2026 Federal Tax Changes: What's New for Your Paycheck
The IRS and SSA updated key figures for 2026. Here's how the new brackets, deductions, and wage base affect your take-home pay.
Higher standard deductions
For 2026, the standard deduction rose to $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. A higher standard deduction means less of your income is taxable, which can slightly increase your take-home pay compared to prior years.
Updated federal tax brackets
The IRS adjusts the income thresholds for each tax bracket every year for inflation. For 2026, the seven marginal rates remain 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, but the income ranges shifted upward. This 'bracket creep' protection means a raise that just keeps pace with inflation won't automatically push you into a higher effective tax rate.
New Social Security wage base
The Social Security wage base increased to $184,500 for 2026. You pay 6.2% Social Security tax only on wages up to this limit. Higher earners will pay a bit more Social Security tax than in prior years before hitting the cap, after which the 6.2% stops for the rest of the year.
Medicare stays the same
The Medicare rate remains 1.45% on all wages, with the additional 0.9% for high earners above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). There's no wage cap on Medicare.
How to see the impact on your pay
The changes are already built into our calculators. Run your salary through the biweekly paycheck calculator or the paycheck tax calculator to see your 2026 take-home pay with all the updated figures applied.