Tax toolsUpdated October 8, 2026

Tax Calculators: Which One Do You Need?

Start with the question you are trying to answer. Each tax calculator here does one job, and the table below points you to the right one. All of them are free, and the income tax tools estimate US federal tax unless the name says otherwise.

Short answer: To estimate what you owe, use the income tax calculator. To find out whether you will get a refund, use the tax refund calculator. For the tax on a paycheck, use the paycheck calculator. If you work for yourself, start with the self-employment tax calculator.

Find the right calculator

If you want to know…	Use
How much federal income tax you will owe on your income	Income tax calculator
Which bracket you are in and what happens to the next dollar you earn	Tax bracket calculator
Whether you will get money back or owe in April	Tax refund calculator
What is left of a paycheck after tax	Payroll calculator
What a bonus will look like after withholding	Bonus tax calculator
The Social Security and Medicare tax on self-employment income	Self-employment tax calculator
How much to set aside from each 1099 payment	1099 tax calculator
The price before sales tax was added	Reverse sales tax calculator
Tax, title and registration fees on a vehicle	Vehicle tax, title and registration calculator
Property tax on a Michigan home	Michigan property tax calculator

Eight terms that cause most of the confusion

Adjusted gross income (AGI): Your total income from all sources minus certain adjustments listed on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, before the standard or itemized deduction. IRS definition.
Taxable income: What is left after you subtract your standard or itemized deduction, and any other deductions you qualify for, from AGI. The tax brackets are applied to this figure, not to your gross pay.
Standard deduction: A flat amount you subtract instead of itemizing. For 2026 it is $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household. See standard vs itemized deduction.
Marginal and effective tax rate: The marginal rate is the rate on your last dollar of taxable income. The effective rate is your total tax divided by your income, and it is usually lower than the marginal rate. How the two differ.
Withholding and tax liability: Withholding is what your employer sends to the IRS from each paycheck. Liability is what you actually owe for the year. The difference between the two is your refund or your balance due.
FICA: Social Security and Medicare tax. Employees pay 6.2% and 1.45% of wages and the employer matches each. For 2026 the Social Security wage base is $184,500, and there is no cap on Medicare wages. IRS Topic 751.
Form W-4: The form you give your employer so it can withhold the right amount of federal income tax from your wages. About Form W-4.
Form 1040: The annual federal income tax return for individuals. Your refund or balance due is settled when you file it.

Guides that explain the numbers

How accurate are online tax calculators? What moves an estimate, and how to check it against your own return.
Do tax calculators include credits and deductions? What ours work out and what you enter yourself.
How to estimate your tax refund for a quick check before you file.
W-4 withholding: how to avoid a surprise tax bill, for changing what comes out of each paycheck.
Self-employment tax explained and quarterly estimated taxes explained, for freelancers.

Every calculator is an estimate built from published IRS tables, and the methodology page lists the sources and update dates. Read how our calculators work before relying on a result.

General information, not tax advice. Figures last checked October 8, 2026 against IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and IRS Topic 751. See our editorial standards.

Last updated: October 8, 2026 · Maintained by Amara Taylor, Content Lead, Anchor AI Tools.