US Federal Tax Refund Calculator: 2025 and 2026
Estimate federal income tax and refund or balance due for tax years 2025 and 2026. Enter ordinary AGI, eligible deductions, payments and verified tax credits.
Your inputs
USD. Ordinary-income estimate only. Enter AGI after above-the-line adjustments, not gross pay.
Your result
Enter your values, then choose Calculate.
Not a filed return or assessment of eligibility. See exclusions and special deduction rules below.
Calculation breakdown
Method, assumptions and worked example
Taxable income = max(0, ordinary AGI − selected deduction − other eligible deductions). Each portion of income is taxed at its bracket rate. Nonrefundable credits reduce tax no lower than zero. Payments plus refundable credits minus remaining tax produce either a refund or an amount owed.
Choose the income year
The basic 2025 standard deductions are 15,750 single/separate, 31,500 joint and 23,625 head of household. For 2026 they are 16,100, 32,200 and 24,150. The calculator selects that year’s brackets separately.
Worked example
For 2025, a single filer with 60,000 ordinary AGI and the basic standard deduction has taxable income of 44,250. Bracket tax is 5,071.50. With 6,000 federal withholding and no credits, the estimated refund is 928.50.
Limits before you rely on the result
This is an ordinary-income bracket estimate, not tax preparation. It excludes preferential capital gains, qualified dividends, AMT, self-employment taxes, surtaxes, penalties and state taxes. IRS Tax Table rounding may produce a different result. Eligibility for filing status, credits and special deductions is not assessed. Dependents, older or blind filers, and married-separate filers subject to deduction restrictions should enter a verified custom deduction. Never add standard and itemized deductions together. Additional deductions must already reflect applicable limits.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my refund different from tax owed on income?
A refund compares prepayments and refundable credits with final tax. High withholding can create a refund without reducing your underlying tax liability.
Does it support 2024 tax returns?
No. The supported years are 2025 and 2026. Use the IRS materials for an earlier year rather than applying current brackets.
Sources and review
Formula and content reviewed on 9 October 2026. Examples are hypothetical. Tax years and model limits are stated above; this page does not receive live rates.