Federal Tax Info | Fort Tax Service

Income Tax Brackets and Rates

In 2019, the income limits for all tax brackets and all filers will be adjusted for inflation and will be as follows (Tables 1). The top marginal income tax rate of 37 percent will hit taxpayers with taxable income of $510,300 and higher for single filers and $612,350 and higher for married couples filing jointly.

Table 1. Tax Brackets and Rates, 2019
Rate	For Unmarried Individuals, Taxable Income Over	For Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns, Taxable Income Over	For Heads of Households, Taxable Income Over
10%	$0	$0	$0
12%	$9,700	$19,400	$13,850
22%	$39,475	$78,950	$52,850
24%	$84,200	$168,400	$84,200
32%	$160,725	$321,450	$160,700
35%	$204,100	$408,200	$204,100
37%	$510,300	$612,350	$510,300

Standard Deduction and Personal Exemption

The standard deduction for single filers will increase by $200 and by $400 for married couples filing jointly (Table 2).

The personal exemption for 2019 remains eliminated.

Table 2. 2019 Standard Deduction and Personal Exemption
Filing Status	Deduction Amount
Single	$12,200
Married Filing Jointly	$24,400
Head of Household	$18,350

Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was created in the 1960s to prevent high-income taxpayers from avoiding the individual income tax. This parallel tax income system requires high-income taxpayers to calculate their tax bill twice: once under the ordinary income tax system and again under the AMT. The taxpayer then needs to pay the higher of the two.

The AMT uses an alternative definition of taxable income called Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (AMTI). To prevent low- and middle-income taxpayers from being subject to the AMT, taxpayers are allowed to exempt a significant amount of their income from AMTI. However, this exemption phases out for high-income taxpayers. The AMT is levied at two rates: 26 percent and 28 percent.

The AMT exemption amount for 2019 is $71,700 for singles and $111,700 for married couples filing jointly (Table 3).

Table 3. 2019 Alternative Minimum Tax Exemptions
Filing Status	Exemption Amount
Unmarried Individuals	$71,700
Married Filing Jointly	$111,700

In 2019, the 28 percent AMT rate applies to excess AMTI of $194,800 for all taxpayers ($97,400 for married couples filing separate returns).

AMT exemptions phase out at 25 cents per dollar earned once taxpayer AMTI hits a certain threshold. In 2019, the exemption will start phasing out at $510,300 in AMTI for single filers and $1,020,600 for married taxpayers filing jointly (Table 4).

Table 4. 2019 Alternative Minimum Tax Exemption Phaseout Thresholds
Filing Status	Threshold
Unmarried Individuals	$510,300
Married Filing Jointly	$1,020,600

Earned Income Tax Credit

The maximum Earned Income Tax Credit in 2019 for single and joint filers is $529, if the filer has no children (Table 5). The maximum credit is $3,526 for one child, $5,828 for two children, and $6,557 for three or more children. All these are relatively small increases from 2018.

Table 5. 2019 Earned Income Tax Credit Parameters
Filing Status		No Children	One Child	Two Children	Three or More Children
Single or Head of Household	Income at Max Credit	$6,920	$10,370	$14,570	$14,570
	Maximum Credit	$529	$3,526	$5,828	$6,557
	Phaseout Begins	$8,650	$19,030	$19,030	$19,030
	Phaseout Ends (Credit Equals Zero)	$15,570	$41,094	$46,703	$50,162

Married Filing Jointly	Income at Max Credit	$6,920	$10,370	$14,570	$14,570
	Maximum Credit	$529	$3,526	$5,828	$6,557
	Phaseout Begins	$14,450	$24,820	$24,820	$24,820
	Phaseout Ends (Credit Equals Zero)	$21,370	$46,884	$52,493	$55,952

Child Tax Credit

The child tax credit totals at $2,000 per qualifying child and is not adjusted for inflation. However, the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit, also known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, is adjusted for inflation. The Additional Child Tax Credit will remain at $1,400 for 2019.

Capital Gains

Long-term capital gains are taxed using different brackets and rates than ordinary income.

Table 6. 2019 Capital Gains Brackets
	For Unmarried Individuals, Taxable Capital Gains Over	For Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns, Taxable Capital Gains Over	For Heads of Households, Taxable Capital Gains Over
0%	$0	$0	$0
15%	$39,375	$78,750	$52,750
20%	$434,550	$488,850	$461,700

Qualified Business Income Deduction (Sec. 199A)

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act includes a 20 percent deduction for pass-through businesses against up to $160,700 of qualified business income for unmarried taxpayers and $321,400 for married taxpayers (Table 7).