The IRS Just Posted 2027’s Numbers. The Rates Didn’t Move. The Cutoffs Did.

Trick question: does your April 2027 return use 2027 numbers? Nope. The IRS released the 2027 inflation adjustments on Thursday, November 5. Same seven tax rates, wider brackets, and a bigger standard deduction. One catch: these are 2027 numbers, for the return you generally file in 2028. The return due in April 2027 (for your 2026 income) still uses the 2026 numbers.

This year, the IRS adjusted almost 70 tax provisions for inflation. The release, IR-2026-133, came out November 5, and the details live in Revenue Procedure 2026-35. The short version: the cutoffs moved up to match inflation, so a little more of your taxable income stays in the lower brackets, if your income stays about the same.

This is an annual inflation adjustment. The rates are exactly where they were. What changed is the cutoffs, the income thresholds where each rate starts.

The standard deduction goes up for everyone

The standard deduction is the chunk of your income that is not taxed at all. For 2027:

• Single filers: $16,600, up from $16,100 in 2026.
• Married filing jointly: $33,200, up from $32,200 in 2026.
• Heads of household: $24,925, up from $24,150 in 2026.

Put plainly, a single filer who takes the standard deduction instead of itemizing has $500 more of their income that isn't taxed.

The brackets: same rates, higher cutoffs

The seven rates are unchanged: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Here is where each rate starts and stops, for a single filer, in 2027:

• 10% on taxable income up to $12,800.
• 12% on taxable income over $12,800, up to $52,025.
• 22% on taxable income over $52,025, up to $109,125.
• 24% on taxable income over $109,125, up to $208,325.
• 32% on taxable income over $208,325, up to $264,550.
• 35% on taxable income over $264,550, up to $661,375.
• 37% on taxable income over $661,375.

For joint filers, almost every cutoff is exactly double the single one. The 10% rate covers taxable income up to $25,600, and the top 37% rate starts above $793,650 of taxable income. The 37% cutoff is the exception. Each rate only applies to the slice of income between its two cutoffs.

The same release also adjusts the child tax credit, the earned income credit, the estate and gift exclusions, health FSA limits, and the foreign earned income exclusion. The full list is in the IRS release.

A calendar caveat: one thing to keep in mind

Most important for your calendar: the return you file in April 2027 (for your 2026 income) still runs on the 2026 numbers. Most of these 2027 figures are based on the income you earn in 2027, on the return you generally file in early 2028.

Alex Volkov, CPA is a New York-licensed CPA with over two decades in accounting, focused on resolving IRS tax problems: back taxes, liens, levies, garnishments, and audits, for individuals and businesses nationwide.