About The Tax Calculator
Some information about the figures used to generate the answers displayed in The Tax Calculator:
Federal Income Tax
The Tax Calculator uses Income tax information from the tax year 2023 to calculate the deductions made on a salary. Although we have tried to make this site accurate, it is by no means infallible, and is not intended to give you your exact tax data. Because of the number of variables involved, this site can't do the job of Form 1040. The main considerations are included, others are not, but we hope that most people will be able to get a good approximation of what their employer will withhold.
Federal Income tax is paid only on TAXABLE income, which is however much of your salary is left after the deductions have been made. Details of the deductions included in this site, and the tax bands, below.
Standard Deductions
| Standard Deductions | |
|---|---|
| Single | $13,850 |
| Married Joint | $27,700 |
| Married Separate | $13,850 |
| Head of House | $20,800 |
Deductions are calculated according to how many dependents you have (excluding yourself and your spouse). There is a standard deduction for each filing status.
For single filing status, the standard deduction is $13,850. If you are married and filing a joint return, the standard deduction is $27,700. If you are married and filing separate returns, the standard deduction is $13,850. If you are the head of the household, the standard deduction is $20,800.
Other Deductions
The "Other Monthly Deductions" allows you to enter a $ value for any other amount you wish to have included as a deduction. This is so you can compensate for things such as retirement plan contributions, which are tax free. Any value you enter in here (the monthly deduction) is multiplied by 12, and then included in the deductions to find the taxable pay. Whatever you enter into this field is also subtracted from the take-home pay value - because contributions of this type are not coming home with you.
Single
| Single Tax Rates | |
|---|---|
| $ 0 - $ 11,000 | 10 % |
| $ 11,000 - $ 44,725 | 12 % |
| $ 44,725 - $ 95,375 | 22 % |
| $ 95,375 - $ 182,100 | 24 % |
| $ 182,100 - $ 231,250 | 32 % |
| $ 231,250 - $ 578,125 | 35 % |
| Over $ 578,125 | 37 % |
If your filing status is "single", the standard deduction is $13,850. The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income from $0 to $11,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. Between $11,000 and $44,725 you will pay 12%. Between $44,725 and $95,375 you will pay 22%. Between $95,375 and $182,100 you will pay 24%. Between $182,100 and $231,250 you will pay 32%. Between $231,250 and $578,125 you will pay 35%.
Anything earned over $578,125 is taxed at 37%.
It is possible that your deductions might lower your income tax such that Alternative Minimum Tax is applied - see the AMT section below for more information.
Married Joint
| Married Joint Tax Rates | |
|---|---|
| $ 0 - $ 22,000 | 10 % |
| $ 22,000 - $ 89,450 | 12 % |
| $ 89,450 - $ 190,750 | 22 % |
| $ 190,750 - $ 364,200 | 24 % |
| $ 364,200 - $ 462,500 | 32 % |
| $ 462,500 - $ 693,750 | 35 % |
| Over $ 693,750 | 37 % |
If you are a married couple filing a joint return, the standard deduction is $27,700. The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income from $0 to $22,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. Between $22,000 and $89,450 you will pay 12%. Between $89,450 and $190,750 you will pay 22%. Between $190,750 and $364,200 you will pay 24%. Between $364,200 and $462,500 you will pay 32%. Between $462,500 and $693,750 you will pay 35%.
Anything earned over $693,750 is taxed at 37%.
It is possible that your deductions might lower your income tax such that Alternative Minimum Tax is applied - see the AMT section below for more information.
Married Filing Separately
| Married Separate Tax Rates | |
|---|---|
| $ 0 - $ 11,000 | 10 % |
| $ 11,000 - $ 44,725 | 12 % |
| $ 44,725 - $ 95,375 | 22 % |
| $ 95,375 - $ 182,100 | 24 % |
| $ 182,100 - $ 231,250 | 32 % |
| $ 231,250 - $ 346,875 | 35 % |
| Over $ 346,875 | 37 % |
If you are married, but filing a separate return, the standard deduction is $13,850. The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income from $0 to $11,000. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. Between $11,000 and $44,725 you will pay 12%. Between $44,725 and $95,375 you will pay 22%. Between $95,375 and $182,100 you will pay 24%. Between $182,100 and $231,250 you will pay 32%. Between $231,250 and $346,875 you will pay 35%.
Anything earned over $346,875 is taxed at 37%.
It is possible that your deductions might lower your income tax such that Alternative Minimum Tax is applied - see the AMT section below for more information.
Head of Household
| Head of House Tax Rates | |
|---|---|
| $ 0 - $ 15,700 | 10 % |
| $ 15,700 - $ 59,850 | 12 % |
| $ 59,850 - $ 95,350 | 22 % |
| $ 95,350 - $ 182,100 | 24 % |
| $ 182,100 - $ 231,250 | 32 % |
| $ 231,250 - $ 578,100 | 35 % |
| Over $ 578,100 | 37 % |
If you are the head of a household, the standard deduction is $20,800. The first tax band covers annual TAXABLE income from $0 to $15,700. On this band, you will pay 10% income tax. Between $15,700 and $59,850 you will pay 12%. Between $59,850 and $95,350 you will pay 22%. Between $95,350 and $182,100 you will pay 24%. Between $182,100 and $231,250 you will pay 32%. Between $231,250 and $578,100 you will pay 35%.
Anything earned over $578,100 is taxed at 37%.
It is possible that your deductions might lower your income tax such that Alternative Minimum Tax is applied - see the AMT section below for more information.
Alternative Minimum Tax
| AMT Exemption Amounts | |
|---|---|
| Single | $81,300 |
| Married Joint | $126,500 |
| Married Separate | $63,250 |
| Head of House | $81,300 |
| AMT Phaseout Thresholds | |
| Single | $578,150 |
| Married Joint | $1,156,300 |
| Married Separate | $578,150 |
| Head of House | $578,150 |
| AMT Tax Rate Thresholds | |
| Single | $220,700 |
| Married Joint | $220,700 |
| Married Separate | $110,350 |
| Head of House | $220,700 |
| AMT Tax Rates | |
| Below threshold | 26% |
| Above threshold | 28% |
The Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, was introduced in an effort to make sure that high income earners paid a suitable amount of tax without being able to make large deductions and thus avoid Federal Income Tax. A baseline "Tentative Minimum Tax" (TMT) is calculated and compared with the taxpayer's Federal Income Tax. If the TMT is greater than the Federal Income Tax, the Alternative Minimum Tax is applied as the difference between the two values.
There are AMT thresholds below which no TMT will be calculated - for single filers this is £81,300, for joint married applications it is £126,500, it is £63,250 if married filing separate returns and it's £81,300 for the Head of Household. The AMT exemption is reduced by 25 cents for each dollar earned over the phaseout thresholds detailed in the table to the left, until it reaches zero - or in the case of married filing separately, the exemption can be reduced further to a negative value as large as the original exemption (i.e. additional tax is applied).
Once the exemption is deducted from gross income, the TMT is calculated at 26% of income under the AMT high-earning threshold and 28% of income over this threshold. The threshold is different for each filing status, and these values are listed in the table to the left.
Once TMT has been calculated, it is compared to the Federal Income Tax which has been calculated according to the previous section. If the TMT is higher than the income tax, an additional tax of the difference between the TMT and income tax is applied, so that the taxpayer pays the TMT.
Social Security
| OASDI portion | 6.2% |
| upto a maximum | $9,932.40/year |
| Medicare portion | 1.45% |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% |
Social Security for employees is calculated as the OASDI (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) portion of 6.2% of income up to $160,200 plus the Medicare portion of 1.45% of all earnings. For the tax year 2023, this means that the maximum OASDI contribution is $9,932.40. There is no maximum for the Medicare portion.
Starting in 2013, employers were instructed to withold an additional Medicare tax of 0.9% on earnings over the additional Medicare threshold. For single filers, this threshold is $200,000. For married couples filing a joint return, this threshold is $250,000, for married separate returns the threshold is $125,000 and for the head of household it is $200,000.
State Income Tax
This site does not currently calculate state income tax, which is levied differently by each state. In the future, we hope to be able to integrate it into the site.