High Inflation Drives Larger Increases In 2022 Tax Code Amounts Than Recent Years, Reports Shows

Friday, September 24th, 2021

 Bloomberg Tax & Accounting issued its 2022 Projected U.S. Tax Rates report today, which provides a detailed and comprehensive projection of inflation-adjusted amounts in the tax code. The report's projections are based on changes to the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which were published this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bloomberg Tax & Accounting's projections provide early notice of the amount of tax savings that will be realized by taxpayers due to increases in deduction limitations, upward adjustments to tax bracket thresholds, and increases to numerous other key thresholds. The full report is available at http://onb-tax.com/7BpZ50G9f8x.

From 2021 to 2022, most inflation-adjusted amounts in the tax code, including the threshold dollar amounts for tax rate brackets, are projected to increase by approximately 3%.

The following provisions have changed from last year's report based on recent tax legislation:

  • Disqualified income limitation, for purposes of the §32 earned income tax credit, increased from $2,200 to $10,000.
  • Limitation on the §179D deduction for energy efficient commercial building property is now adjusted for inflation.
  • Phaseout range for the §25A Lifetime Learning Credit is no longer adjusted for inflation.

"We predict that inflation-adjusted amounts in the tax code will increase by a greater percentage in 2022 than in prior years due to high U.S. inflation," said Jean McCormick, vice president, analysis & content, Bloomberg Tax & Accounting. "Taxpayers and advisors can use our projections to begin their 2022 tax planning before the IRS publishes the official 2022 inflation-adjusted amounts later this year."

Individual Income Tax Rate Brackets

Bloomberg Tax & Accounting has projected 2022 income ranges for each tax rate bracket. Income ranges for the tax brackets for married taxpayers filing jointly and for single taxpayers are shown below. Rate brackets for other filing statuses are included in the full report.

Married Filing Jointly and Surviving Spouses

Projected 2022 Tax Rate Bracket Income Ranges

10% - $0 to $20,550

12% - $20,550 to $83,550

22% - $83,550 to $178,150

24% - $178,150 to $340,100

32% - $340,100 to $431,900

35% - $431,900 to $647,850

37% - $647,850 or more

Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households)

Projected 2022 Tax Rate Bracket Income Ranges

10% - $0 to $10,275

12% - $10,275 to $41,775

22% - $41,775 to $89,075

24% - $89,075 to $170,050

32% - $170,050 to $215,950

35% - $215,950 to $539,900

37% - $539,900 or more

Standard Deduction

Bloomberg Tax & Accounting has projected the following standard deduction amounts for 2022:

Filing Status

Projected 2022

Standard Deduction

Married Filing Jointly/Surviving Spouses

$25,900

Heads of Household

$19,400

All Other Taxpayers

$12,950

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

Projected 2022 AMT exemption amounts are shown below.

Filing Status

Projected 2022

AMT Exemption Amount

Married Filing Jointly/Surviving Spouses

$118,100

Unmarried Individuals

(other than Surviving Spouses)

$75,900

Married Filing Separately

$59,050

Estates and Trusts

$26,500