The 2017 tax brackets are the rate at which certain portions of your income are taxed, i.e. what percentage of your income goes to the government in taxes. Your tax bracket is affected by 2 things: the amount of money you earn, and the way in which you file your taxes. You can file taxes as a single (unmarried) person, a head of a household, a married person filing separately, and a married person filing jointly. Generally speaking, heads of households and married couples filing joint tax returns are often able to take advantage of more lenient tax brackets that allow them to keep more of their income for themselves.
Many people have the misconception that getting a raise in their job (and thus earning more money) can lead to them actually losing out on income due to being boosted into a higher tax bracket. This is not true, and is not how the system works.
The tax bracket system is a progressive, tiered system. This means that the tax brackets only apply to the income range that is listed besides them. Below you can find a table of the latest tax brackets for 2017.
| Tax rate | Single | Married, filing jointly | Married, filing separately | Head of household |
| 10% | $0 to $9,525 | $0 to $19,050 | $0 to $9,525 | $0 to $13,600 |
| 12% | $9,526 to $38,700 | $19,051 to $77,400 | $9,526 to $38,700 | $13,601 to $51,800 |
| 22% | $38,701 to $82,500 | $77,401 to $165,000 | $38,701 to $82,500 | $51,801 to $82,500 |
| 24% | $82,501 to $157,500 | $165,501 to $315,000 | $82,501 to $157,500 | $82,501 to $157,500 |
| 32% | $157,501 to $200,000 | $315,001 to $400,000 | $157,501 to $200,000 | $157,501 to $200,000 |
| 35% | $200,001 to $500,000 | $400,001 to $600,000 | $200,001 to $300,000 | $200,001 to $500,000 |
| 37% | $500,001 or more | $600,001 or more | $300,001 or more | $500,001 or more |
So, for example, if you are a single person who earns $100,000 per year, you are in the 24% tax bracket. However, this does not mean that 24% of your income ($24,000) goes to the government in taxes. What actually happens is this:
-The first $9,525 of your income is taxed at 10% ($952.50)
-The next $29,174 of your income (i.e. the $9,526 to $38,700 range) is taxed at 12% ($3,500.88)
-The next $43,799 of your income (i.e. the $38,701 to $82,500 range) is taxed at 22% ($9,635.78)
-The last $17,499 of your income (i.e. the $82,501 up to your salary of $100,000) is taxed at 24% ($4,199.76)
Therefore, a single person earning $100,000 would be taxed a grand total of $18,288.92 over the course of the year, even though they “fall into” the 24% tax bracket. In reality, it is only the upper $17,499 of their income that falls into the 24% tax bracket. This progressive graduated system gives people the freedom to earn more money without being persecuted by unreasonable tax regulations.