How much is the federal income tax?
                     HOW MUCH IS THE FEDERAL 
INCOME TAX?
INTRODUCTION
The federal income tax rates remain 
unchanged for the 2022 tax year are 10%, 
12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The 
income thresholds for each bracket, though, 
are adjusted slightly every year for inflation.
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FEDERAL INCOME TAX
The U.S. currently has seven federal income 
tax brackets, with rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 
24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. If you’re one of 
the lucky few to earn enough to fall into the 
37% bracket, that doesn’t mean that the 
entirety of your taxable income will be 
subject to a 37% tax.
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HOW THE MARGINAL TAX 
RATE WORKS
With a marginal tax rate, you pay that rate 
only on the amount of your income that falls 
into a certain range. To understand how 
marginal rates work, consider the bottom 
tax rate of 10%.
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TAXABLE INCOME
For single filers, all income between $0 and 
$10,275 is subject to a 10% tax rate. If you 
have $10,475 in taxable income, the first 
$10,275 is subject to the 10% rate and the 
remaining $200 is subject to the tax rate of 
the next bracket (12%). 
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HOW FEDERAL TAX 
BRACKETS WORK
In the U.S., income is taxed progressively 
with higher tax brackets than in most other 
nations. Not all income is treated equally, as 
the more you make the higher percentage 
you end up contributing in taxes. 
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ACTUAL TAXES PAID
In the U.S., income is taxed progressively 
with higher tax brackets than in most other 
nations. Not all income is treated equally, as 
the more you make the higher percentage 
you end up contributing in taxes. 
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INCOME THRESHOLDS
The income thresholds for the federal tax 
brackets are updated and could change, 
annually. This is done to account for 
inflation.
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EFFECTIVE TAX RATE
Your effective tax rate is the percentage of 
your taxable income that you’ll pay in taxes. 
You can calculate this by dividing your tax 
owed by your total income. This is what 
you’ll actually pay.
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UNDERSTANDING THE 
CURRENT FEDERAL INCOME 
TAX BRACKETS
For the most recent taxes filed, for the 2021 
tax year that was filed in 2022, the standard 
deduction was $12,550 for single filers and 
married filers who file separately. Joint filers 
will have a $25,100 deduction and heads of 
household get $18,800.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Tax filers will need the 2022 federal income 
tax brackets when they file taxes in 2023. 
Your top tax bracket doesn’t just depend on 
your salary. 
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