2026 Tax Brackets Announced

One of the best tax planning ideas that we give our clients is “make good use of the tax brackets”.  If your income is abnormally high this year and you find yourself in a high tax bracket, this means maximizing deductions or deferring income to get the most benefit. If your income is abnormally low this year and you find yourself in a low tax bracket, this may mean advancing income or completing Roth conversions to take advantage of the low brackets.

To do this type of planning it is important to know and understand the tax brackets, which were just announced for 2026:

Notice a couple of key ‘jumps’ in the tax bracket occur for income above$50,400 for single filers and $100,800 for married filers. This is the level where the tax rate jumps from 12% to 22%.  A second key ‘jump’ occurs at $201,775 for single filers and $403,500 for married filers.  This is the level where the tax rate jumps from 24% to 32%.  If you are near the cusp of those thresholds, you may have a significant opportunity to impact your tax rate by shifting income from year to year.

If you are unsure how the tax brackets work, here is a link to an article we wrote last year that explains how the tax brackets work:  https://www.cedarstoneadvisors.com/post/how-do-tax-brackets-work