Reference Figures
Key planning numbers & checklists · 2026 tax year
Reference

Numbers worth keeping handy.

A quick reference for the figures and checklists that come up most in planning conversations. Current for the 2026 tax year, with 2025 shown where it’s useful.

Tax brackets Contribution limits Medicare IRMAA Tax calendar Estate checklist
Federal income tax

2026 tax brackets

RateSingleMarried filing jointlyMarried filing separatelyHead of household
10%$0 – $12,400$0 – $24,800$0 – $12,400$0 – $17,700
12%$12,401 – $50,400$24,801 – $100,800$12,401 – $50,400$17,701 – $67,450
22%$50,401 – $105,700$100,801 – $211,400$50,401 – $105,700$67,451 – $105,700
24%$105,701 – $201,775$211,401 – $403,550$105,701 – $201,775$105,701 – $201,750
32%$201,776 – $256,225$403,551 – $512,450$201,776 – $256,225$201,751 – $256,200
35%$256,226 – $640,600$512,451 – $768,700$256,226 – $384,350$256,201 – $640,600
37%$640,601+$768,701+$384,351+$640,601+

2025 tax brackets

RateSingleMarried filing jointlyMarried filing separatelyHead of household
10%$0 – $11,925$0 – $23,850$0 – $11,925$0 – $17,000
12%$11,926 – $48,475$23,851 – $96,950$11,926 – $48,475$17,001 – $64,850
22%$48,476 – $103,350$96,951 – $206,700$48,476 – $103,350$64,851 – $103,350
24%$103,351 – $197,300$206,701 – $394,600$103,351 – $197,300$103,351 – $197,300
32%$197,301 – $250,525$394,601 – $501,050$197,301 – $250,525$197,301 – $250,500
35%$250,526 – $626,350$501,051 – $751,600$250,526 – $375,800$250,501 – $626,350
37%$626,351+$751,601+$375,801+$626,351+

Source: IRS.gov. For informational purposes only — not a replacement for real-life advice. Please consult your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before modifying your tax strategy.

Retirement savings

Contribution limits — 2026 & 2025

Account / limit20262025
401(k), 403(b), 457(b), TSP — elective deferral$24,500$23,500
  ↳ Catch-up (age 50+)$8,000$7,500
  ↳ "Super" catch-up (age 60–63)$11,250$11,250
  ↳ Total if age 50+ (deferral + catch-up)$32,500$31,000
Traditional & Roth IRA$7,500$7,000
  ↳ IRA catch-up (age 50+)$1,100$1,000
SEP IRA / defined-contribution (total additions)$72,000$70,000

Source: IRS Notice 2025-67 and IR-2025-111 (2026 figures); IRS (2025). Beginning in 2026, catch-up contributions must be made on a Roth basis if your prior-year wages with the plan sponsor exceeded $150,000. The age 60–63 "super" catch-up replaces — not adds to — the standard age-50 catch-up. Plan availability of certain features varies.

Medicare

2026 IRMAA brackets

Higher earners pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount on top of standard Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. Your 2026 surcharge is based on your 2024 MAGI (a two-year lookback). Amounts shown are per enrolled person, per month.

MAGI — SingleMAGI — Married filing jointlyPart B total / moPart D surcharge / mo
$109,000 or less$218,000 or less$202.90—
$109,001 – $137,000$218,001 – $274,000$284.10+$14.50
$137,001 – $171,000$274,001 – $342,000$405.80+$37.50
$171,001 – $205,000$342,001 – $410,000$527.50+$60.40
$205,001 – $500,000$410,001 – $750,000$649.20+$77.90
Above $500,000Above $750,000$689.90+$91.00

Standard 2026 Part B premium is $202.90/mo; the Part D surcharge is added to whatever your Part D plan charges. Married-filing-separately uses a narrower structure not shown here. IRMAA is a "cliff" — one dollar over a threshold moves you into the full next tier. Source: CMS, 2026 — verify current figures before relying on them.

Key dates

2026 tax calendar

Dates assume standard federal deadlines; they can shift for weekends, holidays, or disaster relief. Confirm current deadlines at IRS.gov and consult your tax professional.

Estate planning

Estate planning hygiene

A working checklist for making sure your documents, your accounts, and your property all point in the same direction — for peace of mind, privacy, and efficiency.

01

The core documents

  • Will — names an executor, and guardians for minor children
  • Revocable living trust, if privacy or probate avoidance matters
  • Durable financial power of attorney
  • Health care proxy / medical power of attorney
  • Living will or advance directive
  • HIPAA authorization, so your agents can actually get information
  • Letter of instruction — logins, advisors, wishes not in the will
  • Originals stored where your executor can reach them
02

How assets actually pass

Titling and beneficiary forms override your will.

  • Primary and contingent beneficiaries on every retirement account
  • TOD / POD designations on taxable brokerage and bank accounts
  • Deed titling reviewed — joint, tenancy by the entirety, or trust
  • Trust actually funded — assets retitled, not just drafted
  • 529 plans have a successor owner named
  • Business interests covered by a current buy-sell agreement
  • Digital assets — password manager, plus legal authority to access
  • No account left with an unnamed or outdated beneficiary
03

Taxes, gifts & protection

  • Federal estate tax exposure estimated against the current exemption
  • State estate or inheritance tax checked — thresholds are far lower
  • Annual exclusion gifting used intentionally, where appropriate
  • Charitable intent coordinated — QCDs, donor-advised fund, charity as IRA beneficiary
  • Step-up in basis weighed before gifting appreciated assets
  • Roth conversions considered to reduce heirs’ future tax drag
  • Umbrella liability coverage sized to net worth
  • Life, disability, and long-term care funding reviewed
04

Keeping it current

  • Full review every three years — sooner after a life event
  • Named agents, executors, and trustees still willing and able
  • Attorney, CPA, and advisor working from the same plan
  • One consolidated inventory of accounts, property, and policies
  • Copies of executed documents on file with your advisor
  • Family knows who to call and where the documents live
  • Old 401(k)s consolidated so nothing is orphaned
  • Ex-spouse removed from every account, deed, and policy
Review everything after
Marriage or divorceBirth or death in the familyA move to a new state Sale of a business or homeAn inheritance receivedRetirementA change in tax law

For informational purposes only. This checklist is not legal or tax advice and is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified attorney or tax professional. Pine Harbor Wealth Management does not practice law.

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Important disclosures. The figures on this page are provided by Pine Harbor Wealth Management, LLC for general informational and educational purposes only, are current as of the date printed above, and are not tax, legal, accounting, or investment advice or a recommendation. Tax law, contribution limits, IRMAA brackets, and filing deadlines change over time and may have been updated since this page was printed; thresholds can also shift for weekends, holidays, or disaster relief. Sources include IRS.gov, IRS Notice 2025-67 and IR-2025-111, and CMS. The estate planning hygiene checklist is an educational prompt list, not legal or tax advice, and is not a substitute for guidance from a qualified attorney or tax professional; Pine Harbor Wealth Management does not practice law. Verify current figures with the relevant authority and consult your own tax, legal, and accounting professionals before acting on any of them. Advisory services are offered through Pine Harbor Wealth Management, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

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