What Will the Standard Deduction Be in 2026?

For tax year 2026, the IRS standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $24,150 for heads of household, and $16,100 for single filers and married individuals filing separately.

The seven federal tax brackets for 2026 stay at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, with the highest, 37%, rate starting above $640,600 of taxable income for a single filer or $768,700 for a married couple filing jointly.

Is There an Extra Deduction If You're 65 or Older?

In addition to the regular 2026 standard deduction, a taxpayer who is 65 or older (or blind) can add $1,650 per qualifying condition if married, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse.

A separate, temporary deduction from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act lets a qualifying person 65 or older claim an additional $6,000 (up to $12,000 for a married couple if both qualify) for tax years 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $75,000 of modified AGI for a single filer or $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

How Much Can PepsiCo Employees Put Into a 401(k) in 2026?

The 2026 contribution limit for a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457 plan is $24,500, and workers 50 and older can add a catch-up contribution of $8,000, for a combined $32,500.

PepsiCo employees who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026 can use a higher catch-up limit of $11,250 instead of $8,000, if the plan allows it, for a potential total of $35,750.

What's the 2026 IRA Contribution Limit?

The 2026 IRA contribution limit rose to $7,500, and the catch-up contribution for savers 50 and older rose to $1,100, both up from 2025.

How Big Is the 2026 Social Security Raise?

Social Security and SSI payments rose 2.8% for 2026, based on inflation data from the third quarter of 2025.

The amount of wages subject to Social Security tax also rose for 2026, to $184,500, up from $176,100 in 2025.

Will Working Reduce Your Social Security Check?

If you claim Social Security before full retirement age and keep working, Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480 in 2026.

In the calendar year you reach full retirement age, a higher 2026 limit of $65,160 applies to earnings before that birthday month, with $1 withheld for every $3 above it; withheld amounts are added back into your benefit later.

Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?

Up to 50% of a single filer's Social Security benefits can become taxable once combined income (adjusted gross income, plus tax-exempt interest, plus half of benefits) passes $25,000, and up to 85% once it passes $34,000; for joint filers the thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000.

These thresholds are fixed in the statute rather than adjusted for inflation, so they stay the same for tax year 2026.

What Will Medicare Part B Cost PepsiCo Retirees in 2026?

The standard Medicare Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month, and the annual Part B deductible is $283.

Retirees with income above $109,000 (single) or $218,000 (joint), based on a 2024 tax return, pay an income-related surcharge in addition to that premium in 2026; the first surcharge tier adds $81.20 a month.

Is the Child Tax Credit Changing for 2026?

The Child Tax Credit for 2026 stays at $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,700 of that refundable even if your tax bill is lower than the credit.

Do 2026 Tax Brackets Change How Capital Gains Are Taxed?

Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends keep their own 2026 rate ladder: 0% on income up to $49,450 for a single filer or $98,900 for a married couple filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (joint), and 20% above those levels.

Because this ladder is separate from the ordinary brackets above, the order in which you realize capital gains, take Roth conversions, or harvest losses in a given year can change how much of each gets taxed at 0% versus 15%.

When Do Required Minimum Distributions Start?

Owners of a traditional IRA or an employer plan such as a 401(k) generally must begin required minimum distributions for the year they turn 73.

Missing an RMD can trigger a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, cut to 10% if the mistake is corrected within roughly two years.

Why Does Inflation Still Matter for a PepsiCo Retirement Budget?

Federal brackets and limits reset every year, but day-to-day price increases, especially for health care, also shape how far a given retirement income actually goes.

That is one reason to recheck these numbers each year rather than planning around last year's figures.

A PepsiCo pension or 401(k) plan has its own rules for contributions, matching, and payout choices in addition to the federal numbers above, and those plan-specific details are where the next section picks up.

How Do PepsiCo's 401(k) and Pension Rules Work?

PepsiCo's own plan terms decide how far those federal numbers actually stretch for a PepsiCo paycheck. PepsiCo matches 50% of employee contributions up to a limit of 4% to 8% of eligible pay, depending on years of service, and separately makes a non-matching contribution of up to 9% of eligible pay based on age and years of service, regardless of what an employee puts in. Savings Plan participants are immediately vested in their own contributions, while PepsiCo's matching and non-matching money generally vests after three years of service. PepsiCo's U.S. salaried pension plan stopped building new benefits effective December 31, 2025, and those salaried employees became eligible for 401(k) matching and non-matching contributions starting January 1, 2026, a change that public filings describe as applying to the salaried plan, not PepsiCo's separate hourly pension plan. Checking which formula and match rate apply to your own paycheck is worth doing before leaning on the federal figures above alone.