Part VIII · Make it happen · Chapter 29 of 29
Chapter 29: Appendix of 2026 numbers, glossary, and sources
Everything you need to look up, in one place. Section 1 collects every 2026 figure used in this guide. Section 2 defines the guide's vocabulary in one plain sentence each. Section 3 lists every source we cite, grouped by agency. Numbers change every year; these were verified in June 2026, and the annual hour from Chapter 27 is the natural time to refresh them.
1. The 2026 reference tables
Federal income tax brackets (2026)
| Rate | Single: taxable income up to | Married filing jointly: up to |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $12,400 | $24,800 |
| 12% | $50,400 | $100,800 |
| 22% | $105,700 | $211,400 |
| 24% | $201,775 | $403,550 |
| 32% | $256,225 | $512,450 |
| 35% | $640,600 | $768,700 |
| 37% | above $640,600 | above $768,700 |
Sources: IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments · IRS: Rates and brackets · Tax Foundation: 2026 brackets
Deductions, capital gains, and investment taxes (2026)
| Item | 2026 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard deduction | $16,100 single · $32,200 MFJ · $24,150 head of household | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Long-term capital gains: 0% bracket | Up to $49,450 single / $98,900 MFJ | IRS Pub 550 |
| Long-term capital gains: 15% bracket | To $545,500 single / $613,700 MFJ | IRS Pub 550 |
| Long-term capital gains: 20% bracket | Above the 15% thresholds | IRS Pub 550 |
| Net investment income tax (NIIT) | +3.8% above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ MAGI | IRS Pub 550 |
| Top short-term vs long-term rate | 40.8% (37% + 3.8%) vs 23.8% (20% + 3.8%) | IRS Pub 550 |
| Charitable: non-itemizer cash deduction (new) | $1,000 single / $2,000 MFJ | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Charitable: itemizer limits (new) | 35% maximum benefit for top brackets; 0.5%-of-AGI floor | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Annual gift exclusion | $19,000 per recipient | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Federal estate exclusion | $15,000,000 | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
Retirement and savings accounts (2026)
| Item | 2026 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k)/403(b)/457/TSP employee limit | $24,500 | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Workplace catch-up, age 50+ | $8,000 | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| Workplace catch-up, ages 60–63 | $11,250 | IRS: 2026 inflation adjustments |
| IRA limit | $7,500 (+$1,100 catch-up, age 50+) | IRS Pub 590-A |
| Roth IRA income phaseout | $153,000–$168,000 single · $242,000–$252,000 MFJ | IRS Pub 590-A |
| HSA contribution limit | $4,400 self-only / $8,750 family (+$1,000 age 55+) | IRS Pub 969 · Fidelity: HSA limits |
| Qualifying HDHP | Deductible ≥ $1,700 self / $3,400 family; OOP max ≤ $8,500 / $17,000 | IRS Pub 969 |
| 529-to-Roth IRA rollover | $35,000 lifetime per beneficiary; 529 ≥ 15 years old; contributions need 5-year seasoning; counts against annual Roth limit; beneficiary needs earned income | Fidelity: 529-to-Roth rollover |
| RMD starting age | 73 (born 1951–1959) · 75 (born 1960+); Roth IRAs and workplace Roth accounts exempt for the owner | IRS: RMD FAQs |
Social Security and Medicare (2026)
| Item | 2026 figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Full retirement age (FRA) | 67 for those born 1960 or later | SSA: Age reduction |
| Claiming at 62 | Worker benefit reduced 30% | SSA: Age reduction |
| Delaying past FRA | +8% per year to age 70 (born 1943+) | SSA: Delayed credits |
| Earnings test (under FRA all year) | $24,480 | SSA: Working while claiming |
| Earnings test (the FRA year) | $65,160; none from the month FRA is reached; withheld benefits recalculated later, not lost | SSA: Working while claiming |
| Medicare Part B premium / deductible | $202.90/mo · $283 | Medicare: Costs |
| Medicare Part A inpatient deductible | $1,736 per benefit period | Medicare: Costs |
| Part B late penalty | ~10% per full 12-month period missed, usually permanent | Medicare: Avoiding penalties |
| Part D late penalty | Accrues monthly after a 63-day coverage gap | Medicare: Avoiding penalties |
Protection limits and benchmarks
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FDIC deposit insurance | $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category | FDIC: Deposit insurance |
| SIPC protection | $500,000 including $250,000 cash; protects against broker failure, not market losses | SIPC: What SIPC protects |
| Fee drag illustration | $100,000 at 4%/yr for 20 years: ≈$208,000 at a 0.25% fee · ≈$198,000 at 0.50% · ≈$179,000 at 1.00% | Investor.gov: Fees |
| High-interest debt threshold | ~8%+ usually beats investing | Investor.gov: Pay off high-interest debt |
2. Glossary
Each term in one plain sentence, with the chapter that explains it fully.
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| APR | The yearly cost of borrowing, including most fees, expressed as one percentage (Ch. 7, 20). |
| Asset allocation | How your money is split among stocks, bonds, and cash (Ch. 12–13). |
| AUM (assets under management) | The money an advisor oversees, and the base for a percentage advisory fee (Ch. 26). |
| Beneficiary designation | The named person who inherits an account directly, overriding your will (Ch. 10). |
| Bracket (tax) | An income range taxed at one rate; only dollars inside that range pay that rate (Ch. 15). |
| Capital gain | The profit when you sell something for more than you paid (Ch. 15). |
| Cost basis | What you originally paid for an investment, the starting line for measuring gain or loss (Ch. 15). |
| Custodian | The institution that actually holds your money or investments behind the app (Ch. 25). |
| Deductible (insurance) | What you pay out of pocket before insurance starts paying (Ch. 9). |
| Diversification | Spreading money across many investments so no single failure sinks you (Ch. 13). |
| Dollar-cost averaging | Investing a fixed amount on a schedule, regardless of market mood (Ch. 11). |
| ETF | A fund that holds a basket of investments and trades like a stock (Ch. 11). |
| Expense ratio | The yearly percentage a fund charges to run itself (Ch. 13). |
| FDIC | Federal insurance that repays bank deposits up to $250,000 if the bank fails (Ch. 3). |
| Fiduciary | A professional legally required to put your interests first (Ch. 26). |
| FSA | A use-it-or-lose-it workplace account for health spending (Ch. 17). |
| HDHP | A high-deductible health plan, the kind that unlocks an HSA (Ch. 17). |
| HSA | A health savings account with the triple tax win: deductible in, untaxed growth, untaxed out for medical (Ch. 17). |
| Index fund | A fund that simply holds the whole market list instead of picking winners (Ch. 13). |
| IRMAA | The Medicare premium surcharge higher-income retirees pay, based on income from two years earlier (Ch. 24). |
| Liquidity | How fast you can turn an asset into spendable cash without losing value (Ch. 3, 6). |
| Marginal rate | The tax rate on your next dollar of income, not on all your income (Ch. 15). |
| Match (employer) | Free retirement money your employer adds when you contribute (Ch. 4, 16). |
| MFA (multi-factor authentication) | A second proof of identity that blocks most account takeovers (Ch. 25). |
| NIIT | The extra 3.8% tax on investment income above $200,000 single / $250,000 MFJ (Ch. 15). |
| Owner's draw | The fixed salary a business owner pays themselves regardless of the month's revenue (Ch. 19). |
| PMI | Insurance you pay on a mortgage with less than 20% down; it protects the lender, not you (Ch. 20). |
| Power of attorney (durable) | A document letting someone you choose manage your finances if you can't (Ch. 10). |
| Pro-rata rule | The IRS rule that makes a backdoor Roth conversion partly taxable if you hold other pre-tax IRA money (Ch. 16). |
| Rebalancing | Selling a little of what grew and buying what shrank to restore your target mix (Ch. 13). |
| RMD | A required minimum distribution, the withdrawal the IRS mandates from pre-tax accounts starting at 73 or 75 (Ch. 24). |
| Robo-advisor | Software that builds and rebalances a diversified portfolio for a small fee (Ch. 26). |
| Rollover | Moving retirement money between accounts without taxes, if done right (Ch. 16). |
| Roth | An account funded with after-tax dollars that grows and pays out tax-free (Ch. 16). |
| RSU | A restricted stock unit, a company share that becomes yours, and becomes taxable wages, when it vests (Ch. 18). |
| Sequence risk | The danger that early bad market years in retirement do damage an average return can't repair (Ch. 23). |
| Sinking fund | Money set aside monthly for a bill you know is coming (Ch. 6). |
| SIPC | Protection up to $500,000 if your broker fails, not against market losses (Ch. 3). |
| Stablecoin | A digital token designed to hold a steady $1 value via reserves (Ch. 25). |
| Surplus | After-tax income minus obligations, the number that funds everything (Ch. 2). |
| Term life | Life insurance for a set period that pays only if you die during it: cheap, simple coverage (Ch. 9). |
| Umbrella policy | Extra liability insurance stacked on top of home and auto coverage (Ch. 9). |
| Utilization | The share of your credit limits you're using, a major credit-score factor (Ch. 8). |
| Vesting | The schedule on which promised money or stock actually becomes yours (Ch. 16, 18). |
| Wash sale | Selling for a tax loss and rebuying the same thing within 30 days, which voids the loss (Ch. 15). |
3. Master source list
IRS
- 2026 tax inflation adjustments (including OBBB amendments)
- Federal income tax rates and brackets
- Retirement plan and IRA RMD FAQs
- Publication 550: Investment income and expenses
- Publication 590-A: IRA contributions
- Publication 590-B: IRA distributions
- Publication 969: HSAs and other tax-favored health plans
- Publication 525: Taxable and nontaxable income
- Topic 427: Stock options
- Estimated taxes for the self-employed
Social Security Administration
Medicare
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Investor.gov (SEC)
- Asset allocation
- Understanding fees
- Pay off credit cards or other high-interest debt
- Working with an investment professional
Deposit and brokerage protection
Consumer protection and security
- FTC: Scammers use AI to enhance family-emergency schemes
- CISA: Use strong passwords
- CISA: Turn on MFA
Other federal and education resources
- Federal Student Aid: Loan repayment
- ACL: How much long-term care will you need?
- Fidelity: 529-to-Roth rollover
- Fidelity: HSA contribution limits
Research papers (cited in Chapters 5, 11, 13, 23)
- Madrian, B. & Shea, D. (2001), on automatic enrollment and 401(k) participation.
- Thaler, R. & Benartzi, S. (2004), Save More Tomorrow.
- Barber, B. & Odean, T. (2000), Trading Is Hazardous to Your Wealth.
- Bengen, W. (1994), the original 4% withdrawal-rate study.