Income Tax Calculation in Excel: Free Sheet and Formula

To calculate US federal income tax in Excel, work out taxable income first (income minus pre-tax deductions, adjustments and the larger of the standard or itemized deduction), then apply the brackets with one formula. For a single filer in 2026, with taxable income in cell B2:

=SUMPRODUCT((B2>{0;12400;50400;105700;201775;256225;640600})*(B2-{0;12400;50400;105700;201775;256225;640600})*{0.1;0.02;0.1;0.02;0.08;0.03;0.02})

If you'd rather not build it, download the free federal income tax Excel sheet (.xlsx, no macros). It covers all four filing statuses, the standard deduction, Form 1040 Tax Table rounding, and Social Security and Medicare tax. Everything below explains how it works, so you can check it or build your own.

The sheet and the formulas are for the US federal return only and give estimates for informational purposes. Credits, capital gains rates and state tax are covered in the "what a simple sheet leaves out" section.

What's in the free income tax Excel sheet?

The workbook has two tabs. Calculator holds your inputs (yellow cells) and the results. Brackets holds the 2026 figures from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 plus the payroll tax rates, so a new tax year means editing that tab (and the year in the title), not rewriting formulas.

The sheet uses no macros and no functions newer than SUMPRODUCT, INDEX, MATCH, FLOOR and ROUND, so it works in old Excel versions, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc. We checked every formula by recalculating the workbook in LibreOffice for eight income cases, from $10 of taxable income to $842,800, and comparing the results with the federal tax bracket calculator.

2026 federal tax brackets to put in your sheet

These are the thresholds where each rate starts. Income over the amount in a column is taxed at the rate on that row (Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.01).

Enter each threshold as the round number the IRS prints, such as 12400, and not as 12401. The formulas compare with "greater than", so the first dollar over $12,400 is the first dollar taxed at 12%.

The one-cell income tax formula, explained

The SUMPRODUCT formula at the top of this page works because a tax bracket schedule is a sum of "ramps". Every dollar above $0 is taxed at 10%. Every dollar above $12,400 is taxed 2 points more (12% − 10%). Every dollar above $50,400 is taxed another 10 points more (22% − 12%), and so on. The formula multiplies three arrays of the same size:

1. (B2>thresholds) returns TRUE/FALSE for each bracket, which Excel treats as 1 or 0.
2. (B2-thresholds) is how far income is above each threshold.
3. The rate increases: 0.10, 0.02, 0.10, 0.02, 0.08, 0.03, 0.02.

SUMPRODUCT multiplies the arrays item by item and adds the results. The first array zeroes out brackets you haven't reached, so their negative distances don't count. You can't use MAX or MIN inside the formula for the same job, because they collapse an array into a single number.

The same formula for the other filing statuses only swaps the thresholds. The rate increases stay the same:

Married filing jointly:
=SUMPRODUCT((B2>{0;24800;100800;211400;403550;512450;768700})*(B2-{0;24800;100800;211400;403550;512450;768700})*{0.1;0.02;0.1;0.02;0.08;0.03;0.02})

Married filing separately:
=SUMPRODUCT((B2>{0;12400;50400;105700;201775;256225;384350})*(B2-{0;12400;50400;105700;201775;256225;384350})*{0.1;0.02;0.1;0.02;0.08;0.03;0.02})

Head of household:
=SUMPRODUCT((B2>{0;17700;67450;105700;201750;256200;640600})*(B2-{0;17700;67450;105700;201750;256200;640600})*{0.1;0.02;0.1;0.02;0.08;0.03;0.02})

In a real sheet, keep the thresholds in cells rather than inside the formula. With the table above in Brackets!B3:E9, the rate increases in Brackets!F3:F9 and the column number of the filing status in C4, the downloadable sheet uses:

=SUMPRODUCT((B16>INDEX(Brackets!$B$3:$E$9,0,$C$4))*(B16-INDEX(Brackets!$B$3:$E$9,0,$C$4))*Brackets!$F$3:$F$9)

INDEX(range,0,column) returns a whole column, so one formula serves every filing status. For more ways to write the bracket math, including VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, LET and a VBA function, see the tax calculation Excel formula reference.

How to set up the sheet, step by step

1. Gross wages (B5). Use your salary before anything is withheld. To estimate from a pay stub, multiply the per-period gross by the number of pay periods.
2. Pre-tax retirement deferrals (B6). Traditional 401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) deferrals reduce wages for income tax, but not for Social Security and Medicare.
3. Cafeteria-plan deductions (B7). Pre-tax health, dental and vision premiums and HSA contributions made through payroll reduce both income tax wages and FICA wages.
4. Other income and adjustments (B8, B9). Interest, non-qualified dividends and other ordinary income go in B8. Schedule 1 adjustments, such as a deductible IRA contribution or student loan interest, go in B9.
5. AGI (B13): =MAX(0,B5-B6-B7+B8-B9).
6. Deduction (B15): =MAX(B14,B10), the larger of the standard deduction in B14 (looked up by filing status) and your itemized total in B10.
7. Taxable income (B16): =MAX(0,B13-B15-B11). B11 is for deductions taken after AGI: the qualified business income deduction and the new Schedule 1-A deductions for tips, overtime, car-loan interest and the $6,000 senior deduction. Each has its own limits and phase-outs, so work them out first (the standard deduction calculator handles the senior amount).
8. Tax (B17): the SUMPRODUCT formula.

Use absolute references ($B$3:$E$9) for the bracket table, so the formula still points at the table when you copy it down a column of scenarios.

Worked example: $75,000 salary, single filer

Inputs: $75,000 of wages, $5,000 of 401(k) deferrals, no other income, standard deduction.

• AGI: $75,000 − $5,000 = $70,000
• Taxable income: $70,000 − $16,100 = $53,900
• 10% on the first $12,400: $1,240
• 12% on $12,400 to $50,400: $38,000 × 12% = $4,560
• 22% on $50,400 to $53,900: $3,500 × 22% = $770
• Exact bracket tax: $1,240 + $4,560 + $770 = $6,570

The SUMPRODUCT version gives the same answer: 10% × $53,900 = $5,390; 2% × ($53,900 − $12,400) = $830; 10% × ($53,900 − $50,400) = $350; total $6,570.

Marginal rate: 22%. Effective rate on the $75,000 of wages: $6,576 ÷ $75,000 = 8.8%, using the line 16 figure explained in the next section.

Payroll taxes come from the full $75,000, because 401(k) deferrals don't reduce FICA wages: Social Security $75,000 × 6.2% = $4,650 and Medicare $75,000 × 1.45% = $1,087.50.

Why your Excel result differs from Form 1040 by a few dollars

The exact formula gives $6,570, but the sheet's "Form 1040 line 16" row says $6,576. That isn't a bug. The Form 1040 instructions say that if taxable income is less than $100,000, you must use the Tax Table. Above $100,000 you use the Tax Computation Worksheet, which matches the exact formula.

The Tax Table lists income in rows $50 wide from $3,000 up ($25 wide below that). Each amount is the bracket tax on the middle of the row, rounded to the dollar. You can confirm this with the IRS's own example in the 2025 table: a married couple filing jointly with $25,300 of taxable income falls in the $25,300–$25,350 row, and the table shows $2,562. Under the 2025 joint brackets, tax on the $25,325 midpoint is $2,385 + ($25,325 − $23,850) × 12% = $2,385 + $177 = $2,562.

To reproduce the table in Excel, find the midpoint first:

Midpoint (B18):  =IF(OR(B16>=100000,B16<25),"n/a",IF(B16<3000,FLOOR(B16,25)+12.5,FLOOR(B16,50)+25))
Line 16 tax:     =IF(B16>=100000,B17,IF(B16<25,IF(B16<5,0,IF(B16<15,1,2)),ROUND(SUMPRODUCT((B18>thresholds)*(B18-thresholds)*increases),0)))

In the worked example, $53,900 sits in the $53,900–$53,950 row. Its midpoint is $53,925, and the tax there is $5,800 + ($53,925 − $50,400) × 22% = $5,800 + $775.50 = $6,575.50, which rounds to $6,576. The rows below $25 ($0–$5, $5–$15, $15–$25) are irregular, so the formula hard-codes them.

The 2026 Tax Table is expected in the 2026 Form 1040 instructions, applying the same method to the 2026 brackets.

Shortcut: the IRS "multiply and subtract" method

For taxable income of $100,000 or more, the IRS Tax Computation Worksheet doesn't add brackets. It multiplies all taxable income by your top rate and subtracts a fixed amount. Each subtraction amount is the tax you'd "overpay" by applying the top rate to the lower brackets. The 2026 worksheet isn't published yet. The amounts below are worked out from the Rev. Proc. 2025-32 thresholds, and the same calculation reproduces the 2025 worksheet exactly (for example, $5,086 for a single filer in the 22% bracket).

Example: single, $150,000 taxable income, 24% bracket. $150,000 × 24% = $36,000, and $36,000 − $7,402 = $28,598. Bracket by bracket: $17,966 + ($150,000 − $105,700) × 24% = $17,966 + $10,632 = $28,598.

Because the tax schedule only gets steeper, the tax also equals the largest of the seven "rate × income − subtraction" lines. That gives another one-cell formula (single filer shown):

=MAX(B2*{0.1,0.12,0.22,0.24,0.32,0.35,0.37}-{0,248,5288,7402,23544,31230.75,44042.75})

How to add Social Security and Medicare tax in Excel

Income tax is only part of what comes out of a paycheck. For 2026, the employee pays 6.2% Social Security tax on wages up to $184,500 and 1.45% Medicare tax on all wages (IRS Publication 15). An extra 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies to wages above $200,000 (single, head of household), $250,000 (joint, on combined wages) or $125,000 (married filing separately) under 26 U.S.C. §3101(b)(2).

Social Security:      =MIN(MAX(0,B5-B7),184500)*0.062
Medicare:             =MAX(0,B5-B7)*0.0145
Additional Medicare:  =MAX(0,B5-B7-200000)*0.009      (swap 200000 for your status)

B5 − B7 is FICA wages: gross wages minus cafeteria-plan deductions. 401(k) deferrals are not subtracted. If you have two jobs, each employer stops Social Security at $184,500, so you may overpay. You claim the excess back on your return; the sheet assumes one job. Self-employed income uses a different calculation: 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit (the 12.4% Social Security part stops at the wage base), and half of that tax is deductible. The 1099 tax calculator handles it.

Check your sheet: test cases with known answers

Before trusting a homemade sheet, run these 2026 cases through it. Each "exact tax" uses the Rev. Proc. 2025-32 formulas, and each matches the federal tax bracket calculator.

To skip the spreadsheet and go straight to your refund or balance due, with withholding, credits and the new deductions included, use the tax refund calculator.

The Tax Table figures use the midpoint rule above. For example, $60,000 falls in the $60,000–$60,050 row, the tax on the $60,025 midpoint is $7,917.50, and that rounds to $7,918. If your sheet misses any of these by more than a dollar, the usual causes are in the mistakes section below.

What a simple tax sheet leaves out

A bracket sheet handles ordinary income. These items need their own rows or a different tool:

• Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed at 0%, 15% or 20% and stacked on top of ordinary income, using the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. Putting them through the ordinary brackets overstates tax. See short-term vs long-term capital gains rates or use the capital gains calculator.
• Credits reduce the tax after it is calculated. The child tax credit is $2,200 per child for 2026; the child tax credit calculator applies the phase-out.
• Alternative minimum tax and the 3.8% net investment income tax are separate calculations. The AMT calculator covers AMT.
• Withholding isn't tax. What your employer withholds follows the Publication 15-T tables and your W-4, so it rarely equals the tax on your return. Compare the two with the tax withholding calculator.
• State and local income tax has its own brackets, deductions and credits in every state. Add a separate block per state; don't reuse the federal table.

Common mistakes in Excel tax formulas

• Applying one rate to all income. =B2*VLOOKUP(B2,table,2,TRUE) taxes every dollar at the top rate. For a single filer with $60,000 of taxable income, that gives $13,200 instead of $7,912.
• Off-by-one thresholds. Entering bracket starts as 12401 or 50401 shifts every bracket by a dollar and breaks the "greater than" logic. Use the IRS numbers as printed.
• Subtracting the standard deduction twice, or subtracting it from gross wages before taking out 401(k) deferrals and cafeteria-plan deductions. Do the order in the step-by-step list above.
• Relative references in the bracket range. Copying B3:E9 down a column of scenarios shifts the table. Lock it with $.
• Mixing tax years. A 2025 standard deduction with 2026 brackets gives a number that matches neither year. Keep each year's figures together on one tab.
• Expecting a match with withholding or a paycheck. For take-home pay, the paycheck after tax calculator and the guide to calculating your paycheck after taxes cover how payroll withholding works.

Is this sheet for India, the UK or other countries?

Many "income tax calculation Excel sheet" searches come from outside the US. This sheet is for the US federal Form 1040 only. Its brackets, standard deduction, Tax Table rounding and Social Security wage base are all US rules. The SUMPRODUCT technique itself works for any progressive slab system: put your country's slab starts in the threshold column and the rate increases in the last column. You'd need your own tax authority's official figures for the numbers and any surcharges, rebates or cess.

How to update the sheet for a new tax year

Only the Brackets tab holds tax figures. When the IRS publishes the next year's revenue procedure (usually in October or November), replace the seven thresholds per status and the standard deductions, then update the Social Security wage base from Publication 15. The rate increases change only if Congress changes the rates. The IRS inflation adjustments guide lists the current figures and is updated when the new numbers are official. Re-run the test cases with the new year's answers before you rely on the sheet.

Companies booking an income tax expense in their accounts need a different model, built on current and deferred tax. The provision for income taxes guide walks through that calculation.

What to do next

1. Download the federal income tax Excel sheet, choose your filing status and enter your numbers in the yellow cells.
2. Check the result with the federal tax bracket calculator, which shows the tax bracket by bracket.
3. If you're adjusting a W-4 or planning estimated payments, compare the sheet's line 16 tax with what's being withheld, using the tax withholding calculator.