Biden Tax Plan Calculator — 2024 Proposed Brackets vs TCJA
The Biden Administration's FY2025 budget (April 2024) proposed restoring a 39.6% top federal income-tax rate for income above $400,000 (single) or $450,000 (married filing jointly) — reduced to 37% under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This calculator compares estimated tax under both regimes. All figures are based on publicly available proposals and were not enacted.
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Filing status
2024 Biden proposal: 39.6% top rate above $400K single / $450K MFJ (not enacted)
How does this calculator work?
Biden FY2025 proposal: 39.6% top rate above $400K (single) / $450K (MFJ), vs TCJA's 37% above $609K single / $731K MFJ. For income below those thresholds, brackets are identical. Effective rate = total tax ÷ income. These were proposed estimates (April 2024), not enacted law.
Formula
How this is calculated
The US federal income tax is marginal and progressive: each bracket's rate applies only to the slice of income within that bracket, not to all income. The Biden FY2025 budget proposal kept all TCJA brackets unchanged for income below the top threshold — only income above $400,000 (single) or $450,000 (MFJ) would have faced the higher 39.6% rate, compared to 37% under current TCJA law.
This calculator applies 2024 TCJA bracket thresholds (inflation-adjusted) to both scenarios. The Biden plan changes only the top bracket: for single filers, the 35% bracket ceiling moves from $609,350 to $400,000, and 39.6% applies above $400,000 (replacing the 37% that TCJA applies above $609,350). For MFJ filers the 39.6% threshold is $450,000 vs the TCJA's 37% starting at $731,200.
This covers only ordinary income. Capital gains, AMT, the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, state taxes, and other Biden proposals (25% minimum wealth tax, increased capital gains rates for high earners) are not included. Enter taxable income — income after the standard deduction ($14,600 single / $29,200 MFJ in 2024) and other adjustments.
Frequently asked questions
No — the FY2025 budget proposals described here were not enacted. This calculator is useful for policy comparison and scenario analysis. TCJA provisions governing individual income tax rates are themselves set to expire after 2025 under current law, which may lead to further legislative changes.
Only taxpayers with income above $400,000 (single) or $450,000 (MFJ). The vast majority of filers would have seen no change — brackets below those thresholds are identical to TCJA. Only the portion of income above the threshold would be taxed at 39.6% instead of 35% or 37%.
The FY2025 budget also proposed a 25% minimum tax on households with wealth above $100 million, taxing long-term capital gains at 39.6% for incomes above $1 million, and a higher 28% corporate tax rate. None of these are reflected in this calculator, which covers only the ordinary income brackets.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Biden Tax Plan Calculator — 2024 Proposed Brackets vs TCJA [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/biden-tax-plan-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Biden Tax Plan Calculator — 2024 Proposed Brackets vs TCJA." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/biden-tax-plan-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Biden Tax Plan Calculator — 2024 Proposed Brackets vs TCJA," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/biden-tax-plan-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_biden_tax_plan_calculator, title = {Biden Tax Plan Calculator — 2024 Proposed Brackets vs TCJA}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/biden-tax-plan-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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