2027 tax brackets and standard deduction (official): $16,600 single
The IRS set the 2027 standard deduction at $16,600 single, $33,200 joint and $24,925 head of household in Rev. Proc. 2026-35. Every bracket is inside.
The short answer. The Internal Revenue Service made the 2027 figures official on November 5, 2026, in Revenue Procedure 2026-35 (news release IR-2026-133). The standard deduction is $33,200 for married couples filing jointly, $16,600 for single filers and married taxpayers filing separately, and $24,925 for heads of household. The top of the 10 percent bracket is $12,800 single and $25,600 joint. The seven marginal rates of 10% through 37% are permanent and did not change; only the dollar thresholds move each year, adjusted by a slow-moving inflation measure. Our eleven-month projection was exact for every bracket and for the single and joint standard deductions; the head-of-household figure matched neither of our two projections, and the reason is a rounding rule explained below. See the IRS 2027 inflation adjustments tracker for every other indexed 2027 number.
The rates are fixed; only the thresholds move
The most important thing to understand about any future tax year is what actually changes and what does not. The seven marginal rates — 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% — were made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), specifically Section 70101, which amended Internal Revenue Code section 1(j). That permanence removes the cliff that used to loom at the end of each temporary rate schedule. So when someone asks what the 2027 rates will be, the honest answer is that they will be the same seven rates we have today. What moves from year to year is the income level at which each rate kicks in, along with the standard deduction that shields the first slice of income from tax entirely. Building the income those brackets apply to — your adjusted gross income (AGI), assembled from your W-2 and other sources — is the necessary first step before any bracket math means anything.
The confirmed 2026 figures
For 2026 the numbers are settled, published by the Internal Revenue Service in Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $16,100 for single filers and for married taxpayers filing separately, and $24,150 for heads of household. Those amounts are the baseline from which the 2027 figures are indexed, so it is worth anchoring on them.
The bracket thresholds for 2026 are likewise confirmed. The table below shows where each rate begins for single filers and for married couples filing jointly:
| Rate | Single — begins at | Married filing jointly — begins at |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | first dollar (up to $12,400) | first dollar (up to $24,800) |
| 22% | over $50,400 | over $100,800 |
| 24% | over $105,700 | over $211,400 |
| 32% | over $201,775 | over $403,550 |
| 37% | over $640,600 | over $768,700 |
The 12% band fills the gap between the top of the 10% bracket and the start of the 22% bracket, and the 35% band sits between the 32% and 37% thresholds. Those two intermediate breakpoints are not reproduced here because precision matters more than completeness; the figures above are the ones the Internal Revenue Service has confirmed. Note, too, that these are the brackets for ordinary income. Long-term investment profits ride on a separate set of capital-gains brackets with their own thresholds, which is a common and costly source of confusion. One more use of the 37 percent thresholds is new for 2026: they set where the rewritten section 68 limitation on itemized deductions begins, which is why the 2026 draft Schedule A asks whether income exceeds $384,350, the married-filing-separately figure; see Schedule A 2026 draft: what changed.
The 2026 AMT figures, confirmed by the draft Form 6251
The alternative minimum tax has its own inflation-adjusted numbers, and the draft Form 6251 for 2026, posted May 26, 2026, prints them. The exemption is $90,100 for single and head-of-household filers, $140,200 for joint returns and $70,100 for married filing separately, up from $88,100, $137,000 and $68,500 on the 2025 form. The 26 percent rate now applies to the first $244,500 of income above the exemption ($122,250 married filing separately), up from $239,100.
The larger change is where the exemption starts to disappear. Public Law 119-21, section 70107, made the post-2017 AMT structure permanent but reset the phase-out threshold in 26 U.S.C. 55(d)(4) to $1,000,000 for joint returns and half of that for everyone else, indexed for inflation only from 2027 onward with 2025 as the base year, and doubled the phase-out rate from 25 percent to 50 percent of the excess. The 2026 draft accordingly shows $500,000 for single filers, $1,000,000 for joint returns and $500,000 for married filing separately, against $626,350, $1,252,700 and $626,350 in 2025.
| Filing status | 2025: exemption / phase-out starts / fully gone | 2026: exemption / phase-out starts / fully gone |
|---|---|---|
| Single or head of household | $88,100 / $626,350 / $978,750 | $90,100 / $500,000 / $680,200 |
| Married filing jointly | $137,000 / $1,252,700 / $1,800,700 | $140,200 / $1,000,000 / $1,280,400 |
| Married filing separately | $68,500 / $626,350 / $900,350 | $70,100 / $500,000 / $640,200 |
The “fully gone” column is the threshold plus the exemption divided by the phase-out rate, and the draft form confirms the married-filing-separately figure in its own note on line 4 ($640,200 for 2026, $900,350 on the 2025 form). A joint filer with $1.2 million of AMT income keeps only $40,200 of exemption in 2026, where the 2025 rules would have left the full $137,000 intact, which is why incentive-stock-option exercises and large capital gains in the $1 million to $1.8 million range are the cases to re-run for 2026. The draft form line by line, the 42 percent marginal rate inside the new phase-out range and the official 2027 AMT figures are in Form 6251 2026 draft: the AMT exemption now phases out at $500,000.
How the annual inflation bump works
The mechanism that carries 2026 into 2027 is written into Internal Revenue Code section 1(f)(3). Each year the thresholds and the standard deduction are adjusted by the chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U), and then rounded — the standard deduction to the nearest $50. The word “chained” is doing real work here. The chained index assumes that as prices rise, people substitute toward cheaper goods, so it climbs more slowly than the traditional Consumer Price Index that governed indexing in earlier decades. The practical effect is that the annual increases are modest. Brackets and the standard deduction creep upward rather than leap, which is why a projection from a confirmed base held up so closely.
What 2027 looks like: now official
The Internal Revenue Service released Revenue Procedure 2026-35 on November 5, 2026. Section 3.15 sets the 2027 standard deduction at $33,200 for married couples filing jointly (up from $32,200), $16,600 for single filers and married taxpayers filing separately (up from $16,100), and $24,925 for heads of household (up from $24,150). Section 3.01 sets the brackets: a single filer crosses into the 22% rate over $52,025, up from $50,400 in 2026, and the 37% rate begins over $661,375 for single filers and over $793,650 for joint filers. The full tables are below.
The head-of-household standard deduction is the one figure that did not match our projection. Before the release a data gap left by the 2025 government shutdown meant there were two defensible ways to run the twelve-month average, depending on whether the missing October 2025 month was imputed. The IRS used the eleven-month average and left October out. For the parallel wealth-transfer figures, see the 2027 estate and gift tax exemption projection, which OBBBA made permanent at $15 million per person.
The projection, run on the actual index
Every figure in the section above followed from the real statutory mechanism, not a round guess, so it is worth showing that mechanism directly. Under 26 U.S.C. §1(f)(3) and §1(f)(6), the “C-CPI-U for any calendar year” used to index brackets and the standard deduction is the average of the 12 months ending August 31 of that year. For the 2027 adjustment, that window runs from September 2025 through August 2026, and the August reading — published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, September 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET — was the last input the formula needs.
Here is every C-CPI-U reading (BLS series SUUR0000SA0) published for that window:
| Month | C-CPI-U |
|---|---|
| September 2025 | 180.373 |
| October 2025 | not collected |
| November 2025 | 179.889 |
| December 2025 | 179.775 |
| January 2026 | 180.409 |
| February 2026 | 181.258 |
| March 2026 | 183.193 |
| April 2026 | 184.680 |
| May 2026 | 185.771 |
| June 2026 | 185.172 |
| July 2026 | 185.162 |
| August 2026 | 185.739 (initial) |
October 2025 does not exist, and it never will. The federal government shutdown that month stopped the Bureau of Labor Statistics from collecting the price data, and the agency will not reconstruct it retroactively. That left two defensible ways to compute the 12-month average feeding the 2027 numbers:
- Central scenario — average the eleven months that actually exist, September 2025 through August 2026, using the real published values throughout, including August’s 185.739. That produces an average of 182.8565.
- October-imputed scenario — impute October 2025 as the average of the surrounding months, September and November (180.131), then average all 12 months including that imputed value and the real August reading. That produces 182.6293.
What the IRS did. In Revenue Procedure 2026-35 the IRS averaged the eleven published months and left the missing October 2025 index out, the same choice HHS made for the 2026 poverty guidelines. Every bracket and deduction on this page came out in our eleven-month (central) column; the October-imputed column is the reading the IRS did not use.
The check on this method is that it is not new: applying it to the September 2024–August 2025 window, using the average the IRS itself used, 177.11, reproduces every 2026 figure in Revenue Procedure 2025-32 exactly — the brackets and standard deduction below, along with the $3,400 FSA cap and the $19,000 gift exclusion tracked elsewhere on this site. A method that reproduces a known answer three ways is worth trusting on the unknown one.
Applying that 182.8565 average against the fixed base periods the statute anchors each threshold to — a ratio of 1.3446 against the 2016 base of 135.993, or 1.3228 against the 2017 base of 138.237, depending on which provision the specific threshold falls under — produces the central-scenario dollar figures below, which are the official ones; the October-imputed average of 182.6293 produces the alternate column, the reading the IRS did not use.
Standard deduction
| Filing status | 2026 official | 2027 official (Rev. Proc. 2026-35, § 3.15) | 2027 our eleven-month projection | 2027 if October is imputed (not used by the IRS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 | $16,600 | $16,600 | $16,600 |
| Married filing separately | $16,100 | $16,600 | not shown | not shown |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 | $33,200 | $33,200 | $33,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $24,925 | $24,950 | $24,900 |
The single and joint figures were exact. The head-of-household figure matched neither projection: the IRS printed $24,925, where our eleven-month column said $24,950 and the October-imputed column $24,900. The miss is in the rounding method, not the index. Section 63(c)(7)(B)(ii) says that if the increase is not a multiple of $50, “such increase shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50.” The head-of-household base is $23,625, which is not a multiple of $50, so it matters whether the total or the increase is rounded. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 rounded the adjusted total, which is how $24,150 appeared for 2026 (rounding the increase would have given $24,125). Revenue Procedure 2026-35 rounds the increase, as the statute literally says: the unrounded 2027 amount is $24,969, the increase over the $23,625 base is $1,344, rounded down to $1,300, and $23,625 plus $1,300 is $24,925. Rounding the total would have given $24,950. Amounts whose base is already a multiple of the step, such as the $15,750 single standard deduction, come out the same either way, which is why every other figure matched.
The additional standard deduction for taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind is $1,700, or $2,100 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse, and a dependent’s standard deduction is the greater of $1,400 or earned income plus $500 (Rev. Proc. 2026-35, § 3.15).
Married filing jointly — bracket ceilings
| Rate | 2026 official | 2027 official (§ 3.01) | 2027 our eleven-month projection | 2027 if October is imputed (not used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $24,800 | $25,600 | $25,600 | $25,550 |
| 12% | $100,800 | $104,050 | $104,050 | $103,900 |
| 22% | $211,400 | $218,250 | $218,250 | $217,950 |
| 24% | $403,550 | $416,650 | $416,650 | $416,150 |
| 32% | $512,450 | $529,100 | $529,100 | $528,450 |
| 35% | $768,700 | $793,650 | $793,650 | $792,650 |
| 37% | over $768,700 | over $793,650 | over $793,650 | over $792,650 |
Single filers — bracket ceilings
| Rate | 2026 official | 2027 official (§ 3.01) | 2027 our eleven-month projection | 2027 if October is imputed (not used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $12,400 | $12,800 | $12,800 | $12,775 |
| 12% | $50,400 | $52,025 | $52,025 | $51,950 |
| 22% | $105,700 | $109,125 | $109,125 | $108,975 |
| 24% | $201,775 | $208,325 | $208,325 | $208,075 |
| 32% | $256,225 | $264,550 | $264,550 | $264,225 |
| 35% | $640,600 | $661,375 | $661,375 | $660,550 |
| 37% | over $640,600 | over $661,375 | over $661,375 | over $660,550 |
Head of household — bracket ceilings
| Rate | 2026 official | 2027 official (§ 3.01) | 2027 our eleven-month projection | 2027 if October is imputed (not used) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $17,700 | $18,250 | $18,250 | $18,250 |
| 12% | $67,450 | $69,650 | $69,650 | $69,550 |
| 22% | $105,700 | $109,100 | $109,100 | $108,950 |
| 24% | $201,750 | $208,300 | $208,300 | $208,050 |
| 32% | $256,200 | $264,550 | $264,550 | $264,200 |
| 35% | $640,600 | $661,350 | $661,350 | $660,550 |
| 37% | over $640,600 | over $661,350 | over $661,350 | over $660,550 |
Married filing separately — bracket ceilings
| Rate | 2027 official (§ 3.01) |
|---|---|
| 10% | $12,800 |
| 12% | $52,025 |
| 22% | $109,125 |
| 24% | $208,325 |
| 32% | $264,550 |
| 35% | $396,825 |
| 37% | over $396,825 |
Married filing separately matches the single brackets up to the 32% rate; the 35% bracket ends at $396,825, half of the joint figure.
Every column labeled “2026 official” is confirmed, from Revenue Procedure 2025-32. Every column labeled “2027 official” is from Revenue Procedure 2026-35, section 3.01 and section 3.15. The “eleven-month projection” column is this page’s own arithmetic from before the release, and it matched the official figure in every bracket; the October-imputed column is the reading the IRS did not use. For the complete set of every 2027 figure, see the IRS 2027 inflation adjustments tracker.
What to do with the official numbers
Estates and trusts have their own 2027 brackets: 10% to $3,400, 24% to $12,100, 35% to $16,500 and 37% above that (Rev. Proc. 2026-35, § 3.01). The seven rates are permanent, the thresholds and standard deduction are indexed each year by the chained Consumer Price Index, and the modest size of the annual bump means your 2026 marginal rate is a reliable guide to where you will likely sit in 2027 unless your income changes materially.
That stability also sharpens one recurring decision. Because the standard deduction rises a little each year, the bar your itemizable expenses must clear to be worth the trouble rises with it, so the question of whether to take the standard deduction or itemize is worth revisiting annually rather than assuming last year’s answer still holds.
Sources
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — 26 U.S.C. 1, tax rates and the inflation adjustment in subsection (f)
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — 26 U.S.C. 55, alternative minimum tax and the exemption phase-out
- Internal Revenue Service — Revenue Procedure 2025-32, 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts
- Internal Revenue Service — Revenue Procedure 2026-35, §§ 3.01 and 3.15, 2027 inflation-adjusted amounts, released November 5, 2026
- Internal Revenue Service — News release IR-2026-133, November 5, 2026
- Internal Revenue Service — About Form 6251, alternative minimum tax for individuals
Quick answers
What are the confirmed 2026 federal tax brackets and standard deduction?
For 2026, the Internal Revenue Service has set the standard deduction at $32,200 for married filing jointly, $16,100 for single and married filing separately, and $24,150 for head of household (Revenue Procedure 2025-32). The seven rates run 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. For a single filer the 10% band runs to $12,400, the 22% rate begins over $50,400, the 24% over $105,700, the 32% over $201,775, and the 37% over $640,600.
Are the 2027 tax brackets official?
Yes. The Internal Revenue Service published them in Revenue Procedure 2026-35 on November 5, 2026 (news release IR-2026-133). The standard deduction is $33,200 for married filing jointly, $16,600 for single and married filing separately, and $24,925 for head of household. For a single filer the 10% band runs to $12,800, the 12% to $52,025, the 22% to $109,125, the 24% to $208,325, the 32% to $264,550 and the 35% to $661,375; the 37% rate applies above that. The 2026 figures came in Rev. Proc. 2025-32 on October 9, 2025.
How are the brackets adjusted for inflation each year?
Under Internal Revenue Code section 1(f)(3), the dollar thresholds and the standard deduction are bumped each year by the chained Consumer Price Index (C-CPI-U), then rounded; for the standard deduction the statute rounds the increase down to the next multiple of $50. Because the chained index rises more slowly than the traditional Consumer Price Index, the annual increases tend to be modest.
Will the 2027 tax rates be higher than 2026?
The seven marginal rates do not change. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the 10% through 37% rate schedule permanent, so only the income thresholds and the standard deduction move with inflation. For 2027 the Internal Revenue Service set the married-filing-jointly standard deduction at $33,200 in Revenue Procedure 2026-35, up from $32,200.
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