2027 Tax Brackets (Projected): Income Ranges for Every Filing Status and the 2027 Standard Deduction

The projected 2027 tax brackets keep the seven federal income tax rates from 10% to 37% and raise every income range by about 3.2%: a single filer pays 10% on the first $12,800 of taxable income and reaches the 37% rate above $661,375, while a married couple filing jointly reaches 37% above $793,650. The 2027 standard deduction is projected at $16,600 for single filers, $33,200 for joint filers, and $24,950 for heads of household. These are projections from Wolters Kluwer (September 18, 2026) that agree with every bracket Bloomberg Tax and Thomson Reuters Checkpoint published, and the IRS sets the official numbers in a Revenue Procedure expected in late October or early November 2026.

Key takeaways:

• Seven rates, unchanged: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, §70101)
• Single filers, projected 2027: 10% to $12,800, 12% to $52,025, 22% to $109,125, 24% to $208,325, 32% to $264,550, 35% to $661,375, 37% above
• Married filing jointly, projected 2027: 10% to $25,600, 12% to $104,050, 22% to $218,250, 24% to $416,650, 32% to $529,100, 35% to $793,650, 37% above
• Standard deduction, projected 2027: $16,600 single or married filing separately, $33,200 joint, $24,950 head of household (projections for head of household run from $24,900 to $24,950)
• Same income, less tax: a married couple with $160,000 of income owes $561 less for 2027 than for 2026

Save this cheat sheet — key numbers in one image.

2027 Tax Brackets for Single Filers (Projected)

For 2027, a single filer is projected to pay 10% on taxable income up to $12,800, 12% up to $52,025, 22% up to $109,125, 24% up to $208,325, 32% up to $264,550, 35% up to $661,375, and 37% on everything above. The brackets apply to taxable income, which is your adjusted gross income (AGI) minus the standard deduction or your itemized deductions.

The 2026 column is final. IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, the annual notice of inflation-adjusted amounts, set it on October 9, 2025, and it governs the 2026 return you file in 2027. How marginal rates stack into an effective rate is covered in our guide to the 2026 tax brackets.

2027 Tax Brackets for Married Filing Jointly (Projected)

Married couples filing jointly are projected to pay 10% on the first $25,600 of taxable income in 2027 and 37% on taxable income above $793,650. Through the 32% bracket, every joint threshold is exactly double the single threshold; the 35% bracket is where the doubling stops. A qualifying surviving spouse uses this table too.

2027 Tax Brackets for Head of Household and Married Filing Separately

Heads of household get their own table with wider 10% and 12% brackets, while married couples filing separately use the single table except for the top of the 35% bracket.

Head of Household

A head of household is projected to pay 10% on the first $18,250 of taxable income in 2027, 12% up to $69,650, and 37% above $661,350. From the 22% bracket up, the head-of-household thresholds sit within $25 of the single ones because the two tables round differently.

Married Filing Separately

Married couples who file separate returns use the single thresholds through the 32% bracket, then reach 37% above $396,825, half of the joint threshold. A spouse filing separately gets a $0 standard deduction if the other spouse itemizes, under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §63(c)(6).

2027 Standard Deduction (Projected)

The 2027 standard deduction is projected at $16,600 for single filers and married couples filing separately, $33,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,950 for heads of household, up $500, $1,000, and $800 from 2026. The standard deduction is the flat amount IRC §63(c) lets you subtract from AGI instead of itemizing, and the joint amount is by law 200% of the single amount. Who can claim it, and how it sits alongside Schedule C business deductions, is covered in the 2026 standard deduction guide.

The head-of-household amount is the one standard deduction the projections disagree on: Bloomberg Tax lists $24,925 (with $24,950 in parentheses) and Thomson Reuters Checkpoint lists $24,900, against $24,950 from Wolters Kluwer. The spread comes from rounding, not from the inflation data, as the calculation section below explains.

2027 Standard Deduction for Age 65 and Older

Taxpayers who are 65 or older, or blind, add a projected $2,100 to the 2027 standard deduction as a single filer or head of household, or $1,700 per qualifying spouse on a married return. The senior deduction from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a separate $6,000 per person age 65 or older for 2025 through 2028 (IRC §151(d)(5)(C)). It shrinks by 6% of modified AGI above $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return) and is available whether or not you itemize. A single 65-year-old with modified AGI under $75,000 can deduct $16,600 + $2,100 + $6,000 = $24,700 before any income is taxed in 2027.

How Much Will the 2027 Brackets Save You?

On the same income, the projected 2027 brackets cut federal income tax by about $70 to $1,850 for the households in the table below, because the standard deduction and every threshold rise with inflation while the rates stay fixed. A single filer with $100,000 of income before the standard deduction saves $280, and a married couple with AGI between $137,250 and $243,600, which keeps them in the 22% bracket in both years, saves exactly $561.

Preview Your 2027 Tax on This Year's Income

Worked Example: A Married Couple With $160,000 of Income

Keiko, a dental hygienist, and Rafael, a payroll manager for a construction firm, file jointly. Their combined W-2 wages are $160,000 in both years, with no other income and no adjustments, so their AGI is $160,000 and they take the standard deduction.

The $561 comes from three places. The $1,000 larger standard deduction saves $220 at their 22% rate. The top of the 12% bracket moved up $3,250, and that slice is now taxed at 12% instead of 22%, which saves $325. The extra $800 in the 10% bracket saves 2 points on $800, or $16. Because their taxable income is above $100,000, this rate-schedule math is exactly what their return would show. If their wages instead rise 3.2% to $165,120, their projected 2027 tax is $18,105 and their effective rate stays at 11.0%: indexing keeps a raise that only matches inflation from costing a larger share.

Tax saved on the same income, 2027 (projected) versus 2026 (official):

These rows use the rate schedules and the basic standard deduction, rounded to the dollar. The IRS Tax Table, which returns use for taxable income under $100,000, works in $50 rows, so a real return can differ by a few dollars.

Where the 22% Bracket Starts in 2027

With the standard deduction, a single filer stays out of the 22% bracket in 2027 up to $68,625 of AGI: the $52,025 top of the 12% bracket plus the $16,600 standard deduction, up from $66,500 in 2026. For a married couple filing jointly the line is $137,250 of AGI (2026: $133,000), and for a head of household it is $94,600 (2026: $91,600). Income above the line is taxed at 22% only on the dollars above it. Pre-tax 401(k) deferrals, deductible IRA and HSA contributions, and for the self-employed, the deduction for half of self-employment tax all lower AGI and push that line further away.

When Will the IRS Release the Official 2027 Tax Brackets?

The IRS will publish the official 2027 brackets in its annual inflation-adjustment Revenue Procedure, which Wolters Kluwer expects in late October or early November 2026. The last four releases landed between October 9 and November 9:

Every input the formula needs has been public since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the August 2026 index on September 11, 2026. What the IRS has not said is how it will treat the missing October 2025 index, explained below. The 2028 brackets will follow the same formula with inflation data through August 2027 and should appear in the fall of 2027.

How the IRS Calculates the 2027 Brackets

The IRS raises each bracket threshold by the growth in the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation index that IRC §1(f) uses for indexing, measured as the average for the 12 months ending August 31. Four rules turn that average into published numbers:

1. Base amounts. The starting points are the 2018 thresholds written into IRC §1(j)(2), such as $9,525 for the top of the single 10% bracket and $600,000 for the joint 37% threshold.
2. Base year. Most thresholds grow by C-CPI-U inflation since 2017. Section 70101 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave the tops of the 10% and 12% brackets one extra year, measured from 2016, starting with 2026.
3. Rounding. Each increase is rounded down to a multiple of $25 for single and separate filers and $50 for joint filers and heads of household (IRC §1(f)(7) and §1(j)(3)(B)), which is why the head-of-household table sits $25 below the single table in places.
4. Standard deduction. The standard deduction starts from the 2025 amounts set by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ($15,750 single, $23,625 head of household), grows by inflation since 2024, and rounds down to $50 (IRC §63(c)(7)). Read literally, the statute rounds the increase, which gives $24,925 for head of household because $23,625 is not a multiple of $50. The IRS's 2026 figure, $24,150, is $525 above that base, an increase the literal rule cannot produce; rounding the total instead matches 2026 and gives the $24,950 used on this page.

We rebuilt the projection from BLS data to check it. The 11 published C-CPI-U values from September 2025 through August 2026 average 182.857, about 3.2% above the prior 12 months, against 135.993 for the 2016 base period and 138.237 for 2017. The top of the single 10% bracket becomes $9,525 × 182.857 ÷ 135.993, about $12,807, an increase of about $3,282 that rounds down to $3,275, giving $12,800. The joint 37% threshold rises by $193,666, rounded down to $193,650, giving $793,650. Run across all 24 thresholds, the calculation reproduces every Wolters Kluwer bracket figure to the dollar, and the same formula fits all 24 official 2026 thresholds once BLS's routine revisions to the chained index are taken into account.

The Missing October 2025 Index

There is no October 2025 C-CPI-U. The Bureau of Labor Statistics could not collect price data during the 2025 lapse in appropriations, did not publish an all-items index for that month, and says it "cannot provide specific guidance to data users" on the missing observations. Wolters Kluwer, Bloomberg Tax, and Thomson Reuters all average the 11 months that exist. If the IRS instead fills in October, for example with the midpoint of the September and November 2025 values (180.373 and 179.889), the 12-month average falls to 182.629 and most thresholds come out $25 to $1,000 lower:

For Keiko and Rafael, that scenario trims the 2027 saving from $561 to $545. Filling October with the September value or the November value instead lands within $100 of these figures at every threshold.

2027 Capital Gains Brackets and Other Projected Amounts

Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends keep their 0%, 15%, and 20% rates in 2027, and the same inflation factor moves the breakpoints between them, along with several other thresholds that matter to business owners:

The capital gains figures come from Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, the AMT exemptions from Bloomberg Tax and Thomson Reuters, and the Section 179 figures from Wolters Kluwer; our recomputation matches all of them. The QBI threshold is the one place we depart from the published projections. Wolters Kluwer and Thomson Reuters list $416,650 for joint filers, but IRC §199A(e)(2) sets the joint threshold at 200% of the single amount, and the IRS applied it that way for 2026 ($403,500 is exactly twice $201,750). Twice the projected $208,300 is $416,600.

2027 Amounts Congress Already Fixed

Some 2027 numbers are not projections at all, because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act wrote them into the Internal Revenue Code as fixed dollar amounts or fixed percentages:

The tips, overtime, car loan, and senior deductions are claimed on Schedule 1-A, and each phases out at higher incomes; our Schedule 1-A guide to the four new deductions walks through the phase-outs.

Using the 2027 Brackets for Estimated Taxes and Withholding

For 2027 estimated tax payments, your 2026 tax matters more than the projected brackets. Under IRC §6654(d), you avoid the underpayment penalty when withholding and estimated payments cover the smaller of 90% of your 2027 tax or 100% of the tax on your 2026 return, rising to 110% if your 2026 AGI was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married filing separately). The prior-year route needs no projection at all.

Example. Linnea, a single freelance data consultant, reports total tax of $38,400, including self-employment tax, and AGI of $172,000 on her 2026 return. Because her AGI is above $150,000, her prior-year safe harbor for 2027 is 110% × $38,400 = $42,240, or $10,560 per installment on April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2027, and January 18, 2028. The last date moves because January 15, 2028 is a Saturday and January 17 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day (IRC §7503). If Linnea expects a slower 2027, she can instead estimate her 2027 tax with the projected brackets and aim for 90% of it, then adjust once the official figures arrive.

The IRS builds the 2027 withholding tables for employers and the worksheet in the 2027 Form 1040-ES from the official figures, so both follow the Revenue Procedure. Our Form 1040-ES instructions guide covers the worksheet line by line, and the 2027 tax deadline calendar lists the first three 2027 payment dates.

What the 2027 Inflation Adjustment Does Not Change

The 2027 adjustment moves income ranges and dollar thresholds. It leaves these untouched:

• The rates. The seven rates are fixed in IRC §1(j)(2), and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act removed their 2025 expiration, so no rate change is scheduled for 2027.
• Your 2026 return. The return you file in early 2027 uses the 2026 brackets and the $16,100, $32,200, and $24,150 standard deductions. The 2027 figures first appear on returns filed in 2028.
• Payroll and self-employment tax. Social Security and Medicare taxes are flat percentages of wages or net self-employment earnings, not brackets, and the Social Security wage base is set separately by the Social Security Administration.
• Unindexed thresholds. The 3.8% net investment income tax starts at $200,000 of modified AGI ($250,000 joint) under IRC §1411, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax starts at the same wage levels under IRC §3101(b)(2). Neither is indexed, so more households cross them every year.
• State brackets. State income tax brackets are set by state law and adjusted, if at all, on each state's own schedule.

Common Mistakes With the 2027 Tax Brackets

1. Using the 2027 brackets on the 2026 return. Tax year and filing year differ by one: the return due April 15, 2027 reports 2026 income and uses the Rev. Proc. 2025-32 brackets.
2. Filing or finalizing with projected figures. Return-preparation programs, payroll systems, and the 2027 Form 1040 instructions will use the official numbers. If the IRS fills in the missing October 2025 index, thresholds can drop by up to $1,000 and the head-of-household standard deduction by $50.
3. Comparing gross pay with the table. The brackets apply to taxable income. A single filer earning $60,000 in 2027 has $43,400 of taxable income after the $16,600 standard deduction and sits in the 12% bracket, not the 22% bracket.
4. Applying the top rate to all income. A single filer whose 2027 taxable income grows from $52,025 to $53,025 owes $220 more, which is 22% of the extra $1,000; the first $52,025 is taxed exactly as before.
5. Counting the higher standard deduction as cash. A $500 larger standard deduction is worth $500 times your top rate: $60 in the 12% bracket, $110 in the 22% bracket.

Categorized Books Before the 2027 Numbers Land: How Jupid Helps

Every threshold in this article applies to taxable income, and for a freelancer or small business owner that number is only as reliable as the books behind it. Jupid connects to your business bank accounts and categorizes each transaction automatically, with 95.9% categorization accuracy, so income and deductible expenses are sorted as the year goes instead of rebuilt in March. The AI accountant works inside WhatsApp and iMessage: ask how much you have spent on contractors or software so far this year and get the answer in real time, from your own categorized transactions. Try Jupid.

Sources

• IRS: Rev. Proc. 2025-32, inflation-adjusted items for 2026 (tax rate tables, standard deduction, capital gains, AMT, QBI, Section 179)
• IRS: IR-2025-103, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (October 9, 2025)
• IRS: IR-2024-273, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2025 (October 22, 2024)
• IRS: IR-2023-208, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2024 (November 9, 2023)
• IRS: IR-2022-182, tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2023 (October 18, 2022)
• IRS: Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
• IRS: Form 1040-ES (2026), Estimated Tax for Individuals
• IRS: 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 (Tax Table and Tax Computation Worksheet)
• IRC §1, tax imposed (inflation adjustment in §1(f), rate tables and base years in §1(j))
• IRC §63, taxable income defined (standard deduction)
• IRC §199A, qualified business income (threshold amount in §199A(e)(2))
• IRC §164, taxes (SALT limitation in §164(b)(7))
• IRC §151, personal exemptions (senior deduction in §151(d)(5)(C))
• IRC §224, qualified tips and IRC §225, qualified overtime compensation
• IRC §163, interest (passenger vehicle loan interest in §163(h)(4))
• IRC §170, charitable contributions (§170(p) and §170(b)(1)(I)) and IRC §68, limitation on itemized deductions
• IRC §1411, net investment income tax and IRC §3101, Additional Medicare Tax
• IRC §6654, failure to pay estimated income tax and IRC §7503, deadlines on weekends and holidays
• Treasury Regulation §301.7503-1, time for performance of acts when the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday
• Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), §70101
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: C-CPI-U, all items, series SUUR0000SA0
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: revised release dates after the 2025 and 2026 lapses in appropriations (October 2025 CPI)
• Wolters Kluwer: Projected 2027 federal tax brackets and other inflation-adjusted amounts (projection, September 18, 2026)
• Bloomberg Tax: 2027 Projected U.S. Tax Rates press release (projection, September 11, 2026, corrected September 22)
• Thomson Reuters Checkpoint: Key 2027 figures based on inflation data (projection, September 11, 2026)

---

This guide is for general educational purposes and does not constitute tax, legal, or accounting advice. The 2027 brackets, standard deduction, and other inflation-adjusted amounts are projections published by Wolters Kluwer, Bloomberg Tax, and Thomson Reuters Checkpoint in September 2026, and the official IRS figures may differ; the 2026 figures are from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. The IRS had not released its 2027 inflation adjustments when this article was last reviewed on September 29, 2026. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified tax professional.