Brackets · calculator
Married filing separately in 2026
The brackets look like the single ones, but a separate return closes several doors that a joint return keeps open.
Find your federal tax bracket
2026 marginal bracket, married filing separately
22%
Federal income tax $8,770 on $63,900 of taxable income
- Standard deduction subtracted$16,100
- 10% on $12,400$1,240
- 12% on $38,000$4,560
- 22% on $13,500$2,970
- Average rate on taxable income13.7%
- Average rate on total income11.0%
- Room before the 24% bracket$41,800
Rate schedule of the IRS revenue procedure. Credits, the Schedule 1-A deductions and capital gains rates are not applied here.
A married person filing a separate return in 2026 uses brackets that match the single schedule up to the 35% rate, 10% to $12,400, 12% to $50,400, 22% to $105,700, 24% to $201,775, 32% to $256,225, then 35% only up to $384,350, half the joint threshold, and 37% above (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The standard deduction is $16,100, but it drops to zero if the other spouse itemizes. The bigger cost lies elsewhere: a separate return cannot claim any of the four Schedule 1-A deductions (tips, overtime, car loan interest, seniors), gets half the SALT cap, $20,200, loses the student loan interest deduction and, with narrow exceptions for separated spouses, the earned income credit, and faces a Roth IRA range of $0 to $10,000 when the spouses lived together. In return each spouse is liable only for his or her own return, and medical expenses face a floor measured on one income instead of two.
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What a separate return gives up in 2026
| Item | Joint return | Separate return |
|---|---|---|
| Tips, overtime, car loan, senior deductions | allowed | not allowed |
| SALT cap | $40,400 | $20,200 |
| Standard deduction | $32,200 | $16,100, or $0 if the spouse itemizes |
| Student loan interest | up to $2,500 | not allowed |
| Earned income credit | allowed | only for spouses who meet the separated-spouse rules |
| Roth IRA income range | $242,000 to $252,000 | $0 to $10,000 |
| 35% bracket ends at | $768,700 | $384,350 |
| Dependent care assistance exclusion | $7,500 | $3,750 |
Brackets: identical to single until the top
Up to $256,225 of taxable income the separate schedule copies the single one, so two spouses with equal incomes pay the same bracket tax separately or jointly. The 35% band is where they diverge: it stops at $384,350, exactly half of the joint $768,700, far below the single $640,600. Every other difference comes from the rules in the table.
Deciding with numbers
The only reliable way to choose is to compute both: one joint return, and two separate returns that split income, deductions and credits as the law requires. Run the calculator once with the joint status and the couple's total income, then once per spouse with the separate status, and add the two separate results. Credits and the deductions in the table come on top of what the brackets show.
Medical bills: the one common case
The medical expense deduction counts only costs above 7.5% of AGI. A spouse with $50,000 of income and $20,000 of uninsured medical bills clears that floor by $16,250 on a separate return; on a joint return with $150,000 of combined income the floor is $11,250. Whether that beats the losses in the table needs both returns computed side by side.
Living apart and community property
A spouse who lived apart from the other for the last six months of the year and kept up a home for a child can often file as head of household instead, with better brackets and the earned income credit. In community property states (such as California and Texas), each spouse filing separately generally reports half of the community income, which can make separate returns more complex without saving tax.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 inflation-adjusted items and 2025 items modified by Public Law 119-21 (October 9, 2025); IRS Schedule 1-A (Form 1040) 2025, Additional Deductions: tips, overtime, car loan interest, seniors; IRS Notice 2025-67: 2026 limits for retirement plans and IRAs, read on October 11, 2026.