The standard deduction is a flat dollar amount the IRS lets you subtract from your Adjusted Gross Income before calculating tax. No receipts, no forms, no qualification beyond your filing status. In 2026, it is the right choice for roughly 90% of American taxpayers.
2026 Standard Deduction by Filing Status
| Filing Status | Standard Deduction |
|---|---|
| Single | $15,000 |
| Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) | $30,000 |
| Married Filing Separately (MFS) | $15,000 |
| Head of Household | $22,500 |
| Qualifying Surviving Spouse | $30,000 |
These amounts are inflation-adjusted each year under IRS Rev. Proc. formulas. For comparison: in 2017 (before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), the standard deduction was just $6,350 for single filers. The TCJA roughly doubled it, which is why itemizing became rare.
Additional Deduction for Age 65+ or Blind
If you or your spouse are 65 or older, or legally blind, you receive an additional standard deduction layered on top of the base amount:
| Situation | Extra Amount Per Qualifying Person |
|---|---|
| Single or Head of Household — age 65+ | +$1,600 |
| Single or Head of Household — blind | +$1,600 |
| Married (any status) — age 65+ | +$1,300 |
| Married (any status) — blind | +$1,300 |
These stack. A single taxpayer who is both 65 and blind gets +$3,200, bringing the total to $18,200. A married couple where both spouses are 65+ get $30,000 + $1,300 + $1,300 = $32,600.
The 65+ threshold is met if your 65th birthday falls on or before January 1 of the following tax year (the IRS treats December 31 birthdays as being 65 on December 30 for this purpose).
Standard Deduction for Dependents
If someone else claims you as a dependent on their return, your standard deduction is limited to the greater of:
- $1,350, or
- Your earned income + $450 (but never more than the regular standard deduction)
Example: A college student with $9,000 in part-time W-2 wages can claim $9,000 + $450 = $9,450 as their standard deduction. Their unearned income (investment dividends, trust distributions) above $1,350 is taxed at the parent's marginal rate under the "Kiddie Tax" rules.
When Itemizing Beats the Standard Deduction
Itemizing makes sense only when your Schedule A total exceeds the standard deduction for your filing status. The qualifying deductions are:
Mortgage interest — deductible on the first $750,000 of loan principal (for loans originated after December 15, 2017). On a $600,000 loan at 7%, annual interest in year 1 is roughly $41,000.
SALT (State and Local Taxes) — property taxes plus either state income tax or state sales tax, capped at a combined $10,000. This cap eliminated the benefit of itemizing for most residents of low-to-middle-tax states.
Charitable contributions — cash donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are deductible at face value. Non-cash donations above $500 require Form 8283; above $5,000 require a qualified appraisal.
Medical expenses — only the amount exceeding 7.5% of AGI qualifies. On a $90,000 AGI, only medical expenses above $6,750 are deductible. This threshold makes the deduction meaningful only in catastrophic illness situations.
Casualty and theft losses — limited to federally declared disaster areas; personal casualty losses outside of that context are no longer deductible post-TCJA.
Itemizing Example: New York Homeowner
| Deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest ($700K loan, 6.8%) | $47,000 |
| SALT (NY state income tax + NYC tax + property tax, capped) | $10,000 |
| Charitable donations | $5,000 |
| Total itemized | $62,000 |
| MFJ standard deduction | $30,000 |
| Benefit of itemizing | +$32,000 |
At a 24% marginal rate, that $32,000 extra deduction saves $7,680 in federal taxes.
The Same Family Without a Mortgage
| Deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| SALT (capped) | $10,000 |
| Charitable donations | $5,000 |
| Total itemized | $15,000 |
| MFJ standard deduction | $30,000 |
| Standard deduction wins by | $15,000 |
No calculation needed: if you rent and live in a moderate-tax state, the standard deduction almost certainly wins.
The SALT Cap Problem in High-Tax States
The $10,000 SALT cap (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017) remains the most impactful restriction for affluent itemizers in states like California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
A California homeowner earning $200,000 may pay $18,000 in state income tax and $12,000 in property tax — $30,000 of SALT before the cap. They can only deduct $10,000. The $20,000 excess is lost. Congress has repeatedly proposed raising or eliminating this cap; check IRS guidance for any updates before you file.
Some states have enacted SALT "workarounds" via pass-through entity taxes (PTETs) — if you own a business, consult a CPA about whether your state's PTET election can recover some of this deduction.
What the Standard Deduction Cannot Replace
Taking the standard deduction does not prevent you from claiming:
- Above-the-line adjustments (401k, HSA, IRA, student loan interest) — these reduce AGI before the deduction applies
- Tax credits (Child Tax Credit, EITC, etc.) — credits come off the tax bill, not taxable income, and are unaffected by the deduction choice
- Deductions on business returns — Schedule C, Schedule E, and Form 4562 (depreciation) are separate from the personal deduction decision
The Quick Decision Rule
Add up your mortgage interest + SALT (capped at $10,000) + charitable donations + eligible medical bills. If that sum is less than your standard deduction, stop — there is nothing to analyze. If it is close to or above your standard deduction, compute itemized deductions precisely before filing.
Use our Tax Refund Estimator to model both scenarios and see the dollar difference for your specific income, deductions, and filing status.