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A plain-English guide to the 2026 federal income tax brackets: the rates, the income thresholds, and how marginal taxation really applies to your salary.

A $100,000 salary nets roughly $74,000–$79,000 in 2026 depending on your state. See the federal, FICA and state tax breakdown by state and filing status.

The 2026 standard deduction amounts by filing status, how the deduction lowers your taxable income, and when itemizing beats taking the standard deduction.

What FICA is, the 2026 Social Security wage base of $184,500, the Medicare rate, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax — with worked paycheck examples.

Understand the difference between gross and net pay, the taxes and deductions that shrink your salary, and how to estimate the take-home pay you actually keep.

Your marginal tax rate is your top bracket; your effective tax rate is what you actually pay overall. Here's how they differ, with worked 2026 examples.

The nine US states with no individual income tax in 2026, how much take-home pay that saves, and the trade-offs in sales and property taxes.