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What Is My Tax Rate?

irstaxfighters • March 30, 2017
Tax Holder Concept — Houston, TX — IRS Tax Fighters
Occasionally our clients ask us this question, and we caution that the answer is deceiving. We could say 15%, 25%, 28%, or 33%, etc., but what that means is not what many people think it means.
The United States does not have a flat tax rate system. We have a graduated tax rate system that includes 7 tax brackets so most of us have more than one tax rate that is applied to our income earned. Our income is divided into portions and each portion is taxed at the applicable tax rate.
So for example, if you were single and earned $100,000 in 2017, you would be taxed at 4 different tax rates to determine your total tax due for the year. Your income from $0 to $9,325 would be taxed at 10%, your income from $9,326 to $37,950 would be taxed at 15%, your income from $37,951 to $91,900 would be taxed at 25% and your income from $91,901 to $100,000 would be taxed at 28%.
The answer to the question for this person would be 28% since that is the highest tax rate for this person, but as you can see, that answer does not accurately describe the tax rates applied to this person’s income.
The income thresholds differ based upon your filing status: Single, Head of household, Married filing jointly or qualifying widow, or Married filing separately. Below are the 2017 tax rates and income thresholds for each filing status:
Tax rate Single Head of household
10% $0 to $9,325 $0 to 13,350
15% $9,326 to $37,950 $13,351 to $50,800
25% $37,951 to $91,900 $50,801 to $131,200
28% $91,901 to $191,650 $131,201 to $212,500
33% $191,651 to $416,700 $212,501 to $416,700
35% $416,701 to $418,400 $416,701 to $444,550
39.6% $418,401 or more $444,551 or more
Tax rate Single Head of household
10% $0 to $9,325 $0 to 13,350
15% $9,326 to $37,950 $13,351 to $50,800
25% $37,951 to $91,900 $50,801 to $131,200
28% $91,901 to $191,650 $131,201 to $212,500
33% $191,651 to $416,700 $212,501 to $416,700
35% $416,701 to $418,400 $416,701 to $444,550
39.6% $418,401 or more $444,551 or more
Tax rate Married jointly or qualifying widow Married filing separately
10% $0 to $18,650 $0 to $9,325
15% $18,651 to $75,900 $9,326 to $37,650
25% $75,901 to $153,100 $37,951 to $76,550
28% $153,101 to $233,350 $76,551 to $116,675
33% $233,351 to $416,700 $116,676 to $208,350
35% $416,701 to $470,700 $208,351 to $235,350
39.6% $470,701 or more $235,351 or more
Tax rate Married jointly or qualifying widow Married filing separately
10% $0 to $18,650 $0 to $9,325
15% $18,651 to $75,900 $9,326 to $37,650
25% $75,901 to $153,100 $37,951 to $76,550
28% $153,101 to $233,350 $76,551 to $116,675
33% $233,351 to $416,700 $116,676 to $208,350
35% $416,701 to $470,700 $208,351 to $235,350
39.6% $470,701 or more $235,351 or more
Our goal at IRS Tax Fighters is to advise our clients in a way that leads to increased wealth and financial freedom. Call IRS Tax Fighters today at 281-962-0070 or toll free 888-959-2671 to see how we can help you reduce your annual tax debt, increase your wealth, and move toward financial freedom.
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