We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict
, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here’s an explanation for
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
Each year, most taxpayers claim the standard deduction.
The amount is adjusted annually for inflation and varies depending upon a taxpayer’s filing status. Married couples that file joint returns are given the biggest standard deduction, while couples opting to file separately get the smallest. In between are the amounts for single taxpayers and those who qualify for head-of-household status. And the standard deduction is increased a bit for blind and elderly taxpayers.
Claim on any form
Using the standard deduction does not limit a taxpayer’s choice of tax return. It can be claimed on the long 1040, the 1040A or the short-form 1040EZ. Each of these returns lists the exact dollar amounts of the standard deduction for that tax year. (Don’t be alarmed by the difference in the amounts on Form 1040EZ and the other two returns; the EZ combines the standard deduction and exemption amounts to save on form space and calculations, true to its “easy” name and reputation.)
No expense tracking
The standard deduction’s biggest attraction: A taxpayer doesn’t have to keep track of each possible tax-deductible expense throughout the year. Plus, most taxpayers find the standard amount is generous enough to surpass any total they could accrue by adding up tax-related expenses separately.
Filing but dependent
However, sometimes even those who claim the standard deduction must do a bit more work when it comes time to file. This is the case for people who are filing their own returns but who also can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. This might be the case for a young person who earned enough to necessitate filing but who is still living at home and is claimed as a dependent by his or her parents.
In this situation, the dependent filer must complete a worksheet found in the tax return instruction book to determine his or her precise standard deduction amount.
But most taxpayers who claim the standard deduction aren’t bothered with this extra work. They simply get their tax return, find their standard deduction amount on the form and go from there.
Share