“The IRS: When the change the tax brackets a little, your taxes can change a lot.drnadig/Getty Images
The upper and lower ends of the U.S. federal tax brackets change from year to year. These little shifts aren’t typically very dramatic. For example, for single people, the upper end of the lowest tax bracket — the one that starts at $0 — increased from $8,925 for the 2013 tax year to $9,095 in 2014. Not a big difference.
However, if you move from one tax bracket to another, the amount of tax you pay can change dramatically. Let’s say that in 2013, you were single and your taxable income was $35,200. That would have put you near the top of the 15 percent tax bracket, meaning that your income would be taxed at a rate of 15 percent. If your taxable income stayed the same in 2014, your tax bracket would also stay the same, since the bracket’s upper end went up a little, not down a little.
But if you got married to someone whose taxable income was $40,000, and you filed your 2014 taxes jointly, your combined income would total $75,200. That would bump the two of you into the 25 percent tax bracket — and possibly an unpleasant shock come tax time.
To keep you in the know about where you fall, here are the 2014 tax brackets.
Single filers:
- Up to $9,075: 10 percent
- $9,076 – $36,900: 15 percent
- $36,901 – $89,350: 25 percent
- $89,351 – $186,350: 28 percent
- $186,351 – $405,100: 33 percent
- $405,101 – $406,750: 35 percent
- $406,751 or more: 39.6 percent
For married people filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses:
- Up to $18,150: 10 percent
- $18,151 – $73,800: 15 percent
- $73,801 – $148,850: 25 percent
- $148,851 – $226,850: 28 percent
- $226,851 – $405,100: 33 percent
- $405,101 – $457,600: 35 percent
- $457,601 or more: 39.6 percent
For married people filing separately:
- Up to $9,075: 10 percent
- $9,076 – $36,900: 15 percent
- $36,901 – $74,425: 25 percent
- $74,426 – $113,425: 28 percent
- $113,426 – $202,550: 33 percent
- $202,551 – $228,800: 35 percent
- $228,801 or more: 39.6 percent
For heads of household:
- Up to $12,950: 10 percent
- $12,951 – $49,400: 15 percent
- $49,401 – $127,550: 25 percent
- $127,551 – $206,600: 28 percent
- $206,601 – $405,100: 33 percent
- $405,101 – $432,200: 35 percent
- $432,201 or more: 39.6 percent
Lots More Information
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Sources
- TaxAct. "Tax Bracket Calculator." (12/18/2014) http://www.taxact.com/tools/tax-bracket-calculator.asp
