2026 filing-status reference

2026 Tax Brackets for Head of Household

The IRS applies seven progressive rates to taxable income. The 2026 standard deduction for head-of-household filers is $24,150.

Find your 2026 head of household tax bracket

Start with gross income. The finder subtracts above-the-line deductions and the 2026 standard deduction before applying the federal brackets.

Annual gross income

Above-the-line deductions

Filing status: Head of Household · Tax year: 2026

Marginal tax bracket

12%

Applies only to the next dollars in this band.

Estimated federal tax

$7,548

On $65,850 of taxable income.

Effective rate

8.4%

Federal income tax divided by gross income.

Federal income tax only. Credits, itemized deductions, FICA, and state tax are not included.

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Marginal rate	2026 taxable-income band
10%	$0 to $17,700
12%	$17,701 to $67,450
22%	$67,451 to $105,700
24%	$105,701 to $201,750
32%	$201,751 to $256,200
35%	$256,201 to $640,600
37%	Over $640,600

Taxable income is income after adjustments and deductions. Use the bracket finder if you are starting from gross income.

What the brackets actually tax

The bands above are not applied to your salary. They are applied to taxable income — what is left after the standard deduction (or your itemized deductions, if they are larger) comes off. For head-of-household filers in 2026 the standard deduction is $24,150, so the first $24,150 of income is effectively taxed at 0% before the 10% band even starts.

Step	Amount
Gross income (example)	$90,000
Less 2026 standard deduction	-$24,150
Taxable income the brackets apply to	$65,850

Age and blindness raise the figure further: each qualifying condition adds $2,050 for 2026. Filers aged 65 or older may also claim the OBBBA senior deduction of $6,000 per qualifying person, which begins to phase out above $75,000 of modified AGI. See the 2026 standard deduction reference or compare against itemizing.

Worked example: $90,000 as head-of-household filers

Every figure below is produced by the same calculation engine as our calculators, using the 2026 bands in the table above and the standard deduction.

2026 federal income tax

$7,548

Effective rate on gross income

8.4%

Marginal rate on the next dollar

12%

Rate	Band of taxable income	Taxed in this band	Tax
10%	$0 to $17,700	$17,700	$1,770
12%	$17,701 to $67,450	$48,150	$5,778
Total federal income tax		$65,850	$7,548

This is federal income tax only. Social Security and Medicare (FICA) are separate, as is any state income tax. Run your own numbers in the federal income tax calculator.

Does a raise push all your income into a higher bracket?

No — and this is the single most common misunderstanding about the bracket table. A marginal rate applies only to the dollars inside its own band. Take the $90,000 example above and add a $5,000 raise:

Federal income tax before the raise: $7,548 on $90,000.
Federal income tax after the raise: $8,488 on $95,000.
Extra tax on the $5,000: $940 — leaving $4,060 of the raise with you.
What the myth predicts (the whole $95,000 taxed at 22%): $20,900, versus the real $8,488.

After the raise the top slice of income sits in the 22% band, which starts above $67,450 of taxable income. Only the dollars above that line pay 22%; everything underneath is still taxed at 10% and the bands in between. There is no income level at which earning one more dollar leaves you with less money after federal income tax.

Marginal vs effective rate at different incomes

Your marginal rate is the band your last dollar falls in. Your effective rate is the average — total tax divided by gross income — and it is always the smaller number. These 2026 figures assume the standard deduction and no credits.

Gross income	Taxable income	Federal tax	Effective rate	Marginal rate
$35,000	$10,850	$1,085	3.1%	10%
$60,000	$35,850	$3,948	6.6%	12%
$100,000	$75,850	$9,588	9.6%	22%
$160,000	$135,850	$23,391	14.6%	24%
$300,000	$275,850	$63,509	21.2%	35%

Reading the gap matters when you are deciding about a bonus, overtime or a pre-tax retirement contribution: a deduction saves tax at your marginal rate, while your effective rate is what you actually pay across the whole year.

What changed from 2025 to 2026

The seven rates themselves are unchanged at 10% through 37%. What moved is where each band starts and stops: the IRS indexes the thresholds and the standard deduction for inflation each year, so that inflation alone does not push you into a higher band. The standard deduction for head-of-household filers went from $23,625 to $24,150, and the 37% band now begins above $640,600 of taxable income.

Rate	2025 taxable-income band	2026 taxable-income band
10%	$0 to $17,000	$0 to $17,700
12%	$17,001 to $64,850	$17,701 to $67,450
22%	$64,851 to $103,350	$67,451 to $105,700
24%	$103,351 to $197,300	$105,701 to $201,750
32%	$197,301 to $250,500	$201,751 to $256,200
35%	$250,501 to $626,350	$256,201 to $640,600
37%	Over $626,350	Over $640,600

In cash terms: the same $90,000 of gross income produces $7,778 of federal income tax under the 2025 tables and $7,548 under the 2026 tables — a difference of $230 on identical income. Compare the full grids on the federal tax brackets page.

Other 2026 figures set by this filing status

Filing status drives more than the rate bands. These are the 2026 amounts that change with head of household status.

2026 item	Amount
Standard deduction	$24,150
Additional deduction per condition (65+ or blind)	$2,050
Top of the 0% long-term capital gains band	$66,200
Taxable income where the 20% capital gains rate starts	Over $579,600
AMT exemption (phases out above $500,000)	$90,100
State and local tax (SALT) deduction cap	$40,400
Capital loss deduction limit	$3,000
Dependent care assistance exclusion	$7,500

The SALT cap begins to phase down once modified AGI passes $505,000. Capital gains thresholds are measured on taxable income, the same figure the ordinary bands use — see the capital gains tax calculator.

Head of household: the three tests

Head of household is the most frequently mis-claimed status, and the IRS defines it narrowly. Publication 501 requires all three of the following. You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year; you paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year; and a qualifying person lived with you in that home for more than half the year, apart from temporary absences such as school.

Cost of keeping up a home counts rent, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, insurance on the home, repairs, utilities and food eaten in the home. It does not count clothing, education, medical treatment, vacations, life insurance or transportation, and it never counts the value of your own services.

Special rule for a parent: if your qualifying person is your dependent parent, the parent does not have to live with you. Still married? You are treated as unmarried for this status if you file a separate return, paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home, your spouse did not live in your home during the last six months of the year, your home was the main home of your child, stepchild or foster child for more than half the year, and you can claim that child as a dependent.

The status is worth real money: on $90,000 of gross income the 2026 tax is $7,548 as head of household against $10,970 as a single filer — $3,422 of difference from the wider bands and the $24,150 standard deduction. See the single bands →

Find your exact marginal rate

Enter gross income and deductions in the interactive finder instead of guessing from salary alone.

Open the tax bracket finder →

Frequently asked questions

What are the 2026 tax brackets for head-of-household filers?

For 2026, head-of-household filers use seven marginal rates from 10% through 37%. The standard deduction is $24,150. Each rate applies only to taxable income within its band.

Will a raise push all of my income into a higher tax bracket?

No. On $90,000 of gross income as head-of-household filers, a $5,000 raise adds $940 of 2026 federal income tax, so $4,060 of the raise stays with you. If the myth were true and the whole $95,000 were taxed at 22%, the bill would be $20,900 rather than the actual $8,488. A raise never reduces your take-home pay.

What is the difference between my marginal and effective tax rate?

Your marginal rate is the rate charged on your next dollar of taxable income — 12% at $90,000 of gross income for head-of-household filers in 2026. Your effective rate is total federal income tax divided by gross income, which is 8.4% at the same income. The effective rate is always lower, because the earlier dollars were taxed in the lower bands.

What is the 2026 standard deduction for head-of-household filers?

$24,150 for tax year 2026, up from $23,625 for 2025 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Each qualifying condition — being 65 or older, or blind — adds a further $2,050. Only taxable income above the deduction reaches the brackets, so the first $24,150 of income is taxed at 0%.

Do capital gains use these tax brackets?

Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends use their own 0%, 15% and 20% schedule, not the ordinary rates in the table above. For head-of-household filers in 2026 the 0% rate covers taxable income up to $66,200 and the 20% rate begins above $579,600. Short-term gains on assets held a year or less are taxed as ordinary income at the bracket rates on this page.

Who counts as a qualifying person for head of household?

Generally a qualifying child or a qualifying relative who lived with you for more than half the year — the IRS lists every case in Table 4 of Publication 501, and anyone not in that table does not qualify. A friend or roommate never qualifies, however long they lived with you. The one residence exception is a dependent parent: if your qualifying person is your dependent parent, the parent does not have to live with you.

2026 bands for the other filing statuses

Filing status changes every band, the standard deduction and several credits. Compare before you file.