2025 Federal Tax Brackets: IRS Announces Inflation-Adjusted Rates and New Standard Deduction

In late October 2024, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2024-40, which officially sets the tax parameters for tax year 2025. These brackets apply to income you earn in 2025 — the return you’ll file in spring 2026. The inflation adjustment is 2.8%, reflecting the continued deceleration of price growth after the extreme adjustments of 2022 and 2023.

Here’s everything that changes, with full bracket tables and comparison to 2024.

2025 Federal Tax Brackets: Single Filers

Tax Rate	2024 Income Range	2025 Income Range	Change
10%	$0 – $11,600	$0 – $11,925	+$325
12%	$11,601 – $47,150	$11,926 – $48,475	+$325 / +$1,325
22%	$47,151 – $100,525	$48,476 – $103,350	+$1,325 / +$2,825
24%	$100,526 – $191,950	$103,351 – $197,300	+$2,825 / +$5,350
32%	$191,951 – $243,725	$197,301 – $250,525	+$5,350 / +$6,800
35%	$243,726 – $609,350	$250,526 – $626,350	+$6,800 / +$17,000
37%	Over $609,350	Over $626,350	+$17,000

2025 Federal Tax Brackets: Married Filing Jointly

Tax Rate	2024 Income Range	2025 Income Range
10%	$0 – $23,200	$0 – $23,850
12%	$23,201 – $94,300	$23,851 – $96,950
22%	$94,301 – $201,050	$96,951 – $206,700
24%	$201,051 – $383,900	$206,701 – $394,600
32%	$383,901 – $487,450	$394,601 – $501,050
35%	$487,451 – $731,200	$501,051 – $751,600
37%	Over $731,200	Over $751,600

2025 Federal Tax Brackets: Head of Household

Tax Rate	2025 Income Range
10%	$0 – $17,000
12%	$17,001 – $64,850
22%	$64,851 – $103,350
24%	$103,351 – $197,300
32%	$197,301 – $250,500
35%	$250,501 – $626,350
37%	Over $626,350

Standard Deduction: 2024 vs. 2025

Filing Status	2024	2025	Change
Single	$14,600	$15,000	+$400
Married Filing Jointly	$29,200	$30,000	+$800
Head of Household	$21,900	$22,500	+$600
Married Filing Separately	$14,600	$15,000	+$400

The $15,000/$30,000 standard deduction is a round number that happens to align cleanly with the IRS’s 2.8% inflation adjustment on the prior year’s figures. For reference, the standard deduction was just $12,200 (single) in 2018 before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act nearly doubled it.

Additional Standard Deduction (Age 65+ and Blind)

For 2025:

• Single or Head of Household: +$2,000 per qualifying condition (65+ or blind)
• Married (any status): +$1,600 per qualifying condition per spouse

A married couple where both spouses are 65+ gets: $30,000 + $3,200 = $33,200 standard deduction.

Other Key Changes for 2025

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

• Single exemption: $88,100 (up from $85,700 in 2024)
• MFJ exemption: $137,000 (up from $133,300)
• Phase-out begins at $626,350 (single) and $1,252,700 (MFJ)

Child Tax Credit

• Remains at $2,000 per qualifying child (unchanged)
• Refundable portion (Additional Child Tax Credit): up to $1,700
• Phase-out starts at $400,000 (MFJ) and $200,000 (other filers)

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — Maximum Amounts

Filing Status	0 Children	1 Child	2 Children	3+ Children
Single/HOH	$649	$4,328	$7,152	$8,046

Gift and Estate Tax

• Annual gift exclusion: $19,000 per recipient (up from $18,000 in 2024)
• Estate/lifetime gift tax exemption: $13,990,000 per person

Retirement Account Limits

• 401(k)/403(b)/457: $23,500 (up from $23,000 in 2024)
• IRA: $7,000 (unchanged)
• IRA catch-up (50+): $1,000 (unchanged)
• 401(k) catch-up (50+): $7,500 (unchanged, except for new 60-63 super catch-up)

What the 2.8% Adjustment Means in Practice

The bracket adjustments reduce bracket creep — the phenomenon where inflation pushes workers into higher brackets without real income growth. In 2025, you can earn 2.8% more before crossing any bracket threshold.

For a worker earning $100,000 in 2024 who gets a 2.8% cost-of-living raise to $102,800:

• Their income increase is fully matched by bracket expansion
• They face exactly the same marginal rate structure as before
• The standard deduction increase means their taxable income is actually slightly lower relative to their bracket threshold

This is inflation neutrality — the system working as intended.

Real Dollar Tax Savings: 2024 vs. 2025

For a single filer earning $80,000:

	2024	2025
Gross income	$80,000	$80,000
Standard deduction	$14,600	$15,000
Taxable income	$65,400	$65,000
Federal tax (estimated)	$9,610	$9,498
Tax savings		$112

Modest, but real. The combination of higher bracket thresholds and a higher standard deduction reduces tax on the same income.

Planning for 2025 Starting Now

If you’re still in 2024, these 2025 changes provide useful context:

1. W-4 withholding adjustments: If you’ll earn roughly the same in 2025 as 2024, your current withholding may over-withhold slightly due to the bracket expansion. Update your W-4 in January 2025 to adjust. Our paycheck calculator can model 2025 withholding with the new brackets.

2. Retirement contributions: The 2025 401(k) limit rises to $23,500. If you’re maxing out, adjust your contribution election for January 2025 payrolls.

3. Understand your brackets: The difference between being in the 22% and 24% bracket isn’t just about rate — it changes the math on Roth conversions, capital gain harvesting, and charitable deductions. Read our full explainer on how federal tax brackets work.

4. Year-end moves before December 31, 2024: Accelerate deductions, defer income, or harvest losses while you’re still operating under 2024 rules. The 2025 brackets don’t help you for this year’s taxes.

The 2025 brackets represent a 2.8% correction for inflation — less dramatic than recent years, but meaningful. For most workers, the primary effect is a modest tax reduction on the same income and more room in each bracket before reaching the next rate threshold.