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Federal Tax Brackets 2025, Explained Like You Are 22

Tax Breakdown • 5 min read • Updated for tax year 2025 • Estimates, not tax advice

Quick answer: the US taxes income in slices. In 2025 a single filer pays 10% on the first $11,925 of taxable income, 12% on the next chunk to $48,475, and 22% only on dollars above that. A $75,000 salary is not taxed 22% end-to-end — its federal bill is about $8,114.

The 2025 single brackets

Taxable incomeRate
Up to $11,92510%
$11,926 – $48,47512%
$48,476 – $103,35022%
$103,351 – $197,30024%
$197,301 – $250,52532%
$250,526 – $626,35035%
Over $626,35037%

Step one is always the standard deduction

Before brackets touch anything, $15,000 (single) is subtracted. So $75,000 of wages becomes $60,000 of taxable income. That single line saves roughly $1,800 versus taxing the full salary.

Marginal vs effective, with real numbers

On $60,000 single, federal is about $6,800 — an effective rate near 11% even though the top (marginal) dollar is taxed at 22%. On $100,000 the bill is about $13,614, roughly 13.6% effective. Your marginal rate decides what a raise costs; your effective rate decides what life costs.

Then FICA stacks on top: 6.2% Social Security to $176,100 of wages plus 1.45% Medicare, before any state tax. Try your own number in the calculator.

Method: 2025 federal brackets after the standard deduction ($15,000 single), Social Security 6.2% to $176,100, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% over $200k single). State figures use simplified progressive tables for CA/NY, published flat rates where flat, labelled planning estimates elsewhere. Excludes city tax, credits and itemized deductions.

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