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The IRS has released new tax brackets for 2025, adjusted for inflation. The IRS uses seven tax brackets, or income ranges, to tax personal income progressively with the lowest income taxed at the lowest rate and the highest income taxed at the highest rate. Every year, the IRS adjusts the income ranges for its tax brackets to reflect the increased cost of living. New brackets could lower your tax bill (and increase your refund) if your income stays the same, or keep your taxes from going up by too much if your income increases.
These new adjustments don't go into effect until the 2025 tax year, for taxes due in April of 2026. However, it's not too soon to get a head start on your 2025 tax planning. Below are the tax brackets for 2024 and 2025, along with a few tips for understanding how tax brackets work and keeping your taxes low.
Tax Brackets for 2024 (Taxes Due April 2025)
If you're currently working on filing your 2024 taxes (in April 2025), you may want to consult the 2024 tax brackets, shown below. Tax brackets are organized by filing status: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately and head of household.
| 2024 Tax Brackets (For Taxes Due in April 2025) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Married Filing Separately | Head of Household |
| 10% | Up to $11,600 | Up to $23,200 | Up to $11,600 | Up to $16,550 |
| 12% | $11,601 to $47,150 | $23,201 to $94,300 | $11,601 to $47,150 | $16,551 to $63,100 |
| 22% | $47,151 to $100,525 | $94,301 to $201,050 | $47,151 to $100,525 | $63,101 to $100,500 |
| 24% | $100,526 to $191,950 | $201,051 to $383,900 | $100,526 to $191,950 | $100,501 to $191,950 |
| 32% | $191,951 to $243,725 | $383,901 to $487,450 | $191,951 to $243,725 | $191,951 to $243,700 |
| 35% | $243,726 to $609,350 | $487,451 to $731,200 | $243,726 to $365,600 | $243,701 to $609,350 |
| 37% | Over $609,350 | Over $731,200 | Over $365,600 | Over $609,350 |
Source: IRS
Tax Brackets for 2025 (Taxes Due April 2026)
Here are the newly adjusted tax brackets for 2025. The new brackets reflect an adjustment of about 2.8% over 2024. Although the income ranges are updated, the seven marginal tax rates generally stay the same from year to year.
| 2025 Tax Brackets (For Taxes Due in April 2026) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Married Filing Separately | Head of Household |
| 10% | Up to $11,925 | Up to $23,850 | Up to $11,925 | Up to $17,000 |
| 12% | $11,926 to $48,475 | $23,851 to $96,950 | $11,926 to $48,475 | $17,001 to $64,850 |
| 22% | $48,476 to $103,350 | $96,951 to $206,700 | $48,476 to $103,350 | $64,851 to $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,351 to $197,300 | $206,701 to $394,600 | $103,351 to $197,300 | $103,351 to $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,301 to $250,525 | $394,601 to $501,050 | $197,301 to $250,525 | $197,301 to $250,500 |
| 35% | $250,526 to $626,350 | $501,051 to $751,600 | $250,526 to $375,800 | $250,501 to $626,350 |
| 37% | Over $626,350 | Over $751,600 | Over $375,800 | Over $626,350 |
Source: IRS
How Do Tax Brackets Work?
The IRS uses tax brackets to apply progressively higher tax rates as your taxable income increases.
Here's what that means. Income is taxed at seven different marginal rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. Each rate applies to a range of incomes, or tax brackets. Brackets are adjusted every year for inflation. They also vary depending on your filing status (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately and head of household).
Tax Bracket Example
Here's an example of how tax brackets play out for a single person with $100,000 in taxable income after allowing for a standard deduction and tax credits.
| How 2025 Tax Brackets Work (Single Taxpayer, $100,000 taxable income) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | Tax Bracket | How Tax Is Calculated | Tax |
| 10% | $0 to $11,925 | 10% of $11,925 | $1,192.50 |
| 12% | $11,926 to $48,475 | 12% of ($48,475 - $11,926) | $4,385.88 |
| 22% | $48,476 to $103,350 | 22% of ($100,000 - $48,476) | $11,335.50 |
| Total tax | $16,913.88 | ||
In this example, the top marginal tax rate—or the top rate this taxpayer pays—is 22%. In other words, they're in the 22% tax bracket. If they made $105,000 in taxable income, they would edge into the 24% tax bracket, though only $1,650 of their income would be taxed at the higher 24% rate. This taxpayer's total tax bill for 2025 is $16,913.88.
How to Lower Your Tax Bracket
You can lower your tax bracket (or at least keep it as low as possible) by lowering your taxable income. Because tax brackets are broad, reducing your taxable income doesn't always land you in a different tax bracket. If your income matched our example, lowering your taxable income from $105,000 to $103,350 would lower your tax bracket from 24% to 22%. But reducing your taxable income another $1,650 to $101,700 wouldn't come close to taking you out of the 22% bracket. In fact, you'd have to lower your taxable income to $48,475 to get to the 12% bracket.
Either way, lowering your taxable income still lowers your income tax—and keeps your tax bracket low. Here are a few ideas for reducing your taxable income:
- Maximize your tax deductions. Most people get a bigger tax break using the standard deduction versus itemizing individual deductions like home mortgage interest or medical expenses. Still, it doesn't hurt to calculate your deductions both ways to see whether you have enough itemized deductions to save money.
- Contribute to a 401(k), IRA or HSA. Money you put into a traditional 401(k), an individual retirement account (IRA) or a health savings account (HSA) is excluded from your taxable income, which may help keep you out of a higher tax bracket.
- Manage investment gains and losses. Selling investments at a loss can help lower your taxable income for the year. You might also consider postponing the sale of assets to the following year to put off capital gains.
To lower your tax bill, also look for tax credits you're eligible to claim. Tax credits lower your tax bill dollar for dollar, but they're figured in after you total up your taxable income and calculate your tax, so they don't affect your tax bracket. A few tax credits to consider: the child tax credit, earned income tax credit and the child and dependent care credit.
The Bottom Line
Annual inflation adjustments help ensure that the marginal tax rates and tax brackets used to calculate your tax bill accurately reflect current economic realities. If your income is worth less due to inflation, lower income brackets should help bring your tax bill in line.
While you're getting your taxes in order, consider revisiting your monthly budget and checking up on your credit report and score to make sure you're on track to meet your financial goals, maintain your financial health and make good use of any tax savings you'll see.