The IRS has announced the annual inflation adjustments for the year 2024, including tax rate schedules, tax tables and cost-of-living adjustments.
The IRS has announced the annual inflation adjustments for the year 2024, including tax rate schedules, tax tables and cost-of-living adjustments.
These are the official numbers for the tax year 2024—that begins Jan. 1, 2024. They are not the numbers that you’ll use to prepare your 2023 tax returns in 2024 (you’ll find those official 2023 tax numbers here). These are the numbers that you’ll use to prepare your 2024 tax returns in 2025.
If you aren’t expecting any significant changes in 2024, you can use the updated numbers to estimate your liability. If you plan to make more (or less) money or change your circumstances—including getting married, starting a business, or having a baby—consider adjusting your withholding or tweaking your estimated tax payments.Tax Brackets and Tax Rates
There are seven (7) tax rates in 2024. They are: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% (there is also a zero rate).
Here’s how those break out by filing status:Top Marginal Tax Rates
Your marginal tax rate determines what you pay when you receive the next dollar of income—it represents the highest tax rate you pay for the year. For the tax year 2024, the top tax rate is 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $609,350 ($731,200 for married couples filing jointly).
The other rates are:
35% for incomes over $243,725 ($487,450 for married couples filing jointly)
32% for incomes over $191,950 ($383,900 for married couples filing jointly)
24% for incomes over $100,525 ($201,050 for married couples filing jointly)
22% for incomes over $47,150 ($94,300 for married couples filing jointly)
12% for incomes over $11,600 ($23,200 for married couples filing jointly) Personal Exemption Amounts
Due to the 2017 tax reform law, there will be no personal exemption amounts in 2024. Personal exemptions used to decrease your taxable income before you determined the tax due. You were generally allowed one exemption for yourself (unless you could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer), one exemption for your spouse if you filed a joint return, and one personal exemption for each of your dependents—but that’s no longer the case.Standard Deduction Amounts
The standard deduction amounts will increase to $14,600 for individuals and married couples filing separately, representing an increase of $750 from 2023. Married couples filing jointly will see a deduction of $29,200, a boost of $1,500 from 2023, while heads of household will see a jump to $21,900 for heads of household, an increase of $1,100 from 2023.
For 2024, the additional standard deduction amount for the aged or the blind is $1,550. The additional standard deduction amount increases to $1,950 for unmarried taxpayers.
For 2024, the standard deduction amount for an individual who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer cannot exceed the greater of $1,300 or the sum of $450 and the individual’s earned income (not to exceed the regular standard deduction amount).Child-Related Adjustments
The kiddie tax applies to unearned income for children under the age of 19 and college students under the age of 24. Unearned income is income from sources other than wages and salary, like dividends and interest.
Your child must pay taxes on their unearned income in 2024, but if that amount is more than $1,300 but less than $13,000, you may be able to elect to include that income on your return rather than file a separate return for your child.
The same “regular” rules apply to earned income.
