Estimate your 2026 federal tax refund or amount owed using income, adjustments, standard or itemized deductions, tax credits, federal withholding, estimated tax payments, and other taxes.
Use your expected federal income, deductions, credits, withholding, and tax payments.
A Tax Refund Calculator estimates whether the federal income tax payments credited to your return may be greater or smaller than your estimated federal tax liability.
If withholding, estimated tax payments, and refundable credits exceed estimated tax, the calculator shows an estimated refund.
If estimated federal tax is greater than payments and refundable credits, the result is shown as an estimated amount owed instead.
Income is reduced by entered adjustments and the applicable deduction.
The calculator applies the 2026 ordinary federal income tax brackets.
Withholding, estimated payments, and refundable credits are compared with estimated tax.
When the formula produces a negative result, the calculator shows the absolute amount as an estimated federal balance due.
The calculator automatically selects the 2026 basic standard deduction based on the filing status entered.
The calculator also includes an optional additional standard-deduction setting for qualifying age-65-or-older and blindness conditions.
A refund may result when federal tax withholding, estimated tax payments, and refundable credits are greater than the final estimated tax liability.
You may owe additional tax when payments and refundable credits are lower than estimated federal tax liability.
A large refund does not necessarily mean your tax rate was lower. It often means more tax was paid during the year than was ultimately required by the estimated return.
The calculator uses entered nonrefundable credits to reduce estimated regular income tax, but it does not allow those credits to reduce that income-tax amount below zero.
Refundable credits are treated similarly to payments when determining the final estimated refund or balance due.
Because eligibility rules vary significantly between credits, this calculator does not automatically determine eligibility for credits such as EITC, ACTC, education credits, or other specialized credits.
Suppose a single taxpayer has $75,000 of wages, $2,000 of other ordinary income, and $9,000 of federal income tax withheld.
The calculator estimates taxable income, applies the applicable tax brackets, subtracts entered nonrefundable credits, adds any other taxes, and then compares that result with payments and refundable credits.
This estimator applies ordinary federal income tax brackets to the income entered. It does not separately calculate preferential rates for qualified dividends or long-term capital gains.
It also does not automatically calculate Alternative Minimum Tax, Net Investment Income Tax, self-employment tax, Additional Medicare Tax, premium tax credit reconciliation, individual credit eligibility, state taxes, penalties, or every deduction available under federal law.