Standard deduction in 2025 and 2026: How much it is, how it works and when to claim it

The standard deduction is a powerful tool for trimming your tax bill because it reduces how much of your income is subject to tax. Plus, the standard deduction is one of the easiest tax benefits to claim — for most taxpayers, the IRS is going to let you claim it, no questions asked.

What is the standard deduction?

The standard deduction is a set dollar amount that taxpayers can enter on their Form 1040 tax return. You subtract the amount of the standard deduction from your adjusted gross income (AGI), thus reducing how much of your money is subject to tax — and that in turn reduces your federal tax bill.

The amount you can deduct depends on your filing status (single, married filing jointly, etc.). Plus, if you’re 65 or older, you can claim a new $6,000 “bonus” deduction (if your income is below certain limits), on top of an additional standard deduction available to those 65 or older and/or visually impaired (more on that below).

The IRS generally increases the amount of the standard deduction every year to account for inflation.

How the standard deduction works

Taxpayers must choose between claiming the standard deduction and itemizing their deductions. Itemizing essentially means you add up your list of qualified expenses and deduct that amount. The IRS determines what you can and can’t claim as an itemized expense; some popular ones include the state and local taxes deduction and the charitable contributions deduction.

When deciding between the standard deduction and itemizing, you want to choose the bigger number, because the higher your deduction amount — either the standard deduction or your total itemized deductions — the lower your tax bill.

You subtract either the standard deduction or your total itemized deductions from your AGI, and the result is your taxable income. (Check out line 12 of Form 1040 to see the IRS instructions.)

The vast majority of people now claim the standard deduction thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). That law almost doubled the amount of the standard deduction, plus reduced some of the itemized deductions available to taxpayers. Then, the megabill that became law in 2025 made the TCJA’s standard deduction amount permanent (it was set to expire at the end of 2025), plus added an additional inflation boost for the 2025 standard deduction.

All of which is to say: It’s now even more likely most taxpayers will claim the standard deduction.

The good news is that claiming the standard deduction is a lot easier than itemizing. Itemizing entails gathering paperwork and making sure you follow some complex rules, while claiming the standard deduction is as simple as finding the dollar amount that applies to your filing status.

How much is the current standard deduction worth?

Standard deduction for 2025

Here are the current standard deduction amounts for 2025, for returns filed in 2026:

Standard deduction for 2026

Here are the current standard deduction amounts for 2026, for returns filed in 2027.

Who can’t take the standard deduction?

Not everyone can choose the standard deduction. Here’s a list of taxpayers who don’t qualify:

• Your filing status is married filing separately and your spouse itemizes their deductions.
• You’re a nonresident alien or dual-status alien. However, there are certain exceptions to this rule.
• You’re filing an individual income tax return for less than 12 months because of a change in your annual accounting period.
• You’re filing an estate, trust or partnership tax return.

When should you claim the standard deduction?

When filing your Form 1040 tax return, you’ll have the option to itemize your deductions or choose the standard deduction.

Generally, it’s best to choose the standard deduction when your total itemized deductions add up to less than the standard deduction amount for your filing status. For many taxpayers, claiming the standard deduction is the right choice.

Standard deduction vs. itemized deductions

When choosing between claiming the standard deduction and itemizing, you first need to know (or at least estimate) what your itemized deductions add up to.

Itemizing your deductions lets you deduct the actual amount of specific expenses from your taxable income, up to IRS limits. Common itemized deductions include mortgage interest, charitable contributions and eligible medical expenses.

Another popular itemized deduction is the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction, which lets you deduct your property taxes as well as your state and local income taxes or state sales taxes. The SALT deduction is currently capped at $40,000 per year from 2025 through 2029. In 2030, the cap is slated to drop to $10,000.

If your itemized deductions add up to more than the standard deduction, then you would likely itemize. Otherwise, it makes more financial sense to claim the standard deduction. Generally, about 90% of taxpayers claim the standard deduction.

For example, if you’re married filing jointly and your 2025 property taxes, state income taxes, mortgage interest and qualified charitable contributions add up to $50,000, then it would make more sense to itemize rather than claiming the $31,500 standard deduction.

New ‘bonus’ deduction for those 65 and older

Thanks to the new tax law, taxpayers who are 65 or older now qualify for a new bonus deduction of up to $6,000, or up to $12,000 for couples who are married filing jointly and both spouses are 65 or older.

The IRS counts you as 65 years old as long as you’re that age on the last day of the tax year. Interestingly, the IRS counts you as 65 the day before your birthday. For example, for tax year 2025, the IRS says you’re 65 years old if you were born before Jan. 2, 1961.

But there are three key ways this new bonus deduction is unlike the standard deduction:

1. Income limits. This bonus deduction starts to phase out with modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for married-filing-jointly filers.
2. Temporary tax break. The bonus deduction is temporary, in effect only from 2025 through 2028.
3. You can itemize. Eligible taxpayers can claim the bonus deduction even if they itemize their deductions.

Extra standard deduction for older or visually impaired taxpayers

On top of the standard deduction and the new bonus deduction, taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind can claim an extra standard deduction. On Form 1040 (or Form 1040SR, the tax return for senior taxpayers that has larger type), you can check one box if you’re 65 or older and a second box if you’re visually impaired.

If you’re married, there’s a box for your spouse to check if they’re 65 or older and a box to check if they’re visually impaired. For married couples, the age and vision of each spouse is counted separately, meaning that an older couple could check up to four boxes, each worth an additional standard deduction. The total number of checked boxes determines the total amount of the extra standard deduction.

In 2025 (for returns filed in 2026), the extra standard deduction for a taxpayer who is 65 or older, or blind, and…

• married, is $1,600, per qualifying spouse.
• single or head of household (and doesn’t qualify as a surviving spouse) is $2,000.

Those amounts are doubled if you’re 65 or older and visually impaired.

Here are some examples of the value of the extra standard deduction for 65 or older and/or blind taxpayers, by filing status, for 2025, for returns filed in 2026:

For the extra standard deduction, if your 65th birthday was Jan. 1, the IRS considers you 65 for the previous tax year.

As for visual acuity, you may qualify for the extra deduction if you are partially blind by attaching a letter from your physician attesting to your limited vision.

Standard deduction for dependent taxpayers

Even taxpayers who are claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer may have a reason to file a tax return of their own: So they can get a refund of withheld money.

A taxpayer who is claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return for tax year 2025 (and who is younger than 65 and not blind) can claim a standard deduction of $1,350, or their earned income plus $450, whichever number is higher. (The deduction cannot exceed the basic standard deduction for the dependent taxpayer’s filing status.)