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Every year about this time, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases inflation data, specifically the CPI-U, experts from a variety of magazines and newspapers try to predict what the tax brackets will be the following year. This is possible because many figures in the tax laws are based on inflation, such as the standard deduction, contribution limits for Traditional and Roth IRAs, and the size and placing of the tax brackets themselves.

This year, the Tax Foundation is first out the gate ^[3] with their prediction that everything will essentially remain the same as inflation was a mere 0.19%. When they performed this exercise in predicting the 2009 federal income tax brackets ^[4], they were 100% correct. I’m fairly confident that these numbers will be accurate when the IRS officially announces the tax brackets for 2010.

2010 IRS Tax Brackets

The below 2010 tax tables are the projected federal income tax brackets for 2010:

Here are some other important non-tax bracket-related updates (until these are made official by the IRS, these are merely predictions by the experts). As expected, no (or very small) changes:

• Standard deduction remains the same: The standard deduction for singles will remain at $5,700. For married filing jointly, the number will also remain at $11,400. If you are a Head of Household, it’s expected to increase by $50 to $8,400.
• Personal exemption remains the same: The personal exemption will remain at $3,650.
• Annual gift tax exclusion unchanged: For 2010, the current 2009 gift tax exclusion of $13,000 is expected to remain the same. The gift tax is how much you can give to someone else without any tax considerations.

For comparison, here are the 2009 Federal Income Tax Brackets ^[4] and the 2008 Federal Income Tax Brackets ^[5].