in the A with that $55K bracket which starts at $201K. It's like the jump from $50,401.

[MichMan]

2. With the increased std deduction and $6000 additional senior deduction, I am expecting mine to go down compared to 2024

[OC375]

3. B.S.

Anyone making less than $200k shouldn’t pay. The millionaires and billionaires have all our money and they own the system anyway. Let them pay.

[WarGamer]

6. No. If a single dude is making 15k a month... why the hell shouldn't he or she pay income tax?

[MichMan]

7. People love higher taxes

As long as someone else is paying them. Their own cherished deductions are sacrosanct while everyone else exploits loopholes.

[OC375]

8. Meh, Let the Guys Making $150k+ A Month Pay An Honest 22% First

See how much that covers, and we'll take it from there. They're good for 10x $15k a month guys each, and a whole crap ton of me's. That's all I ask....

[WarGamer]

9. Here's the problem...

The number of people making 150k x 12 = $1.8M per year in WORKING INCOME is TINY.


TONS of people make $180k a year.

And if you're talking about capital gains and the ways that the wealthy get paid... that's a different topic but also important.

[Celerity]

4. Increased tax credits and deductions

The IRS hasn’t just updated income thresholds to reflect inflation. It’s raising deductions across the board, including:

$16,100 for singles and married individuals filing separately

$24,150 for heads of household, and

$32,200 for married couples who file jointly.

The earned income tax credit is getting raised from $8,046 for the current tax year to $8,231 for families with at least three children in 2026. Older Americans could enjoy a bigger break in 2026 thanks to the new seniors’ tax deduction of $6,000 — one of the tax changes outlined in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

[Igel]

5. Those numbers by themselves don't mean much.

I was clearly in the 22% tax bracket last year. Officially.

I paid a bit more than 7% of my gross income in federal income taxes. Nowhere near 22%. After pre-tax stuff, retirement deductions, 45% of my gross was gone from my adjusted gross income. Then add in the standard deductions.

Making life easier was that I hit some magic age last year so a couple of categories of my property tax are frozen for as long as I own this house (and if I move, the freeze transfers, but I get the increased taxes on that house). And a set deduction in, I believe it is, the school tax ...? Or is it the property tax? (Doesn't matter--I get the bills and pay them, not like the choice isn't 'pay them' or 'take up renting'.)

[DFW]

10. If Germans could get good jobs and green cards on demand, they'd stand in line, Trump or not

The top income tax rate of 42% plus 5% “solidarity supplement” kicks in here at €68,480, or just under $80,000 net income. They look at our 22-24% and just drool with envy.

Health care and retirement are not part of this, they are financed separately. Education is partially paid, but the Germans have dozens of additional different little taxes to hit you with for the rest. A friend here said he starts working for himself around mid-October. The rest of the year he works for the government.