How to find the tax bracket for an income in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1)List where each rate starts and use an approximate match: =XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1) returns the rate of the bracket the income falls in.
- Result on the example
- 22% in
E2 - Works in
- Excel 2021, 2024 and Microsoft 365
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in E2. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
Each row gives the first dollar of a bracket. Match mode -1 returns the exact match or the next smaller value, so $92,000 lands on the bracket that starts at $48,476 and the formula returns 22%, the marginal rate.
=XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1)Result0.22
E1$92,000The value in E1.
A2:A87 rows × 1 col: $0, $11,926, $48,476, $103,351, …A range: 7 cells in one column.
B2:B87 rows × 1 col: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, …A range: 7 cells in one column.
-1-1Makes the value negative.
XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1)0.22XLOOKUP: Searches one range and returns the matching item from another.- lookup_value
E1$92,000 - lookup_array
A2:A87 rows × 1 col: $0, $11,926, $48,476, $103,351, … - return_array
B2:B87 rows × 1 col: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, … - if_not_found
(omitted) - match_mode
-1-1
- lookup_value
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns 22%.
Other ways to do it
Each one was run on the same example sheet.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =VLOOKUP(E1,A2:B8,2,TRUE) | 22% | The classic approximate match. Works in every version as long as the bracket starts are sorted from lowest to highest. |
| =INDEX(B2:B8,MATCH(E1,A2:A8,1)) | 22% | MATCH with 1 finds the last bracket start at or below the income. Same sorting rule. |
Common mistakes
- The marginal rate isn't the rate on the whole income. Only the dollars above $48,476 are taxed at 22%; see the total tax calculation for that.
- Tax tables often say "over $11,925". In whole dollars that bracket starts at $11,926; listing $11,925 would put an income of exactly $11,925 in the wrong bracket.
- The first row must start at 0, or incomes below the first bracket return #N/A.
Try it yourself
Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.
Find the tax bracket for an income
E2, return the tax rate of the bracket that the taxable income in E1 falls in.Questions
How do I return the bracket as text, like "22% bracket"?
Join it: =TEXT(XLOOKUP(E1,A2:A8,B2:B8,,-1),"0%")&" bracket".
How do I calculate the effective tax rate?
Divide the total tax by the income: =total_tax/E1, where the total comes from the bracket calculation.
Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.