United States · Federal tax · Rate history
Federal income tax rates by year.
The lowest and highest bracket rate of the regular federal income tax for every tax year since 1913, with the income where each rate started, read from IRS Statistics of Income Historical Table 23 and extended through 2027 with the IRS revenue procedures. Pick a year, compare two years.
Short answer: For 2027 the rates run from 10% on the first $25,600 of taxable income on a joint return to 37% above $793,650. The top rate was 7% in 1913, peaked at 94% in 1944 and 1945, sat at 91% through most of the 1950s and early 1960s, was 70% from 1965 to 1980 (higher in the surcharge years 1968 to 1970), 50% from 1982 to 1986, 28% from 1988 to 1990, 39.6% for 1993 to 2000 and 2013 to 2017, 35% for 2003 to 2012, and has been 37% since 2018.
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Result
Press Calculate to see the lowest and highest rate for that year and the change from the comparison year.
Lowest and highest bracket rate by tax year
From 1948 the income columns are for married couples filing jointly; before 1948 a single schedule applied to every taxpayer. Before 1954 the base was statutory net income rather than taxable income, so the dollar amounts are not comparable across that line. Bracket boundaries have been indexed for inflation since 1985. Years with a note in the lookup carry a Table 23 footnote (surcharges, credits or rate caps that changed the effective figure).
| Tax year | Lowest rate | On taxable income under | Highest rate | On taxable income over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 1% | $20,000 | 7% | $500,000 |
| 1914 | 1% | $20,000 | 7% | $500,000 |
| 1915 | 1% | $20,000 | 7% | $500,000 |
| 1916 | 2% | $20,000 | 15% | $2,000,000 |
| 1917 | 2% | $2,000 | 67% | $2,000,000 |
| 1918 | 6% | $4,000 | 77% | $1,000,000 |
| 1919 | 4% | $4,000 | 73% | $1,000,000 |
| 1920 | 4% | $4,000 | 73% | $1,000,000 |
| 1921 | 4% | $4,000 | 73% | $1,000,000 |
| 1922 | 4% | $4,000 | 58% | $200,000 |
| 1923 | 3% | $4,000 | 43.5% | $200,000 |
| 1924 | 1.5% | $4,000 | 46% | $500,000 |
| 1925 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1926 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1927 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1928 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1929 | 0.375% | $4,000 | 24% | $100,000 |
| 1930 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1931 | 1.125% | $4,000 | 25% | $100,000 |
| 1932 | 4% | $4,000 | 63% | $1,000,000 |
| 1933 | 4% | $4,000 | 63% | $1,000,000 |
| 1934 | 4% | $4,000 | 63% | $1,000,000 |
| 1935 | 4% | $4,000 | 63% | $1,000,000 |
| 1936 | 4% | $4,000 | 79% | $5,000,000 |
| 1937 | 4% | $4,000 | 79% | $5,000,000 |
| 1938 | 4% | $4,000 | 79% | $5,000,000 |
| 1939 | 4% | $4,000 | 79% | $5,000,000 |
| 1940 | 4.4% | $4,000 | 81.1% | $5,000,000 |
| 1941 | 10% | $2,000 | 81% | $5,000,000 |
| 1942 | 19% | $2,000 | 88% | $200,000 |
| 1943 | 19% | $2,000 | 88% | $200,000 |
| 1944 | 23% | $2,000 | 94% | $200,000 |
| 1945 | 23% | $2,000 | 94% | $200,000 |
| 1946 | 19% | $2,000 | 86.45% | $200,000 |
| 1947 | 19% | $2,000 | 86.45% | $200,000 |
| 1948 | 16.6% | $4,000 | 82.13% | $400,000 |
| 1949 | 16.6% | $4,000 | 82.13% | $400,000 |
| 1950 | 17.4% | $4,000 | 84.36% | $400,000 |
| 1951 | 20.4% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1952 | 22.2% | $4,000 | 92% | $400,000 |
| 1953 | 22.2% | $4,000 | 92% | $400,000 |
| 1954 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1955 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1956 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1957 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1958 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1959 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1960 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1961 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1962 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1963 | 20% | $4,000 | 91% | $400,000 |
| 1964 | 16% | $1,000 | 77% | $400,000 |
| 1965 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1966 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1967 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1968 | 14% | $1,000 | 75.25% | $200,000 |
| 1969 | 14% | $1,000 | 77% | $200,000 |
| 1970 | 14% | $1,000 | 71.75% | $200,000 |
| 1971 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1972 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1973 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1974 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1975 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1976 | 14% | $1,000 | 70% | $200,000 |
| 1977 | 14% | $3,200 | 70% | $203,200 |
| 1978 | 14% | $3,200 | 70% | $203,200 |
| 1979 | 14% | $3,400 | 70% | $215,400 |
| 1980 | 14% | $3,400 | 70% | $215,400 |
| 1981 | 14% | $3,400 | 69.125% | $215,400 |
| 1982 | 12% | $3,400 | 50% | $85,600 |
| 1983 | 11% | $3,400 | 50% | $109,400 |
| 1984 | 11% | $3,400 | 50% | $162,400 |
| 1985 | 11% | $3,540 | 50% | $169,020 |
| 1986 | 11% | $3,670 | 50% | $175,250 |
| 1987 | 11% | $3,000 | 38.5% | $90,000 |
| 1988 | 15% | $29,750 | 28% | $29,750 |
| 1989 | 15% | $30,950 | 28% | $30,950 |
| 1990 | 15% | $32,450 | 28% | $32,450 |
| 1991 | 15% | $34,000 | 31% | $82,150 |
| 1992 | 15% | $35,800 | 31% | $86,500 |
| 1993 | 15% | $36,900 | 39.6% | $250,000 |
| 1994 | 15% | $38,000 | 39.6% | $250,000 |
| 1995 | 15% | $39,000 | 39.6% | $256,500 |
| 1996 | 15% | $40,100 | 39.6% | $263,750 |
| 1997 | 15% | $41,200 | 39.6% | $271,050 |
| 1998 | 15% | $42,350 | 39.6% | $278,450 |
| 1999 | 15% | $43,050 | 39.6% | $283,150 |
| 2000 | 15% | $43,850 | 39.6% | $288,350 |
| 2001 | 10% | $6,000 | 39.1% | $297,350 |
| 2002 | 10% | $12,000 | 38.6% | $307,050 |
| 2003 | 10% | $14,000 | 35% | $311,950 |
| 2004 | 10% | $14,300 | 35% | $319,100 |
| 2005 | 10% | $14,600 | 35% | $326,450 |
| 2006 | 10% | $15,100 | 35% | $336,550 |
| 2007 | 10% | $15,650 | 35% | $349,700 |
| 2008 | 10% | $16,050 | 35% | $357,700 |
| 2009 | 10% | $16,700 | 35% | $372,950 |
| 2010 | 10% | $16,750 | 35% | $373,650 |
| 2011 | 10% | $17,000 | 35% | $379,150 |
| 2012 | 10% | $17,400 | 35% | $388,350 |
| 2013 | 10% | $17,850 | 39.6% | $450,000 |
| 2014 | 10% | $18,150 | 39.6% | $457,600 |
| 2015 | 10% | $18,450 | 39.6% | $464,850 |
| 2016 | 10% | $18,550 | 39.6% | $466,950 |
| 2017 | 10% | $18,650 | 39.6% | $470,700 |
| 2018 | 10% | $19,050 | 37% | $600,000 |
| 2019 | 10% | $19,400 | 37% | $612,350 |
| 2020 | 10% | $19,750 | 37% | $622,050 |
| 2021 | 10% | $19,900 | 37% | $628,300 |
| 2022 | 10% | $20,550 | 37% | $647,850 |
| 2023 | 10% | $22,000 | 37% | $693,750 |
| 2024 | 10% | $23,200 | 37% | $731,200 |
| 2025 | 10% | $23,850 | 37% | $751,600 |
| 2026 | 10% | $24,800 | 37% | $768,700 |
| 2027 | 10% | $25,600 | 37% | $793,650 |
1913 to 2018 are typed from columns 4 to 7 of IRS Statistics of Income Historical Table 23; 2019 to 2027 are the first and last lines of Table 1 (married individuals filing joint returns) in each year's IRS revenue procedure. Figures read on November 11, 2026.
Reading the long series
The income tax began in 1913 with a 1% normal tax and surtaxes that reached 7% above $500,000 of net income. The First World War pushed the top rate to 77% by 1918 and the 1920s cut it back to 25%. The Depression and the Second World War drove it up again, to 63% in 1932, 79% in 1936 and 94% in 1944, when the lowest rate was 23% and started at $2,000. For 1944 and 1945 the law capped total tax at 90% of net income, so the 94% figure was never an effective rate on anyone's whole income. Income splitting for joint returns arrived in 1948, which is why the table switches to married-couple brackets then.
From 1954 to 1963 the schedule ran from 20% to 91%; the 1964 act took it to 16% and 77%, then 14% and 70% for 1965, where it stayed for sixteen years apart from the Vietnam surcharge of 1968 to 1970. The 1981 act brought 50% for 1982 to 1986, and the 1986 reform collapsed the schedule to 15% and 28% for 1988, with a temporary 33% phase-out rate that Table 23 explains in its footnotes. Rates have moved inside a narrow band since: 31% in 1991, 39.6% from 1993, 35% from 2003, 39.6% again from 2013 and 37% from 2018. The bottom rate has been 10% since 2001, and its bracket ceiling on a joint return has risen from $12,000 in 2002 to $25,600 in 2027.
Two things the table does not say: how much income was in each bracket, and what anyone actually paid. A 70% rate on income over $200,000 in 1976 reached a far smaller share of returns than a 37% rate over $793,650 does today, and deductions, exclusions and the maximum tax on earned income (50% from 1972 to 1981) softened the headline rates. Use the series for what it is: the statutory floor and ceiling of the regular tax each year.
Worked example
Compare 1980 with 2027. In 1980 a joint return paid 14% on its first $3,400 of taxable income and 70% on taxable income over $215,400. In 2027 the same return pays 10% on the first $25,600 and 37% on taxable income over $793,650. The top rate is 33 percentage points lower and the lowest rate 4 points lower, while the income where the top rate begins is about 3.7 times higher in nominal dollars. The calculator above returns these two rates, the income thresholds and the point change for any pair of years between 1913 and 2027.
Method
The IRS Statistics of Income division publishes Historical Table 23, "U.S. Individual Income Tax: Personal Exemptions and Lowest and Highest Bracket Tax Rates, and Tax Base for Regular Tax, Tax Years 1913-2018", as an Excel file. Its columns 4 to 7 were read for every year and the footnote markers removed; the footnotes that change how a figure should be read were kept as notes in the lookup. For 2019 to 2027 the 10% ceiling and the 37% threshold were taken from Table 1 of each IRS revenue procedure, which gives the brackets for married individuals filing joint returns and surviving spouses. The lookup returns the stored rates and thresholds; the comparison subtracts one year's rates from the other's.
What this does not cover
- The middle brackets of any year, and the schedules for single filers and heads of household (see the linked bracket pages for recent years).
- Capital gains rates, the alternative minimum tax, the 3.8% net investment income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes and state income taxes.
- Effective rates actually paid, which depend on exemptions, deductions and credits that changed constantly.
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- IRS Statistics of Income: Historical Table 23 (description page) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS: Historical Table 23 Excel file, tax years 1913-2018, with footnotes 1-43 (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-35, section 3.01: 2027 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: 2026 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40: 2025 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2023-34: 2024 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2022-38: 2023 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2021-45: 2022 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2020-45: 2021 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2019-44: 2020 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-57: 2019 rate tables (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
-
Often assumedIn 1944 the government took 94% of a top earner's whole income.
What the source saysTable 23 footnote 12 says the 94% rate for 1944 and 1945 applied only to net income over $200,000 and that total tax was limited to 90% of statutory net income; lower brackets taxed the rest. [1]
-
Often assumedThe dollar thresholds in the historical rate table are comparable from 1913 to today.
What the source saysFootnote 3 of Table 23 says the income base changed over the years and that amounts before 1954 are statutory net income rather than taxable income, so the lowest and highest taxable income amounts are not comparable for all years. [1]
-
Often assumedThe 1988 to 1990 top rate of 28% was the most anyone paid.
What the source saysFootnotes 34 and 35 of Table 23 describe a temporary 33% rate that phased out the 15% bracket and personal exemptions over a range of income for those years. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest federal income tax rate for 2027?
37%, on taxable income over $793,650 for married couples filing jointly and over $661,375 for single filers, from IRS Revenue Procedure 2026-35. The lowest rate is 10% on the first $25,600 of a joint return.
What was the highest income tax rate ever in the United States?
94% for 1944 and 1945, on statutory net income over $200,000, subject to a cap of 90% of net income, according to IRS Historical Table 23. The rate stayed at 91% or 92% from 1951 through 1963 and did not fall below 70% until 1981.
What was the income tax rate when it started in 1913?
1% on net income up to $20,000, rising to 7% on income over $500,000, with a personal exemption of $3,000 for a single person and $4,000 for a married couple.
How many years had a top rate of 70% or more?
49 tax years: 1918 to 1921 and 1936 to 1980. Table 23 shows 1981 at 69.125% because a 1.25% statutory credit applied that year, and 1982 at 50%.
Why do the income amounts jump around from year to year?
The tax base changed. Before 1954 the amounts are statutory net income, not taxable income, and before 1948 one rate schedule applied to everyone; from 1948 the table shows the brackets for married couples filing jointly. Bracket boundaries have been indexed for inflation only since 1985.
Was the top rate really 28% in 1988 to 1990?
The statutory top rate was 28%, but a temporary 33% rate applied over a range of income to phase out the 15% bracket and personal exemptions, so some high earners paid more than 28% on part of their income. Table 23 lists 28% and explains the phase-out in footnotes 34 and 35.
Do these rates include the net investment income tax or Social Security tax?
No. Table 23 covers the regular income tax only. The 3.8% net investment income tax that began in 2013, the alternative minimum tax, self-employment tax and the capital gains rates are all excluded.
Where do the 2019 to 2027 rows come from?
From the rate tables for married individuals filing joint returns in the IRS revenue procedure for each year (2018-57 through 2026-35): the 10% bracket ceiling and the taxable income where 37% begins. Table 23 ends with tax year 2018.
Not legal or tax advice
This page is general information from an unofficial guide, not tax advice. Rates come from the IRS on the date shown and each year had its own exemptions, surtaxes, credits and caps that the headline rate does not show. Use the agency forms and instructions, or a tax professional, before you file. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. It runs in your browser.