marginal tax rate

Cultural  

1. The rate at which income over a certain amount is taxed. Although in general, graduated income taxes impose higher tax rates on higher incomes, the tax rate does not rise for each additional dollar earned. Rather, it rises by income brackets, and each tax rate applies only to income that falls in that bracket. For example, in 2002, the highest marginal federal tax rate was 38.5 percent, which for single taxpayers was imposed on income in excess of $54,000.

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Example Sentences

As equity typically earns about 9% a year, that asset tax would constitute a marginal tax rate on the very richest of just 11% of their average annual gain.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

Any money that is left over at the end of 10 years is pulled all at once and taxed at the marginal tax rate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

For 2026, the top marginal tax rate remains 37% for individual taxpayers with incomes greater than $640,600 or $768,700 for married couples filing jointly.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

I'll talk to other people, from a different strain in the party, who’ll talk about things like raising the top marginal tax rate.

From Salon • Jun. 17, 2025

Many economists hold that a high marginal tax rate is a disincentive for labour effort.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas