Marginal Tax Rate
The tax rate applied to your next dollar of income, not to your entire income.
Income tax systems in the US, UK, and Australia are progressive: income is split into bands, and each band is taxed at its own rate. Your marginal rate is the rate on the last (highest) band your income reaches — it's the rate that applies to any additional dollar you earn, not your overall tax bill.
Worked Example
Earning enough to reach a 24% bracket doesn't mean all your income is taxed at 24% — only the portion inside that band is. The dollars in lower bands are still taxed at those lower bands' rates.
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