Ordinary income tax
Wages, practice profit, interest and short-term gains run through the seven progressive brackets. This is the part everyone means when they say "what bracket am I in", and it is often not the largest line on the page.
2026 tax year · Free tool
Total tax liability estimator, the whole year in one view
A paycheck, a practice, an investment account and two kids. Most of our clients have income in more than one place, which is exactly where single-purpose calculators fall down. This one puts every source into a single return-shaped estimate and tells you whether you are ahead or behind.
Estimated balance due
$0
Enter your income sources to see where the year is heading.
Total federal tax$0
Effective rate0%
Marginal rate0%
The full waterfall
Income down to adjusted gross income, taxable income, tax, credits and settle-up.
What makes up the bill
Three different taxes, three different rate structures, one payment.
Income and adjusted gross income
W-2 wages$0
Self-employment profit$0
Other ordinary income$0
Long-term capital gains$0
Total income$0
Half of self-employment tax$0
Pre-tax retirement & HSA$0
Adjusted gross income$0
Standard deductionSingle · 2026$0
Taxable income$0
Tax, credits and payments
Capital gains stack on top of ordinary income, which is what decides their rate.
Ordinary taxable income$0
Ordinary income tax$0
Gains inside taxable income$0
Capital gains taxNo long-term gains entered$0
Self-employment taxNo self-employment profit entered$0
Tax before credits$0
Child Tax CreditNo qualifying children entered$0
Total federal tax$0
Federal tax withheld$0
Estimated payments made$0
Total already paid in$0
Educational estimate only, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different; book a consultation for guidance specific to you.
Assumptions used in this calculator
These are the exact 2026 figures this calculator applies.
- Tax year 2026
- Standard deduction (single $16,100
- Standard deduction) married filing jointly $32,200
- Standard deduction (married filing separately $16,100
- Standard deduction) head of household $24,150
- Single thresholds $12,400 · $50,400 · $105,700 · $201,775 · $256,225 · $640,600
- Joint thresholds $24,800 · $100,800 · $211,400 · $403,550 · $512,450 · $768,700
- SE net earnings factor 92.35%
- SE Social Security 12.4% to $184,500
- SE Medicare 2.9%, no ceiling
- Additional Medicare Tax 0.9% above threshold
- Child Tax Credit per child $2,200
- LTCG (single 0% to $49,450 · 15% to $545,500 · 20% above
- LTCG) married filing jointly 0% to $98,900 · 15% to $613,700 · 20% above
- LTCG (married filing separately 0% to $49,450 · 15% to $306,850 · 20% above
- LTCG) head of household 0% to $66,200 · 15% to $579,600 · 20% above
How gains are stacked: long-term capital gains and qualified dividends sit on top of ordinary taxable income, so the capital gains thresholds are measured against total taxable income. That is why the same $20,000 gain can be taxed at 0% for one household and 15% for another. The Child Tax Credit is applied as non-refundable. It reduces tax to zero but no further, so the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit is not modeled. Not modeled: state and local income tax, the Section 199A qualified business income deduction, net investment income tax, the alternative minimum tax, credit phase-outs at higher incomes, education credits, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, the Premium Tax Credit, itemized deduction limitations, passive activity and at-risk rules, depreciation and Section 179, carryforwards of any kind, and any prior-year safe-harbor calculation.
Reading the waterfall
Three taxes, stacked, and only one of them has brackets people quote
A return with practice income is not one calculation. It is three running in parallel and settling into a single number at the bottom.
Self-employment tax
A flat 15.3% on 92.35% of practice profit, up to the Social Security wage base, then 2.9% above it. It has no brackets, no standard deduction and no relationship to your income tax rate. For many practice owners it is the bigger bill.
Capital gains tax
Long-term gains get 0%, 15% or 20%, but the rate depends on where they land once stacked on top of your ordinary income. Selling in a low-income year is one of the few genuinely powerful pieces of timing available to most people.
Related service
A year-round relationship beats a good estimate in March
The Total Harmony Package keeps your books current, your estimates set on time and your planning conversations happening in October rather than April. One flat monthly fee covering tax, accounting and advisory, so the number above stops being a surprise and starts being a decision you made.
Questions, answered
About your total tax picture
Why are long-term capital gains taxed separately?
Gains on assets held more than a year get preferential rates of 0%, 15% or 20%. They stack on top of your ordinary income, so where your ordinary income ends decides which rate applies to the gain. Someone with $30,000 of ordinary taxable income can have part of a gain taxed at 0% and the rest at 15%, the calculator shows exactly where the split falls.
What is the half of self-employment tax deduction?
You deduct half of your self-employment tax when calculating adjusted gross income. It reflects the employer half that a W-2 employee never has taxed as income. It reduces income tax but not the self-employment tax itself, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax is excluded from the deductible half.
Which figure counts as pre-tax retirement here?
Traditional 401(k) or 403(b) deferrals, deductible traditional IRA contributions, SEP or SIMPLE IRA contributions and HSA contributions. Roth contributions do not belong here. One trap worth knowing: your W-2 box 1 wages already exclude your deferrals, so enter gross wages rather than box 1 or the deduction gets counted twice.
Does this cover state tax?
No, federal only. State income tax is a separate calculation with its own brackets, its own treatment of capital gains and its own rules on pass-through business income. In a high-tax state that is a substantial additional bill on top of the figure here.
What is the safe harbor for estimated payments?
Generally you avoid an underpayment penalty by paying at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's through withholding and estimates, rising to 110% of last year if your adjusted gross income was over $150,000. Withholding counts as paid evenly across the year regardless of when it happened, which is why raising your W-4 withholding in the autumn can repair a shortfall from January.
Why does this show a different number from my tax software?
Because tax software works from your actual documents and applies dozens of items this calculator deliberately skips, the qualified business income deduction, credit phase-outs, net investment income tax, alternative minimum tax, education and dependent care credits, and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Treat this as a planning estimate, not a return preview.
The number is bigger than I expected. What do I do first?
Check three things before you panic. First, are all your business deductions actually in your books, or is some of that profit really expenses you never recorded? Second, is a retirement contribution still available for the year? Third, is your entity structure right for this profit level? Those three account for most of the gap between what people expect and what they see, and all three are worth a 30-minute consultation.