How to Use The Income Tax Calculator
To start, simply choose your state, filing status, and enter your pre-tax annual income, and click "Calculate Taxes". The calculator will calculate the taxes owed based on marginal tax brackets for your state and federal taxes. You can further refine your results by filling out the fields in the Advanced Options section.
Explanation of Input Fields
- State: Your state of residence.
- Filing Status: How you file your taxes (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household). If you were married as of December 31st you're considered married for the tax year. You can file Head of Household if you are unmarried and paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying dependent.
- Annual Income: This is where you enter your pre-tax wages, salaries, and tips.
- Tax Year: We'll use the tax rates, brackets, and threshholds from this year to calculate your taxes.
- Self Employment / Business Income: This includes freelance or contract work (e.g. 1099 income), sole proprietorship or gig income (e.g. Uber, Etsy, consulting, etc), and business income from an LLC or partnership (if not treated as a corporation).
- Short-Term Capital Gains: This is income you made from selling something at a profit. It most commonly applies to securities (stocks and bonds). Short-term means you held the security for less than a year before you sold, resulting in regular income tax treatment.
- Long-Term Capital Gains: Similar to short-erm capital gains, but for securities you held for a year or longer.
- Deduction Type: Whether you take the standard deduction or itemize. If you're not sure, just go with standard which applies to most taxpayers.
- Deduction Amount: If you do itemize, enter the itemized deduction amount here.
- Traditional IRA / 401k Contributions: If you contributed to a traditional (pre-tax) retirement account that will reduce your taxable income for this tax year.
Understanding the Results
After clicking "Calculate Taxes" the breakdown of your results are shown above. Some notable fields:
- Gross Income: This is your total pre-tax income, including wages, self-employment/business income, and short and long-term capital gains.
- Federal Tax: This is the total tax paid to the U.S. government. It includes taxes on your gross income after standard deduction. FICA taxes are not included on this line.
- State Tax: This is the total tax paid to your state of residence. It includes taxes on your gross income after your state standard deduction.
- FICA Taxes: FICA stands for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. It is a U.S. federal payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare programs. All employees and employers contribute to this tax. Those are are self-employed pay both sides of the tax, which is why your estimated taxes increase if you enter them in the self-employment field instead of the income field.
- Total Tax: This is the sum of the above taxes
- Total Effective Tax Rate: This is the percent of your gross income that is paid in all the above taxes combined. It uses the formula:
Total Taxes Paid ÷ Gross Income
Below the Income & Tax Summary you'll find breakdowns of the Federal, FICA, and State taxes, including the brackets and rates used by the calculator.
How the Calculator Works
The tax calculator calculates the following:
- Gross Income: All income sources (wages, self-employment, capital gains, etc.)
- Adjustments to Income: aka "above-the-line deductions". Includes 401(k) contributions, traditional IRA contributions, half of self-employment tax. This results in your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
- Taxable Income: Subtract the Standard or Itemized Deduction from Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) to arrive at taxable income
We then apply the federal and state tax brackets for your selected filing status. Using marginal rates, each slice of income is taxed at its respective bracket.
FICA taxes are based on earned income (wages + self-employment income). The two parts to FICA are:
| Tax Type | Rate (Employee / Self-Employed) | Income Cap (2025) | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% / 12.4% | $176,100 | Wages and SE income |
| Medicare | 1.45% / 2.9% | No cap | Wages and SE income |
| Additional Medicare | +0.9% (employee only) | Income over $200,000 (single) / $250,000 (MFJ) | Wages only |
No Account Required
We don’t collect any personally identifiable personal info. Just enter your income, select your state, and see your estimate, no login or email required.
Limitations
Tax law can be complex. While this tool can provide a quick and easy estimate, there are a few limitations that could impact your actual tax owed.
- Local Taxes: Some cities have additional local taxes that aren't shown in the calculator.
- Special State Credits and Deductions: Each state has its own set of credits, deductions, and rules that may not align with federal treatment (e.g. treatment of 401(k) contributions or capital gains).
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT): High income earners may be subject to the AMT which is not accounted for here.
- Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction: This 20% pass-through deduction is complex and depends on business type, income level, and industry.
- Offsetting Gains with Losses: You may have capital loss carry-forwards or harvest losses from previous tax years that will reduce your taxes.
- Dependents and Credits: Child Tax Credit, Dependent Care Credit, Education Credits and other similar credits are not accounted for.
- Multiple States: If multiple states charge you tax because you were a part-year resident, or you earned income in a state where you don't live, that isn't accounted for here.