2021 Tax Brackets
For 2021, the Tax Brackets is 37% (Top rate), $523,600 (37% rate, single taxpayers), $628,300 (37% rate, married couples) and 16 more figures below.
| Item | Rate | Single taxpayers | Married couples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37% rate | 37% | $523,600 | $628,300 |
| 35% rate | 35% | $209,425 | $418,850 |
| 32% rate | 32% | $164,925 | $329,850 |
| 24% rate | 24% | $86,375 | $172,750 |
| 22% rate | 22% | $40,525 | $81,050 |
| 12% rate | 12% | $9,950 | $19,900 |
| 10% rate | 10% | - | - |
A dash is a figure this site has not published for that row, not an amount of zero.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: IR-2020-245, IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2021 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2020
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top rate | 37% | 37% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 37% rate, single taxpayers | $518,400 | $523,600 | +$5,200 (+1.0%) |
| 37% rate, married couples | $622,050 | $628,300 | +$6,250 (+1.0%) |
| 35% rate | 35% | 35% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 35% rate, single taxpayers | $207,350 | $209,425 | +$2,075 (+1.0%) |
| 35% rate, married couples | $414,700 | $418,850 | +$4,150 (+1.0%) |
| 32% rate | 32% | 32% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 32% rate, single taxpayers | $163,300 | $164,925 | +$1,625 (+1.0%) |
| 32% rate, married couples | $326,600 | $329,850 | +$3,250 (+1.0%) |
| 24% rate | 24% | 24% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 24% rate, single taxpayers | $85,525 | $86,375 | +$850 (+1.0%) |
| 24% rate, married couples | $171,050 | $172,750 | +$1,700 (+1.0%) |
| 22% rate | 22% | 22% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 22% rate, single taxpayers | $40,125 | $40,525 | +$400 (+1.0%) |
| 22% rate, married couples | $80,250 | $81,050 | +$800 (+1.0%) |
| 12% rate | 12% | 12% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| 12% rate, single taxpayers | $9,875 | $9,950 | +$75 (+0.8%) |
| 12% rate, married couples | $19,750 | $19,900 | +$150 (+0.8%) |
| 10% rate | 10% | 10% | +0% (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Individual income taxpayers filing as single or as married filing jointly
What changed this year, and why
For tax year 2021, the IRS adjusted the income thresholds for each marginal tax rate upward for inflation. The seven rates themselves - 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37% - remained the same as in 2020.
Common questions
- What are the 2021 tax brackets for single filers?
- For single taxpayers in 2021, the rates apply as follows: 10% on income of $9,950 or less; 12% on income over $9,950; 22% on income over $40,525; 24% on income over $86,375; 32% on income over $164,925; 35% on income over $209,425; and 37% on income over $523,600.
- What are the 2021 tax brackets for married couples filing jointly?
- For married couples filing jointly in 2021, the rates apply as follows: 10% on income of $19,900 or less; 12% on income over $19,900; 22% on income over $81,050; 24% on income over $172,750; 32% on income over $329,850; 35% on income over $418,850; and 37% on income over $628,300.
- Did the top tax rate change from 2020 to 2021?
- No. The top rate remained 37% in 2021, the same as in 2020. The income threshold at which the 37% rate begins rose to $523,600 for single filers (from $518,400 in 2020) and to $628,300 for married couples filing jointly (from $622,050 in 2020).
The bracket rate is not the rate on all your income
The IRS Tax Rate Schedules display the statutory percentage that applies to each slice of taxable income, but they are not meant to be used to figure the tax you owe. The schedules show every bracket from 10% up to the top rate of 37% for single taxpayers above $523,600 and married couples above $628,300. Because the federal income tax is marginal, only the dollars that fall inside a particular range are taxed at that range’s rate; income below each threshold is taxed at the lower rates that apply to the tiers beneath it. For that reason the bracket that your total taxable income reaches is not the rate applied to your entire income. To actually compute the tax you owe, you use the Tax Table or the Tax Computation Worksheet, which already incorporate the cumulative effect of every lower bracket, rather than multiplying your whole income by the top rate you reached.
The Tax Rate Schedules are shown so you can see the tax rate that applies to all levels of taxable income. Don’t use them to figure your tax.
Publication 17 (2021), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
Below $100,000 you look the tax up, above it you compute it
The 2021 Tax Table lists the exact tax for taxable incomes below $100,000, and the table itself shows that once income reaches $100,000 or over, the taxpayer must use the Tax Computation Worksheet instead. The worksheet is organized into four sections, one for each filing status: Single (Section A), Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er) (Section B), Married Filing Separately (Section C), and Head of Household (Section D). Within the applicable section the taxpayer finds the row whose income range contains their taxable income and then computes the tax by multiplying the excess over the lower threshold by the applicable marginal rate and adding the base amount shown in that row. The marginal rates used in the worksheet are the same rates shown in the Tax Rate Schedules: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and a top rate of 37%. The top 37% rate applies to income over $523,600 for single filers and over $628,300 for married couples filing jointly.
$100,000 or over use the Tax Computation Worksheet
Publication 17 (2021), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
Filing as head of household while still married
A married person can still file as head of household if they are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. To be considered unmarried, the taxpayer must meet all five tests listed in the publication: they must file a separate return (married filing separately, single, or head of household); they must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up their home for the year; their spouse must not have lived in the home during the last six months of the tax year (temporary absences for special circumstances do not change this); the home must have been the main home of the taxpayer's child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year; and the taxpayer must be able to claim an exemption for that child, subject to the rules that apply when a child is claimed by the other parent under the special rules for divorced or separated parents. When these tests are all met the taxpayer uses the Head of Household column of the Tax Table, or Section D of the Tax Computation Worksheet, to figure the tax.
You are consid- ered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all of the following tests.
Publication 17 (2021), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
What a joint return makes each spouse liable for
When a married couple files a joint return, both spouses are responsible for the entire tax, plus any interest or penalties owed on that return. The IRS can collect the full amount from either spouse, individually or together, regardless of which spouse earned the income or which spouse made the error on the return. If one spouse does not pay the tax due, the other may have to pay it. If one spouse underreports tax, both spouses may be held responsible for the additional taxes the IRS assesses. This joint responsibility continues even after divorce: a former spouse may still be held jointly and individually responsible for any tax, interest, and penalties due on a joint return filed before the divorce, regardless of what a divorce decree says about who owes the tax. Because of this exposure, the publication notes that a couple may want to file separately if one spouse is not reporting all of their income or if one spouse may not have enough tax withheld or paid through estimates.
Both of you may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax and any interest or penalty due on your joint re- turn.
Publication 17 (2021), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
The income these brackets do not tax
The ordinary tax brackets shown in the Tax Table and Tax Rate Schedules do not apply to every kind of income. Net capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at separate, generally lower rates using the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet or the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, rather than at the marginal rates that apply to ordinary income such as wages, interest, and business profits. Other items taxed through special worksheets include lump-sum distributions (taxed under the rules in Publication 575), farming or fishing income (which may be averaged on Schedule J), tax for certain children with unearned income (under the rules in Publication 929), and foreign earned income (under the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet). When a taxpayer is required to use one of these special worksheets, the amount from that worksheet is entered on the applicable line of the Tax Computation Worksheet in place of ordinary taxable income.
Note. If you’re required to use this worksheet to figure the tax on an amount from another form or worksheet, such as the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet, the Schedule D Tax Worksheet, Schedule J, Form 8615, or the Foreign Earned Income Tax Worksheet, enter the amount from that form or worksheet in column (a) of the row that applies to the amount you’re looking up.
Publication 17 (2021), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
IR-2020-245, IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2021 (IRS)
- Top rate
the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $523,600
- 37% rate, single taxpayers
the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $523,600
- 37% rate, married couples
the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $523,600 ($628,300 for married couples filing jointly)
- 35% rate
35%, for incomes over $209,425
- 35% rate, single taxpayers
35%, for incomes over $209,425
- 35% rate, married couples
35%, for incomes over $209,425 ($418,850 for married couples filing jointly)
- 32% rate
32% for incomes over $164,925
- 32% rate, single taxpayers
32% for incomes over $164,925
- 32% rate, married couples
32% for incomes over $164,925 ($329,850 for married couples filing jointly)
- 24% rate
24% for incomes over $86,375
- 24% rate, single taxpayers
24% for incomes over $86,375
- 24% rate, married couples
24% for incomes over $86,375 ($172,750 for married couples filing jointly)
- 22% rate
22% for incomes over $40,525
- 22% rate, single taxpayers
22% for incomes over $40,525
- 22% rate, married couples
22% for incomes over $40,525 ($81,050 for married couples filing jointly)
- 12% rate
12% for incomes over $9,950
- 12% rate, single taxpayers
12% for incomes over $9,950
- 12% rate, married couples
12% for incomes over $9,950 ($19,900 for married couples filing jointly)
- 10% rate
The lowest rate is 10% for incomes of single individuals with incomes of $9,950 or less