Tax Refund Estimator
Estimate your 2026 federal tax refund or amount owed (the return you file in 2027) from income, withholding and estimated payments, with all filing statuses, the child tax credit, the earned income credit and the new senior, tips and overtime deductions.
How it works
Taxable income = income − pretax deductions − adjustments − standard (or itemized) deduction − senior, tips, overtime and car-loan deductions · Tax = 2026 brackets − nonrefundable credits + self-employment tax · Refund = withholding + estimated payments + refundable credits − tax
The estimate rebuilds your 2026 Form 1040 in a few lines, using the IRS’s 2026 figures (Rev. Proc. 2025-32) and the 2025 tax law changes. It adds your wages and any other income, subtracts pretax payroll deductions, half of any self-employment tax and other adjustments to get adjusted gross income, then subtracts the larger of the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly, $24,150 head of household, more if you are 65 or older) and your itemized deductions. The new deductions for seniors ($6,000 each), tips (up to $25,000), overtime premium (up to $12,500, or $25,000 joint) and new-car loan interest (up to $10,000) come off next, each phased out at higher incomes. The 2026 brackets give the tax. Nonrefundable credits, such as the $2,200 child tax credit and the $500 credit for other dependents, can lower that tax to zero. Self-employment tax is added. Finally, everything you have already paid — paycheck withholding and estimated payments — plus refundable credits (up to $1,700 per child of the child tax credit, and the earned income credit) is compared with the tax. If you paid more, the difference is your refund; if less, it is what you owe. The calculator also shows how much to change your withholding per paycheck to break even.
Worked example
A single filer earning $60,000 with no pretax deductions has $43,900 of taxable income after the $16,100 standard deduction. The 2026 brackets give $1,240 + 12% × $31,500 = $5,020 of tax; against $6,000 withheld, that is a refund of about $980. A head of household earning $20,000 with two children owes no income tax, but gets a $2,625 refundable child tax credit and a $7,316 earned income credit, so with $1,000 withheld the refund is about $10,941.
Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 brackets, standard deduction, child tax credit, EITC · IRS — One, Big, Beautiful Bill (Working Families Tax Cuts) provisions for individuals · IRS — 2026 state and local tax deduction limit · IRS Publication 505 (2026) — Tax withholding and estimated tax
Frequently asked questions
Why is my real refund different?
Your return may include things this estimate simplifies: education and child care credits with their own rules, taxable Social Security, the alternative minimum tax, state tax refunds, or a withholding total that changes before year end. Treat the result as a planning figure, not a filing figure.
Is a big refund a good thing?
Not really. A refund means you lent the government money interest-free all year. The calculator shows how much less you could have withheld per paycheck to break even. A new Form W-4 puts that cash in each paycheck instead.
What changed for the 2026 tax year?
The standard deduction rose to $16,100 single and $32,200 married filing jointly, the child tax credit is $2,200 per child (up to $1,700 refundable), and the state and local tax cap is $40,400. The 2025 law also added deductions for people 65 and older ($6,000), qualified tips (up to $25,000), the overtime premium (up to $12,500) and new-car loan interest (up to $10,000), plus a charity deduction of up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) for people who don’t itemize.
Does this include the earned income credit?
Yes. It is calculated from your earned income, AGI, filing status and number of children using the 2026 IRS amounts — up to $664 with no children, $4,427 with one, $7,316 with two and $8,231 with three or more. It is not available if your investment income is over $12,200, and in most cases not when married filing separately.
What if I will owe?
You can pay the balance when you file by April 15, 2027. To avoid an underpayment penalty, your withholding and estimated payments generally need to cover 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s (110% if your AGI was over $150,000). The calculator shows how much more to withhold per paycheck to close the gap.
Related calculators
Educational estimate of a 2026 federal return using IRS figures — not tax advice. It simplifies eligibility tests for credits and deductions and ignores state tax; check your actual return with tax software, a professional or the IRS.