Current-Year Tax Rates — How Each Bracket Hits Your Return

Federal ordinary brackets — in the order the math actually applies

Federal ordinary income is taxed in tiers, and a dollar that crosses from one tier into the next is only taxed at the higher rate — not the entire return. The two tables below show the 2024 single-filer brackets and the 2024 married-filing-jointly brackets. Head-of-household thresholds fall between the two.

Single filers — the easy baseline

Married filing jointly — wider bands, different cutoffs

Long-term capital gains — three tiers most returns split between

Assets held more than one year are taxed at the long-term capital gains rates: 0%, 15%, or 20%. Your ordinary-income tax bracket doesn't matter — the LTCG rate depends only on total taxable income. Short-term gains (one year or less) are taxed at ordinary rates, which is what makes holding-period decisions surprisingly important.

Single filers — where the 15% tier lands

Married filing jointly (most of our household returns)

Self-employment tax: the second return every 1099 worker quietly owes

Anyone with net self-employment income (Schedule C, single-member LLC, or general-partner K-1 income) owes self-employment tax on top of regular income tax. The rate is 15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base, then 2.9% Medicare-only above that line, with no cap on the Medicare portion.

• The 15.3% rate is technically 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare. Self-employment tax for the year is calculated on Schedule SE and is roughly 92.35% of net self-employment earnings (because the SE-tax base is reduced by the employer-equivalent portion).
• The Social Security cap for 2024 was $168,600. Earnings above that threshold are not subject to the 12.4% portion but are still subject to the 2.9% Medicare portion — there is no cap on the Medicare piece.
• One-half deduction. You can deduct one-half of the SE tax as an adjustment to income on Form 1040, which softens the combined federal hit a little. The full SE tax is reported on Schedule SE.

The two surcharges high earners usually overlook: 0.9% and 3.8%

Two federal surcharges target high earners. They are not extra self-employment tax; they are separate tiers, and they apply above specific income thresholds.

QBI — the 20% line item that quietly shifts year-end math

The QBI deduction lets eligible pass-through owners (sole proprietors, S-corp shareholders, partners, and many LLC members) deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income from taxable income. The deduction is taken on Form 1040 and calculated using Form 8995 (simple case) or Form 8995-A (when income, multiple businesses, or a qualified REIT dividend requires more detail).

• Phase-in ranges. Above specific income thresholds the deduction is limited by the W-2 wages paid by the business and the unadjusted basis of its qualified property. The thresholds and limitation rules adjust for inflation every year.
• Specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs). Law, accounting, consulting, financial services, and several other "SSTB" fields lose part or all of the deduction above the income thresholds. Below the thresholds, the deduction is generally allowed regardless of the SSTB label.
• This is not 20% of tax. The deduction is 20% of qualified business income, subject to the taxable-income limit. Most clients benefit most when both spouse incomes combine to keep total taxable income near or just above the phase-in range — a planning point worth raising before year-end.

North Carolina — a single 4.5% rate, but the planning still matters

North Carolina taxes individual income at a single flat rate of 4.5% for the current tax year. The state does not tax Social Security income at the state level for most filers, and the brackets are straightforward: total taxable income, times 4.5%, with no layered tiers. North Carolina requires Form D-400 for the return and Schedule S for additions and deductions. The flat rate simplifies comparison but does not prevent year-end planning — retirement-account contributions, charitable-bunching, and self-employed health-insurance deductions still reduce NC taxable income.

Georgia — a single rate, plus the retirement exclusions our clients love

Georgia also taxes individual income at a single flat rate, 5.39% for the current year. Georgia follows federal AGI with a series of addbacks and subtractions reported on Schedule 1 of Form GA 500. Retirement income exclusions are significant: Social Security is fully exempt, and a larger retirement-income exclusion applies to pension, IRA, and 401(k) distributions for filers 62 and older within income limits. Like NC, the flat rate changes the marginal value of each deduction only by the flat percentage.

Keeping this page useful, year after year

1. Bookmark the IRS Rev. Proc. that adjusts brackets each year (published in the fall — Rev. Proc. 2023-34 for 2024 figures, etc.) and review at the start of each tax year.
2. Check the NC Department of Revenue and GA Department of Revenue sites for any rate change or new addition / subtraction line on Schedule S or Schedule 1 of the GA 500.
3. Use the safe-harbor rule for federal quarterly estimates to avoid penalties even if your estimated tax turns out slightly low.
4. Bring last year's return and this year's expected income to a quarterly review. A small reallocation of retirement contributions, timing of bonuses, or estimated-tax payment can often save several hundred to several thousand dollars.