Trust Tax Brackets 2026 and 2027

Rev. Proc. 2026-35, section 3.01, Table 5, "Section 1(j)(2)(E) – Estates and Trusts", for taxable years beginning in 2027. The IRS announced it on November 5, 2026 (IR-2026-133).

Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.01, Table 5, "Section 1(j)(2)(E) – Estates and Trusts", for taxable years beginning in 2026. The 2026 table is the one for trusts and estates filing a 2026 Form 1041.

“The existing four tax rates of 10%, 24%, 35%, and 37% remain in effect for estates and trusts.”

The estates and trusts table has four rates and the top one starts at $16,500 of taxable income in 2027 ($16,000 in 2026). IR-2026-133 puts the 37% bracket for single individuals at incomes greater than $661,375 in 2027. So a trust taxed on this table reaches 37% at a far lower income than an individual does. For the individual rate tables, see the 2027 federal tax brackets.

Worked example from the table, as our arithmetic: with $20,000 of taxable income, the 2027 tax is $3,968 plus 37% of the $3,500 over $16,500, which is $5,263. In 2026 it is $3,851 plus 37% of the $4,000 over $16,000, which is $5,331. This is before credits, the net investment income tax and the alternative minimum tax.

Estates and non-grantor trusts file Form 1041 and use the table above. The instructions require the fiduciary to file for a domestic trust taxable under section 641 with any taxable income, or with gross income of $600 or more:

“The fiduciary (or one of the joint fiduciaries) must file Form 1041 for a domestic trust taxable under section 641 that has”

A grantor trust is different. Its income is taxed to the grantor, not on this table:

“In general, a grantor trust is ignored for income tax purposes and all of the income, deductions, etc., are treated as belonging directly to the grantor.”

There is no separate table for irrevocable trusts. Being irrevocable does not by itself decide the question; the same instructions say a trust is a grantor trust if the grantor retains certain powers or ownership benefits. An irrevocable trust that is not a grantor trust is taxed as its own taxpayer on the estates and trusts table. The IRS defines a complex trust this way:

“A complex trust is any trust that doesn’t qualify as a simple trust as explained above.”

How a particular trust is classified depends on its terms; ask the trustee or a tax professional. For the estate and gift side, see the 2027 estate tax exemption and the 2027 gift tax exclusion.

Section 1(j)(5)(B) sets the income levels where the 0% and 15% capital gains rates stop. For estates and trusts the revenue procedures print:

Read it as: net capital gain in the 2027 table is taxed at 0% up to $3,400 of taxable income, 15% up to $16,750, and above that at 20%. The 20% rule comes from IRS Topic 409, which is written for individuals but states it in terms of the 15% threshold:

“a capital gains rate of 20% applies to the extent that your taxable income exceeds the thresholds set for the 15% capital gain rate”

Short-term gains are not in this table. Topic 409 says:

“Net short-term capital gains are subject to taxation as ordinary income at graduated tax rates.”

So a trust's short-term gains follow the bracket table above. Topic 409 also lists higher-rate exceptions such as collectibles (28% maximum). To see how the rates work for individuals, see the 2027 capital gains tax brackets and the capital gains tax calculator.

The statute (26 U.S.C. 1411(a)(2)) imposes the tax on estates and trusts separately from the individual rule:

“In the case of an estate or trust, there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax imposed by this subtitle) for each taxable year a tax of 3.8 percent of the lesser of”

The two amounts are (A) the undistributed net investment income for such taxable year, or (B) the excess of adjusted gross income over the dollar amount at which the highest tax bracket in section 1(e) begins for such taxable year. The lesser of the two is taxed at 3.8%. The Form 1041 instructions say:

“Estates and trusts use Form 8960 to report their NII and calculate the tax. The amount of NIIT payable by the estate or trust is reported on Form 1041, Schedule G, line 5.”

The 37% bracket in the tables above begins at $16,500 for 2027 and $16,000 for 2026; that is the number the statute's wording points to, but check the Form 8960 instructions for the year you file. More on the tax in the net investment income tax guide.

The same revenue procedures print the section 55(d) exemption amount and phaseout for estates and trusts: