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TAX YEAR 2026
The 2026 standard deduction.
Federal income tax is computed on taxable income, not on the number in your offer letter. For most employees the standard deduction is the thing that creates that gap.
| Filing status | 2026 standard deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Married filing separately | $16,100 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
The IRS published these amounts for tax year 2026, including the changes tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill. They are higher than the 2025 figures of $15,750 single and $31,500 joint. A paycheck tool that still uses the 2024 deduction will overstate federal tax on a 2026 wage.
What the deduction does to a mid-range salary
On $80,000 of wages, a single person who takes the standard deduction and nothing else has $63,900 of taxable income. Federal income tax on that, using the 2026 brackets, is $8,770. Without the deduction the same wages would be taxed from the first dollar and the bill would be thousands higher. The calculator subtracts the deduction before it walks the brackets. It does not itemize.
People over 65 get an additional standard deduction. This site does not add it. If you itemize mortgage interest, state taxes, and charity above the standard deduction, your taxable income is lower than the figure here, and your refund or balance due moves with it. Withholding during the year still often assumes the standard deduction unless the W-4 says otherwise.
A traditional 401(k) comes off before the standard deduction. Six thousand dollars deferred from an $80,000 salary makes federal wages $74,000, then the $16,100 deduction applies. Payroll taxes do not follow that path. See the 401(k) page.
Questions
Is the personal exemption back?
The 2026 standard deduction already reflects the law as the IRS published it. This calculator does not add a separate personal exemption on top.
Does the standard deduction reduce Social Security tax?
No. Social Security and Medicare use wages, with the Social Security cap. The standard deduction is an income-tax concept.
Where the deduction sits in the paycheck math
The calculator subtracts the deduction after a traditional 401(k) and before the brackets. On $80,000 of wages, single, nothing deferred, taxable income is $63,900 and federal income tax is about $8,770. Social Security and Medicare are computed on the $80,000, not on the $63,900. Anyone who subtracts $16,100 and then also drops FICA is double-counting a benefit the statute does not give.
People 65 and older get an additional amount. This page does not add it. Itemizers whose mortgage interest, capped state taxes, and charity exceed the standard deduction will owe less income tax than the calculator shows, and their withholding may still assume the standard deduction unless the W-4 says otherwise. The deduction amounts are the 2026 figures, not the 2025 figures of $15,750 and $31,500.
Joint filers do not each get $32,200
The $32,200 standard deduction is for the married return, not for each spouse’s W-2. Two spouses earning $80,000 each have $160,000 of wages and one $32,200 deduction if they file jointly and take the standard deduction. Running each paycheck through a single-filer calculator and adding the nets double-counts the deduction and uses the narrower single brackets. File the wages together on the paycheck calculator with married filing jointly selected, or accept that two single runs are a different, usually worse, estimate than the joint return.