With only a couple of months left in 2026, now is the time to check where you stand. The figures below are the official IRS amounts for tax year 2026, the return you will file in 2027. They reflect both the usual inflation adjustments and the changes made by the federal tax law enacted on July 4, 2025 (Public Law 119-21). The IRS usually announces the following year’s figures in October or November; as of this writing, the 2027 amounts have not yet been released.
Standard deduction
- Married filing jointly: $32,200
- Head of household: $24,150
- Single or married filing separately: $16,100
- Age 65 or older, or blind: an additional $1,650 per qualifying person if married, or $2,050 if single or head of household. Taxpayers 65 and older may also qualify for the separate $6,000 senior deduction for 2025 through 2028.
2026 federal income tax brackets
| Rate | Single | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | Up to $12,400 | Up to $24,800 |
| 12% | Over $12,400 | Over $24,800 |
| 22% | Over $50,400 | Over $100,800 |
| 24% | Over $105,700 | Over $211,400 |
| 32% | Over $201,775 | Over $403,550 |
| 35% | Over $256,225 | Over $512,450 |
| 37% | Over $640,600 | Over $768,700 |
These brackets apply to taxable income, after deductions. The 2025 law made the current seven rates permanent, so they did not revert to the higher pre-2018 rates in 2026 as previously scheduled.
Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends
- 0% rate: taxable income up to $49,450 (single), $66,200 (head of household) or $98,900 (married filing jointly).
- 15% rate: above those amounts, up to $545,500 (single), $579,600 (head of household) or $613,700 (married filing jointly).
- 20% rate: above those amounts. The separate 3.8% net investment income tax may also apply at higher incomes.
Retirement savings limits
- 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal Thrift Savings Plan: $24,500 of employee deferrals.
- Catch-up contributions, age 50 and older: $8,000, for a total of $32,500. For people age 60, 61, 62 or 63, the catch-up is $11,250.
- New Roth catch-up rule: for 2026, if your 2025 wages (Social Security wages) from the employer sponsoring the plan were more than $150,000, catch-up contributions to that plan generally must be made as Roth (after-tax) contributions. If your plan does not offer a Roth option, you may not be able to make catch-up contributions at all. Check with your plan administrator before your last paychecks of the year.
- IRA: $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up if you are 50 or older ($8,600 total).
- Roth IRA eligibility phase-out: $153,000 to $168,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and heads of household; $242,000 to $252,000 for married couples filing jointly.
- SIMPLE IRA: generally $17,000, plus a $4,000 catch-up for those 50 and older.
- Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs (age 70½ and older): up to $111,000.
Credits for families
- Child tax credit: up to $2,200 per qualifying child, of which up to $1,700 can be refundable.
- Adoption credit: up to $17,670 of qualified expenses, with up to $5,120 refundable.
- Earned income tax credit: a maximum of $8,231 for families with three or more qualifying children.
- Child and dependent care credit: beginning in 2026, the maximum credit rate rises from 35% to 50% of qualifying expenses. The expense limits remain $3,000 for one qualifying person and $6,000 for two or more.
- Health flexible spending account: employees can contribute up to $3,400, with a carryover of up to $680 if the plan allows it.
Estate and gift tax
- Estate and lifetime gift exemption: $15,000,000 per person for 2026, up from $13,990,000 for 2025. The 2025 law set this permanently at $15 million, indexed for inflation in later years, instead of letting it fall by about half in 2026 as previously scheduled.
- Annual gift exclusion: $19,000 per recipient (unchanged from 2025). Married couples can give $38,000 per recipient by splitting gifts.
Credits that are gone
Several energy credits ended under the 2025 law. If you were planning purchases with them in mind, adjust your plans:
- Clean vehicle credits for new, used and commercial electric vehicles are not available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.
- The energy efficient home improvement credit (for items such as heat pumps, windows and insulation) does not apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2025.
- The residential clean energy credit (for items such as rooftop solar and battery storage) does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025.
A note for California
California does not use the federal brackets, standard deduction or most of the new federal deductions. It has its own rates (1% to 12.3%, plus an extra 1% on taxable income over $1 million) and taxes capital gains as ordinary income. Your state picture can look very different from your federal one, so plan for both.
Sources
- IRS: IRS releases tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (IR-2025-103)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32
- IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 (IR-2025-111)
- IRS: Retirement topics – Catch-up contributions (Roth catch-up wage threshold)
- IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 retirement plan limits and Roth catch-up wage threshold)
- IRS: One, Big, Beautiful Bill provisions (dependent care credit and energy credit changes)
- IRS: Energy efficient home improvement credit
- IRS: Residential clean energy credit
- IRS: Clean vehicle tax credits
- California Franchise Tax Board: Summary of Federal Income Tax Changes
These numbers are only a starting point. To see how they apply to your own year-end decisions, please contact the office or call us at (858) 549-1295.
This article provides general information as of October 2026 and is not tax advice for your specific situation. Tax rules change, and the right answer depends on your facts.