2023 is still more than two months away, and the extended deadline for filing 2021 tax returns was less than a week ago. Yet smart taxpayers are always looking to get a jump on things, and the Internal Revenue Service just released its 2023 tax brackets.
Admittedly, you won’t need to deal much with the IRS tax brackets for 2023 until early 2024, when you’ll be filing tax returns for that year. Nevertheless, with such high inflation rates over the past year, you might be shocked to see how the brackets have changed and what it could mean for your tax liability.
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2023 tax brackets for singles
If you’re not married and don’t qualify for other more favorable filing statuses like head of household or surviving spouse, your tax brackets are the following:
Bracket
Tax Is This Amount Plus This Percentage
Of the Amount Over
$0 to $11,000
$0 plus 10%
$0
$11,000 to $44,725
$1,100 plus 12%
$11,000
$44,725 to $95,375
$5,147 plus 22%
$44,725
$95,375 to $182,100
$16,290 plus 24%
$95,375
$182,100 to $231,250
$37,104 plus 32%
$182,100
$231,250 to $578,125
$52,832 plus 35%
$231,250
Above $578,125
$174,238.25 plus 37%
$578,125
Data source: IRS.
2023 tax brackets for heads of household
The head of household filing status has wider tax brackets that save you money on your tax bill, compared to the regular single filing status. To qualify, you need to be unmarried and provide a home and financial support for a child, parent, or other relative who lives with you more than half the year. Qualifying relatives must generally be considered dependents in order to allow you to file as head of household.
Bracket
Tax Is This Amount Plus This Percentage
Of the Amount Over
$0 to $15,700
$0 plus 10%
$0
$15,700 to $59,850
$1,570 plus 12%
$15,700
$59,850 to $95,350
$6,868 plus 22%
$59,850
$95,350 to $182,100
$14,678 plus 24%
$95,350
$182,100 to $231,250
$35,498 plus 32%
$182,100
$231,250 to $578,100
$51,226 plus 35%
$231,250
Above $578,100
$172,623.50 plus 37%
$578,100
Data source: IRS.
2023 tax brackets for married joint filers
Those who are married and file jointly can use the following tax brackets. A surviving spouse gets to use these brackets for a limited number of years following the death of their spouse.
Bracket
Tax Is This Amount Plus This Percentage
Of the Amount Over
$0 to $22,000
$0 plus 10%
$0
$22,000 to $89,450
$2,200 plus 12%
$22,000
$89,450 to $190,750
$10,294 plus 22%
$89,450
$190,750 to $364,200
$32,580 plus 24%
$190,750
$364,200 to $462,500
$74,208 plus 32%
$364,200
$462,500 to $693,750
$105,664 plus 35%
$462,500
Above $693,750
$186,601.50 plus 37%
$693,750
Data source: IRS.
2023 tax brackets for married separate filers
If you’re married but choose to file separately, you have to use different brackets than the joint filing brackets above. What you’ll see below shows that the bracket amounts are usually one-half of the figures for joint filers.
Bracket
Tax Is This Amount Plus This Percentage
Of the Amount Over
$0 to $11,000
$0 plus 10%
$0
$11,000 to $44,725
$1,100 plus 12%
$11,000
$44,725 to $95,375
$5,147 plus 22%
$44,725
$95,375 to $182,100
$16,290 plus 24%
$95,375
$182,100 to $231,250
$37,104 plus 32%
$182,100
$231,250 to $346,875
$52,832 plus 35%
$231,250
Above $346,875
$93,300.75 plus 37%
$346,875
Data source: IRS.
2023 tax brackets for trusts and estates
Trusts that get treated as independent entities for tax purposes and the estates of deceased taxpayers have their own brackets. As you can see, the amounts are very small, compared to the brackets for individuals and couples.
Bracket
Tax Is This Amount Plus This Percentage
Of the Amount Over
$0 to $2,900
$0 plus 10%
$0
$2,900 to $10,550
$290 plus 24%
$2,900
$10,550 to $14,450
$2,126 plus 35%
$10,550
Above $14,450
$3,491 plus 37%
$14,450
Data source: IRS.
Big jumps
You might notice that these bracket amounts are quite a bit higher than the corresponding tax brackets for 2022. That’s because these amounts are indexed for inflation, and the big rise in the CPI during 2022 led to dramatic increases.
The idea is that if you earned the same amount adjusted for inflation, you should pay roughly the same amount of tax on an inflation-adjusted basis. There are some key tax numbers that don’t get indexed for inflation — most notably, the thresholds for taxation of Social Security benefits — and they tend to be more controversial.
Again, to be clear, when tax season rolls around in January 2023, it’ll be the brackets for the 2022 tax year you’ll want to use, not these. However, as you think about your taxes over the coming year, you’ll want to have these numbers in mind to plan accordingly.
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