2027 Tax Brackets, Projected: Plan Before Dec. 31

The IRS has not published the official 2027 tax figures yet; they are expected in late October or November. But you do not have to wait for the press release to plan, because Bloomberg Tax has already published its projections, and they are precise enough to run your year-end decisions against, as long as you label them what they are: projections. I use them for one job, deciding how much room I have in my current bracket before December 31, and I recheck everything when the IRS numbers land.

The projected standard deduction

Bloomberg Tax projects the 2027 standard deduction at $16,600 for single filers, $33,200 for married couples filing jointly, and about $24,950 for heads of household, up from $16,100, $32,200, and $24,150 in 2026, as summarized in Bloomberg Tax's September 2026 projection release. That is roughly $500 more per single filer and $1,000 more per couple of income shielded at a zero rate. On its own it will not change anyone's life. Combined with wider brackets, it changes the math at the margins, which is exactly where year-end planning lives.

The projected 2027 standard deduction by filing status. Source: Bloomberg Tax 2027 projections, September 2026; IRS amounts for 2026.

Brackets widen by about 3.2 percent

Bloomberg Tax projects the seven federal brackets, still running from 10 percent to 37 percent, will widen by about 3.2 percent for 2027. One concrete example from the projections: the 12 percent bracket for a married couple filing jointly is projected to cover taxable income from $25,601 to $104,050, with the top of that band rising by $3,250 from 2026. Widening brackets are inflation protection. Without them, a cost-of-living raise pushes you into a higher marginal rate even though your purchasing power never moved, a problem sometimes called bracket creep. Note one line that does not move with inflation: the income thresholds that decide whether Social Security benefits are taxed were set decades ago and are not indexed, so a bigger benefit check can quietly pull more of it into taxable income.

Three moves to size up now, not in April

First, bracket-fill deliberately. If you are doing a Roth conversion or harvesting capital gains at the 0 percent rate, the projected top of your current bracket tells you roughly how much room you have; convert or harvest up to just under the line, then confirm against the official IRS table when it publishes. Second, check the senior deduction. Reporting on the projections notes an additional $6,000 deduction for qualifying seniors, available through 2028, phasing out above $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers. A conversion that pushes you over that line costs more than the bracket math suggests. Third, fix withholding early in 2027 rather than discovering a gap next April: a projected $33,200 joint standard deduction means slightly less tax withheld is needed at the same salary, and small monthly corrections beat one large April surprise. None of this is tax advice for your situation; it is a planning order. Projections first for sizing, official figures for filing, and a preparer for anything with five zeros in it.

FAQ

What is the projected 2027 standard deduction? $16,600 for single filers, $33,200 for married filing jointly, and about $24,950 for heads of household, according to Bloomberg Tax projections published in September 2026. The IRS has not yet released the official figures.

When will the IRS publish the official 2027 brackets? The official inflation adjustments are expected in late October or November 2026, based on the IRS's usual annual schedule as reported with the projections.

How much wider are the projected 2027 brackets? About 3.2 percent, per Bloomberg Tax. For example, the top of the 12 percent band for joint filers is projected at $104,050, up $3,250 from 2026.

Should I plan using projected numbers? Yes for sizing year-end moves like Roth conversions, with a recheck when the official IRS figures publish. Do not file anything on a projection.