Marginal vs Effective Tax
See how your last dollar is taxed (marginal rate) versus your overall blended rate across brackets (effective rate). Adjust income and filing status to understand how small changes affect your tax bill.
Taxable Income & Filing Status
Drag to see how your marginal and effective rates change as income increases.
Bracket Reference
| Bracket up to | Rate |
|---|---|
| $11,000 | 10.0% |
| $44,725 | 12.0% |
| $95,375 | 22.0% |
| $182,100 | 24.0% |
| $231,250 | 32.0% |
| $578,125 | 35.0% |
| ∞ (top bracket) | 37.0% |
These demo brackets assume taxable income after deductions. Real tax results also depend on credits, other taxes, and up-to-date IRS tables.
Tax Summary
Visual Comparison: Marginal vs Effective
Your entire income is not taxed at your marginal rate. Only the top slice falls into that highest bracket, which is why your effective rate is usually much lower.
What Happens to the Next $1,000?
At $120,000 of taxable income as a Single filer:
- An extra $1,000 of taxable income is taxed at your marginal rate of 24.0%.
- That means about $240 goes to tax and you keep roughly $760.
- Even though the marginal rate applies to that last slice, your effective rate only moves slightly because it's averaged over your entire income.
Educational starter logic only. Replace demo brackets with current IRS tables and add credits, deductions, and state taxes when you wire this into your full tax engine.