The IRS releases 2025 tax figures

Each year, many income tax rates, breaks and limits are adjusted for inflation. Our Helpful Charts page will show the 2025 numbers as they’re released by the IRS.

Here’s a tabular organization of all headings and corresponding content for easy reference:

Heading	Content
Helpful Charts	Child and education breaks for 2024 and 2025, outlining tax credits, phaseout ranges, and maximum contributions.
Child and education breaks	Details include child credit, adoption credit, ESA contribution, American Opportunity credit, Lifetime Learning credit, student loan interest deduction, and ABLE account contribution for 2024 and 2025.
Compensation-related limits	2024 and 2025 limits for Social Security, Medicare, qualified retirement plans, highly compensated employees, key employees, and domestic exemption thresholds.
Fringe benefit limitations	2024 and 2025 limits for HSA contributions, health care FSA contributions and rollovers, qualified transportation benefits, and child/dependent care FSA limits.
Income tax differences based on business structure	Comparison of tax implications for flow-through entities/sole proprietorships vs. C corporations, including levels of taxation, treatment of losses, and tax rates.
Individual income tax rates	Regular tax brackets and AMT brackets for 2024 and 2025, including exemptions and phaseout ranges.
IRA qualified charitable distribution limits	Annual and once-per-lifetime QCD limits for 2024 and 2025, including amounts for charitable gift annuities or remainder trusts.
Miscellaneous business tax figures	Section 179 expensing limits, bonus depreciation, interest-expense deduction thresholds, and Section 199A deduction limits for 2024 and 2025.
Profit-sharing plan vs. SEP: How much can you contribute?	Maximum contributions, catch-up provisions, and special rules for 2024 and 2025, comparing profit-sharing plans and SEPs.
Regular tax vs. AMT: What’s deductible?	List of deductible expenses under regular tax and AMT, including state/local income tax, property tax, mortgage interest, investment interest, medical expenses, and charitable contributions.
Retirement plan contribution limits	Limits for 2024 and 2025 for traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, SIMPLEs, and SARSEPs, including regular and catch-up contributions.
Standard deduction	Standard deductions for single, head of household, and married filing jointly taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, with additional amounts for those over 65 or blind.
Tax deductions vs. credits: What’s the difference?	Explanation of how deductions reduce taxable income and credits directly reduce tax liability, with examples.
Transfer tax exemptions and rates	Overview of estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions and rates.
Vehicle-related deductions	Deductible expenses for business use of vehicles, including mileage rates, leasing costs, and related limits for 2024 and 2025.
What’s the maximum capital gains tax rate?	Explanation of short-term and long-term capital gains tax rates, and thresholds for maximum rates.
What’s your donation deduction?	Rules for deducting charitable donations, including limits based on adjusted gross income, and documentation requirements.

Child and Education Breaks (2024 vs. 2025)

Tax Break	Maximum	Single / Head of Household (Phaseout Range)	Joint Filer (Phaseout Range)
Child Credit	$2,000	$200,000 – $240,000	$400,000 – $440,000
Adoption Credit	$16,810 (2024)	$252,150 – $292,150	$252,150 – $292,150
	$17,280 (2025)	$259,190 – $299,190	$259,190 – $299,190
ESA Contribution	$2,000	$95,000 – $110,000	$190,000 – $220,000
American Opportunity Credit	$2,500	$80,000 – $90,000	$160,000 – $180,000
Lifetime Learning Credit	$2,000	$80,000 – $90,000	$160,000 – $180,000
Student Loan Interest Deduction	$2,500	$80,000 – $95,000 (2024)	$165,000 – $195,000 (2024)
		$85,000 – $100,000 (2025)	$170,000 – $200,000 (2025)
ABLE Account Contribution	$18,000 (2024)	No phaseout	No phaseout
	$19,000 (2025)

Fringe Benefit Limitations (2024 vs. 2025)

Benefit Type	2024 Limit	2025 Limit
HSA Contribution Limit	$4,150 (self-only)	$4,300 (self-only)
	$8,300 (family)	$8,550 (family)
Health Care FSA Contribution Limit	$3,200	$3,300
Health Care FSA Rollover Limit	$640	$660
Qualified Transportation Benefit	$315/month	$325/month

Individual Income Tax Rates (2024 vs. 2025)

Tax Rate	Filing Status	2024 Brackets	2025 Brackets
10%	Single	$0 – $11,600	$0 – $11,925
	Married Filing Jointly	$0 – $23,200	$0 – $23,850
12%	Single	$11,601 – $47,150	$11,926 – $48,475
22%	Single	$47,151 – $100,525	$48,476 – $103,350
24%	Single	$100,526 – $191,950	$103,351 – $197,300
32%	Single	$191,951 – $243,725	$197,301 – $250,525
35%	Single	$243,726 – $609,350	$250,526 – $626,350
37%	Single	Over $609,350	Over $626,350

IRA Qualified Charitable Distribution Limits

Year	Annual QCD to Charity	Lifetime QCD via Annuity/Trust
2024	$105,000	$53,000
2025	$108,000	$54,000

Miscellaneous Business Tax Figures

Item	2024	2025
Section 179 Expensing Limit	$1,220,000	$1,250,000
Section 179 Phaseout Threshold	$3,050,000	$3,130,000
Bonus Depreciation	60%	40%
Interest-Expense Deduction Threshold	$30 million	$31 million
Section 199A Deduction Income Threshold	$191,950 ($383,900 joint)	$197,300 ($394,600 joint)
Pass-through Entity Business Loss Deduction Limit	$305,000 ($610,000 joint)	$313,000 ($626,000 joint)

Profit-Sharing Plan vs. SEP Contributions

Plan Type	Year	Maximum Contribution	Additional Limits
Profit-Sharing Plan	2024	$69,000 or $76,500	Up to 25% of compensation; higher limits with 401(k) and catch-up contributions.
	2025	$70,000, $77,500, or $81,250
SEP	2024	$69,000	Up to 25% of eligible compensation. Special rules for self-employed.
	2025	$70,000

Deductibility of Expenses: Regular Tax vs. AMT

Expense	Regular Tax	AMT
State and Local Income Tax	✓ (capped at $10,000)	✗
Property Tax	✓ (capped at $10,000)	✗
Mortgage Interest	✓	✓
Investment Interest	✓	✓
Medical Expenses	✓	✓
Charitable Contributions	✓	✓

Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Year	Plan Type	Regular Contribution	Catch-Up Contribution (Age 50+)	Catch-Up Contribution (Age 60–63)
2024	Traditional and Roth IRAs	$7,000	$1,000	N/A
	401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, SARSEPs	$23,000	$7,500	N/A
	SIMPLEs	$16,000	$3,500	N/A
2025	Traditional and Roth IRAs	$7,000	$1,000	N/A
	401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, SARSEPs	$23,500	$7,500	$11,250
	SIMPLEs	$16,500	$3,500	$5,250

Standard Deduction

Year	Filing Status	Standard Deduction	Additional Deduction (Age 65+ or Blind)	Additional Deduction (65+ and Blind)
2024	Single / Married Filing Separately	$14,600	$1,950 ($1,550 if married)	Double the additional deduction
	Heads of Household	$21,900
	Married Filing Jointly	$29,200
2025	Single / Married Filing Separately	$15,000	$2,000 ($1,600 if married)	Double the additional deduction
	Heads of Household	$22,500
	Married Filing Jointly	$30,000

Tax Deductions vs. Tax Credits

Comparison	Tax Deduction	Tax Credit
Effect	Reduces taxable income	Directly reduces taxes owed
Value	Depends on the tax bracket	Dollar-for-dollar tax savings
Income-Based Limits	Many deductions subject to limits	Many credits subject to limits as well
Example (no income limit)	$1,000 deduction saves $240 in a 24% tax bracket	$1,000 credit saves $1,000 directly

Transfer Tax Exemptions and Rates

Year	Gift Tax Annual Exclusion (Per Recipient)	Estate Tax Exemption	Gift Tax Exemption	GST Tax Exemption	Estate, Gift, and GST Tax Rate
2024	$18,000	$13.61 million	$13.61 million	$13.61 million	40%
2025	$19,000	$13.99 million	$13.99 million	$13.99 million	40%

Vehicle-Related Deductions

Year	Deduction Type	Amount
2023	Business Mileage (per mile)	65.5 cents
2024	Business Mileage (per mile)	67 cents
2023	Charitable Mileage (per mile)	14 cents
2024	Charitable Mileage (per mile)	14 cents
2023	Medical or Moving Mileage (per mile)	22 cents
2024	Medical or Moving Mileage (per mile)	21 cents
2023	Sec. 179 Expensing Limit (SUVs)	$28,900
2024	Sec. 179 Expensing Limit (SUVs)	$30,500
2023	Passenger Vehicle First-Year Depreciation Limit	$20,200
2024	Passenger Vehicle First-Year Depreciation Limit	$20,400

Maximum Capital Gains Tax Rates

Type of Gain	Maximum Rate	Key Exceptions
Short-Term Gain (held ≤12 months)	37%	–
Long-Term Gain (held >12 months)	0%, 15%, or 20%1	–
Long-Term Gain on Collectibles	28%	–
Long-Term Gain from Depreciation Recapture	25%	–
Gain on Qualified Small Business Stock (>5 yrs)	14%2	–

1 0% Rate Thresholds

2024: Singles: $47,025 | Heads of Household: $63,000 | Joint Filers: $94,050
2025: Singles: $48,350 | Heads of Household: $64,750 | Joint Filers: $96,700

2 Effective rate due to 50% exclusion from a 28% rate. Special exclusions apply based on acquisition date.

Charitable Donation Deductions

Type of Donation	Deduction Rule
Cash	Deduct 100%
Ordinary-Income Property	Deduct the lesser of FMV or tax basis
Long-Term Capital Gains Property	Deduct current FMV
Tangible Personal Property	FMV deduction if related to charity’s tax-exempt function; otherwise, basis.
Vehicle	Deduct charity’s received sale amount unless used by charity.
Use of Property	Generally no deduction.
Services	Deduct out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., 14 cents per mile for charitable driving).

Note: Annual deductions may be reduced based on AGI limits, donation type, and charity type.