Wealthy Pot2027 Tax Brackets: Our Estimate Until the IRS Announces
The IRS has not announced the 2027 tax brackets yet. The tax code fixes the method, though, and the inflation data it needs is now published. Applying that formula, every 2027 bracket threshold comes out about 3.2% higher than in 2026, and the standard deduction rises to $16,600 for single filers and $33,200 for married couples filing jointly. These are our calculations, not official figures. We will replace them with the IRS numbers the day they are published.
The Short Answer
- Same seven rates: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The One Big Beautiful Bill (P.L. 119-21) made them permanent.
- Thresholds about 3.2% higher than 2026. For a single filer, the 10% bracket would run to $12,800 (2026: $12,400) and the 22% bracket would start at $52,025 (2026: $50,400).
- Standard deduction, 2027: $16,600 single and married filing separately, $33,200 married filing jointly, about $24,950 head of household (2026: $16,100, $32,200 and $24,150).
- Applies to income earned in 2027, reported on the return you file in early 2028. Your 2026 return, filed in 2027, uses the 2026 tax brackets.
- Official figures: the IRS publishes them each fall in a revenue procedure. In 2025 it did so on October 9. It had not done so as of October 20, 2026.
2027 Tax Brackets by Filing Status
Each rate applies only to the slice of taxable income inside its range. Taxable income is income after the standard deduction or itemized deductions.
Single
| Rate | 2026 taxable income (IRS) | 2027 taxable income (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $12,800 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $12,800 to $52,025 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $52,025 to $109,125 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $109,125 to $208,325 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $208,325 to $264,550 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $640,600 | $264,550 to $661,375 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $661,375 |
Married filing jointly (and surviving spouse)
| Rate | 2026 taxable income (IRS) | 2027 taxable income (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $24,800 | Up to $25,600 |
| 12% | $24,800 to $100,800 | $25,600 to $104,050 |
| 22% | $100,800 to $211,400 | $104,050 to $218,250 |
| 24% | $211,400 to $403,550 | $218,250 to $416,650 |
| 32% | $403,550 to $512,450 | $416,650 to $529,100 |
| 35% | $512,450 to $768,700 | $529,100 to $793,650 |
| 37% | Over $768,700 | Over $793,650 |
Head of household
| Rate | 2026 taxable income (IRS) | 2027 taxable income (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $17,700 | Up to $18,250 |
| 12% | $17,700 to $67,450 | $18,250 to $69,650 |
| 22% | $67,450 to $105,700 | $69,650 to $109,100 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,750 | $109,100 to $208,300 |
| 32% | $201,750 to $256,200 | $208,300 to $264,550 |
| 35% | $256,200 to $640,600 | $264,550 to $661,350 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $661,350 |
Married filing separately
| Rate | 2026 taxable income (IRS) | 2027 taxable income (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $12,800 |
| 12% | $12,400 to $50,400 | $12,800 to $52,025 |
| 22% | $50,400 to $105,700 | $52,025 to $109,125 |
| 24% | $105,700 to $201,775 | $109,125 to $208,325 |
| 32% | $201,775 to $256,225 | $208,325 to $264,550 |
| 35% | $256,225 to $384,350 | $264,550 to $396,825 |
| 37% | Over $384,350 | Over $396,825 |
2026: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. 2027: Wealthy Pot calculation with the statutory formula and BLS chained CPI data, averaging the 11 published months; see the method below.
2027 Standard Deduction
| Filing status | 2026 (IRS) | 2027 (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Single or married filing separately | $16,100 | $16,600 |
| Married filing jointly or surviving spouse | $32,200 | $33,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $24,900 to $24,950 |
The single and joint amounts come out the same under every method we tested, so they are the firmest figures on this page. The head of household amount depends on two open questions: how the IRS treats the missing October index, and how it rounds. Its 2026 figure, $24,150, matches rounding the whole amount down to a multiple of $50, although the statute's wording rounds only the increase; the three combinations give $24,900, $24,925 or $24,950.
Not estimated here: the extra standard deduction for people 65 or older or blind ($1,650 married, $2,050 unmarried in 2026), which is indexed under a different rule. The separate $6,000 senior deduction is set in the law for 2025 through 2028 and is not adjusted for inflation. Our 2026 standard deduction guide covers both.
How We Calculated Them
Section 1(f) of the tax code adjusts the brackets each year using the chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U). The steps:
- Average the C-CPI-U for the 12 months ending August 31 of the year before (for 2027: September 2025 to August 2026).
- Divide by the same average for the base year. The bracket amounts written into the law for 2018 use 2017 as the base year, except the top of the 10% and 12% brackets, which use 2016 since the One Big Beautiful Bill (that is why those two rose more than the others in 2026). The standard deduction starts from its 2025 amounts with 2024 as the base year.
- Multiply the base amount by that ratio and round the increase down: to a multiple of $25 for single and married-filing-separately brackets, $50 for joint and head of household brackets, and $50 for the standard deduction. The joint standard deduction is twice the single amount.
- Use the index values as they stood when BLS first published the August figure. BLS revises the chained CPI later, and the law freezes the earlier values. We used the archived versions in the St. Louis Fed's ALFRED database for each year.
To check the method we ran it for every tax year from 2019 through 2026 and compared the results with the bracket tables in the IRS revenue procedures: all 192 thresholds matched exactly, and so did the 2026 standard deduction. Using today's revised index values instead of the archived ones does not match, which is why step 4 matters. For 2027 no revision has happened since BLS published August: it revises the chained CPI only with January, April, July and October data, and the October data comes out in November.
The Missing October 2025 Index
BLS did not collect price data from October 1 to November 12, 2025, during the federal government shutdown, and it never published an October 2025 index. The 2027 adjustment is the first bracket calculation whose 12-month window contains that gap, and the law assumes 12 values.
Our main estimate averages the 11 months that were published. That is what BLS itself does: for its own 2025 annual averages, it says the average "will be computed as the average of the 11 index values published." The IRS could instead fill October with the midpoint of September and November. That gives lower thresholds: $25 lower at the top of the single 10% bracket, $150 lower at the start of the single 24% bracket and up to $1,000 lower at the top joint threshold. The single and joint standard deductions do not change.
The IRS has already used numbers spanning October 2025 once: its 2027 HSA limits (Rev. Proc. 2026-24) use the 12 months ending March 2026. Both methods reproduce all six of those figures, because HSA amounts round to the nearest $50, so they do not tell us which one the IRS chose.
What It Means for Your Taxes
When the thresholds rise faster than your income, less of it lands in the higher brackets. A hypothetical single filer with $60,000 of taxable income in both years would owe $7,912 of federal income tax under the 2026 brackets and about $7,742 under the estimated 2027 brackets, about $170 less. A hypothetical married couple filing jointly with $120,000 of taxable income would owe $15,824 under 2026 and about $15,483 under 2027, about $341 less. Both figures ignore credits and other taxes, and assume the same taxable income in both years.
- Withholding: employers use the IRS withholding tables for 2027, published in December, so paychecks adjust on their own. Our paycheck calculator uses the official 2026 tables until then.
- Estimated taxes: 2027 quarterly payments start in April 2027. Our estimated tax payments guide covers the 2026 schedule.
- Retirement accounts: the 2027 401(k) limit works out to $25,500 by the same kind of formula; see our 2027 401(k) limits.
Sources & Methodology
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32: the official 2026 brackets and standard deduction. Earlier tables from Rev. Procs 2018-57, 2019-44, 2020-45, 2021-45, 2022-38, 2023-34 and 2024-40, used to test the method.
- 26 U.S.C. 1(f) and 1(j): the cost-of-living adjustment, the C-CPI-U definition and vintage rule, and rounding; 26 U.S.C. 63(c) for the standard deduction.
- Public Law 119-21: section 70101 (permanent rates, base year for the 10% and 12% ceilings) and section 70102 (standard deduction amounts and base year).
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, ALFRED: C-CPI-U (SUUR0000SA0): archived versions of the BLS chained CPI as they stood on September 30 of each year.
- BLS, 2025 federal government shutdown impact on the CPI: the missing October 2025 index and the 11-value annual average; revision schedule from the BLS CPI news release (August 2026).
- IRS, Rev. Proc. 2026-24: 2027 HSA limits, used as a cross-check.
Method notes. The calculation script, the archived index files and the IRS tables used for the check are in our research files. The 2027 figures are labelled as estimates until the IRS revenue procedure is published; we will replace them with the official figures that day.
This article is for general information and is not tax advice. Figures checked against the primary sources on October 20, 2026.
FAQ
What are the tax brackets for 2027?
The rates stay 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The IRS has not announced the income thresholds yet; by the inflation formula in the tax code they rise about 3.2%. For a single filer, the 10% rate would apply up to $12,800 of taxable income and the 37% rate above $661,375.
What is the standard deduction for 2027?
By our calculation, $16,600 for single filers and married filing separately, $33,200 for married couples filing jointly, and about $24,950 for heads of household, up from $16,100, $32,200 and $24,150 in 2026. The IRS has not confirmed these yet.
When will the IRS release the 2027 tax brackets?
It publishes them each fall in a revenue procedure; the 2026 figures came on October 9, 2025. We will update this page with the official numbers the day they appear.
Are the 2027 tax brackets for the taxes I file in 2027?
No. The return you file in early 2027 covers 2026 income and uses the 2026 brackets. The 2027 brackets apply to income you earn in 2027, reported in 2028.
Why are these figures not exact?
Our method reproduces every IRS bracket from 2019 to 2026, but the October 2025 price index was never published because of the government shutdown. If the IRS fills that month instead of averaging the other 11, as BLS does, the thresholds would be $25 to $1,000 lower.
