QBI Deduction Calculator 2026: 20% QBI Deduction

What does this calculator answer?

You get an estimated 2026 QBI deduction in dollars for one business, with SSTB phase-out, wage and UBIA limits, taxable-income cap, and the statutory minimum floor. It shows which limit controls and how much QBI an SSTB haircut removes. It does not replace Form 8995-A for multiple businesses, aggregation, losses, or REIT or PTP income.

Who is this QBI deduction calculator for?

Use it when you have one domestic qualified business and need the 2026 number before you file or plan payments. Typical cases:

• You already have a defensible QBI figure and whole-return taxable income, and you want the section 199A estimate with the limits shown separately.
• You need to see whether an SSTB haircut, wage/property limit, or taxable-income cap controls the result.
• You are checking someone else's inputs and want a transparent worksheet rather than a 20% shortcut.

This is not a substitute for Form 8995 or 8995-A. It does not classify your business or decide eligibility. If you still need the rules, read how the qualified business income deduction works. Keep this page for the QBI calculations.

Is this a QBI deduction calculator?

Yes. This page is the Numerandi QBI deduction calculator for 2026.

Enter QBI, whole-return taxable income, filing status, SSTB status, business W-2 wages, UBIA, and net capital gain. The result is a one-business 2026 section 199A estimate, not a filed deduction.

It is not the explainer. Who qualifies, which form to use, and how SSTB and wage limits fit together stay on the qualified business income deduction guide. The article owns the rules. This tool owns the estimate.

What should you enter?

Use qualified business income (QBI) as net qualified income for this one 2026 business, not Schedule C gross receipts and not the cash you transferred to yourself.

Use whole-return taxable income before QBI for your full 2026 return. That number picks your threshold. For 2026, the threshold is $403,500 if you are married filing jointly, $201,775 if you are married filing separately, and $201,750 for other returns. Confirm those figures in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.26.

Use filing status to match those 2026 bands. The first three fields are enough for a below-threshold estimate. Open business type, wages, property, and capital gain only after you have SSTB status, business-allocable W-2 wages, UBIA, and whole-return net capital gain from records. UBIA is the unadjusted basis immediately after acquisition of eligible property, not current book value.

If this business has an operating loss, a QBI loss carryover, or a passive-activity loss, do not enter $0 and treat the result as complete. Read how to calculate QBI with a passive or operating loss below.

The headline result is the estimated 2026 QBI deduction in dollars. Supporting lines show which limit is biting.

How do you calculate the QBI deduction?

1. Reconcile QBI: net qualified domestic business income, not gross receipts. Subtract this year’s qualified-business operating loss and any prior-year QBI loss carryover before you take 20%. This tool accepts only nonnegative QBI and does not do that netting.
2. Start with 20% of remaining positive QBI.
3. If whole-return taxable income is above your 2026 threshold, phase in the greater of 50% of business W-2 wages or 25% of those wages plus 2.5% of UBIA.
4. If the business is an SSTB inside the phase-out band, count only the applicable percentage of QBI, wages, and UBIA.
5. Cap the result at 20% of taxable income before the deduction minus net capital gain.
6. Test the $400 minimum when active QBI meets $1,000 under the simplified single-business input.

That is how QBI calculations work on this page. Multiple businesses, losses, carryovers, and aggregation still need Form 8995 or 8995-A.

How do QBI calculations work?

The calculator follows those same steps from the nonnegative QBI you enter. Above your filing-status threshold it phases in the greater of 50% of business W-2 wages or 25% of wages plus 2.5% of UBIA. For an SSTB inside the phase-out band, only an applicable percentage of QBI, wages, and UBIA counts. It caps the result at 20% of taxable income before the deduction minus net capital gain, then tests the $400 minimum when active QBI meets $1,000.

How do you calculate QBI with a passive or operating loss?

This calculator estimates one positive business. It does not calculate a passive QBI loss or an operating-loss QBI figure.

A qualified-business operating loss first reduces that business’s QBI. If combined QBI from your qualified businesses is still negative after netting, section 199A generally creates a QBI loss carryover instead of a current deduction. A prior-year QBI loss carryover reduces current QBI on Form 8995 or 8995-A. See the Form 8995-A instructions and IRC §199A.

Passive-activity rules are a separate return-level test. They can limit whether a loss is allowed this year. Material participation also matters for the 2026 $400 floor, which looks at active qualified business income. This tool does not apply section 469, decide if an activity is passive, or compute a carryover.

Enter only nonnegative QBI here. Use the official forms when a loss, carryover, or passive limitation is part of the return.

What is the QBI deduction phase-out?

Your QBI deduction depends on where your whole-return taxable income falls relative to two dollar bands set for 2026. At or below your threshold, you are fully in: the wage/property limit has not started to bite, and an SSTB still counts 100% of QBI, wages, and UBIA. Between your threshold and the top of the range, you are in phase-out: limits phase in gradually. Above the top, you are phased out — an SSTB generally loses the benefit from that business, and a non-SSTB is fully limited to its wage/property amount.

For 2026, your threshold is $403,500 if you are married filing jointly, $201,775 if you are married filing separately, and $201,750 for other returns. The top of each range is $553,500, $276,775, and $276,750, respectively. Confirm those figures in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.26 and Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45.

You may deduct up to 20% of QBI under section 199A, but that is only your starting point. Above your range, a non-SSTB is limited to the lower of 20% of QBI or the greater of 50% of business W-2 wages or 25% of those wages plus 2.5% of UBIA. See IRC §199A(b)(2). The calculator shows your status — fully in, in phase-out, or phased out — after your primary result.

How does SSTB treatment change your result?

If your SSTB is inside the phase-in range, you count only an applicable percentage of QBI, wages, and UBIA. Your percentage starts at 100% at the threshold and reaches zero at the top. You see the removed QBI as the “SSTB haircut.” You then apply the phased wage/property limit to your remaining amounts. If your SSTB is above the top, you receive zero from that business under this model. See the applicable-percentage approach in the Form 8995-A instructions.

You also cap the result at 20% of taxable income before the QBI deduction minus net capital gain. Taxable income covers your whole return, not just business profit. Using business profit can materially overstate or understate your result.

How does the worked 2026 example calculate your deduction?

Assume your non-SSTB has $100,000 of 2026 QBI. You have $180,000 of taxable income before the deduction. You have no net capital gain, business W-2 wage amount, or qualified-property UBIA. Your tentative deduction is $100,000 × 20% = $20,000. Your $180,000 taxable income is below the 2026 $201,750 threshold for all other returns. Therefore, your wage/property limit has not begun to phase in. Your overall cap is $180,000 × 20% = $36,000. Your allowed result is the lower of $20,000 and $36,000, so it is $20,000. The 2026 $400 statutory minimum does not increase your already larger deduction.

Do you get the new minimum?

You may get a new minimum under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which added IRC §199A(i). For 2026, you receive the greater of your calculated deduction or $400 if you have at least $1,000 of aggregate QBI from active qualified businesses. Aggregate QBI combines your QBI from those businesses. “Active” uses material-participation rules, which measure your involvement. Your aggregate QBI can differ from the one positive business entered here. The floor display applies this simplified input. It does not prove material participation.

You must enter nonnegative QBI for one business. This calculator does not handle your qualified-business losses, prior-year carryovers, aggregation elections, cooperatives, REIT dividends, publicly traded partnerships, fiscal-year pass-throughs, or interactions among multiple SSTBs and non-SSTBs. REIT means real estate investment trust. Your W-2 wages must belong to this business. Do not use wages you received from an unrelated employer. Your UBIA requires asset-level eligibility and period testing.

Which common mistakes and edge cases should you avoid?

• Enter your net qualified business income, not Schedule C gross receipts. Gross receipts overstate your starting amount.
• Use taxable income for your whole return. Business profit can miss your wages, deductions, a spouse's income, and other items.
• Do not enter your unrelated W-2 wages in the business wage box. They can create a deduction your business did not earn.
• Check the legal tests before you label your consulting or service business. Assuming every consultant is an SSTB, or every service business is not one, skips the field and reputation tests.
• Include your loss carryovers, aggregation, REIT/PTP income, capital gains, and multiple businesses. Omitting them can make your single-business result unusable.
• Do not enter $0 QBI when the business has an operating loss or a QBI loss carryover and treat the headline as the complete calculation. Those QBI calculations belong on Form 8995 or 8995-A.

When should you use this calculator?

Use it when you have one domestic qualified business and want a 2026 section 199A estimate before you file or plan payments. Use the explainer when you still need who qualifies, which form to file, or how SSTB and wage limits work. Then compare payroll-tax savings that can interact with QBI with the LLC vs S-corp tax calculator. Estimate Schedule SE separately with the self-employment tax calculator. Revisit estimated payments after you add the deduction in a full projection with the quarterly estimated tax calculator.

What should you do next?

Reconcile QBI to your business return and identify prior-year qualified-business losses. Determine your SSTB status and business-allocable W-2 wages and UBIA from records, not guesses. Calculate taxable income and net capital gain for your whole return. If an amount is near a 2026 threshold, model the full Form 8995-A schedules. Keep source documents for wages, property basis, and aggregation choices.