Itemized vs Standard Deduction

Compare your itemized deductions on Schedule A against the standard deduction. Includes the OBBBA $40,000 SALT cap (2025–2029, phasing down above $500K MAGI), mortgage interest, charitable, and medical with the 7.5%-AGI floor.

Inputs

Your filing & deduction details

Tax year

Filing status

AGI / MAGIAdjusted Gross Income — used for the 7.5% medical floor and the SALT phase-out

Itemized components

Schedule A inputs

State income tax + property tax + sales tax (total)SALT — capped at $40,000 ($20,000 MFS) under OBBBA, phasing down above $500K MAGI to a $10K floor

Home mortgage interestAcquisition debt up to $750K ($1M for pre-Dec-2017 mortgages, grandfathered)

Charitable contributionsCash + non-cash; cash limited to 60% of AGI, non-cash 30%

Total medical / dental expensesOut-of-pocket only; subject to 7.5% AGI floor — only excess counts

Federally-declared disaster casualty lossOnly federal disaster losses deductible under TCJA; minus $100 + 10% AGI floor

Comparison

Which is bigger?

Recommendation

📊 Standard Deduction

2025 Single / MFS$15,750

2025 MFJ$31,500

2025 HoH$23,625

2026 Single / MFS$16,100

2026 MFJ$32,200

2026 HoH$24,150

💡 SALT Cap Reality

2025: SALT cap $40,000 ($20,000 MFS), up from $10,000 — phases down 30% of MAGI over $500,000 to a $10,000 floor (gone by ~$600K).

2026: $40,400 ($20,200 MFS); phase-out starts at $505,000 MAGI. Cap reverts to $10,000 in 2030.

If your state income + property + sales tax exceeds the cap, the excess simply doesn't deduct.

🔗 Related Tools

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Federal Tax Estimator

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State Tax Rate Lookup

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SALT in Acronym Decoder

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How the itemized-vs-standard decision works

Every taxpayer subtracts either the standard deduction or the total of their itemized deductions from adjusted gross income — whichever is larger — to arrive at taxable income. You take the standard deduction by default; you itemize on Schedule A only when your deductible expenses add up to more. For 2025 the standard deduction (as increased by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) is $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for married filing jointly, $23,625 for head of household, and $15,750 for married filing separately. For 2026 the single and joint amounts rise to $16,100 and $32,200.

Taxpayers age 65 or older or blind add an extra standard amount — $2,000 for single or head-of-household filers and $1,600 per qualifying spouse for married filers in 2025. Separately, OBBBA created a new $6,000 senior deduction (per person age 65+) for tax years 2025 through 2028 that is available whether you itemize or take the standard deduction; it phases out for modified AGI above $75,000 single / $150,000 joint and is gone by $175,000 / $250,000.

Worked example

A married couple filing jointly has $9,000 of state and local taxes, $11,000 of mortgage interest, and $4,000 of charitable gifts — $24,000 of itemized deductions. Because the 2025 joint standard deduction is $31,500, they are better off taking the standard deduction and skip Schedule A entirely. If their mortgage interest were instead $25,000 (total itemized $38,000), itemizing would save them tax on the extra $6,500 above the standard amount.

Common mistakes & edge cases

The state and local tax (SALT) deduction is capped — OBBBA raised the cap to $40,000 for 2025, which pushes some upper-middle-income filers in high-tax states back into itemizing for the first time since 2018. Medical expenses are deductible only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI, so they rarely tip the scales by themselves. Married-filing-separately spouses must both use the same method: if one itemizes, the other cannot take the standard deduction. A useful planning move is “bunching” — concentrating two years of charitable gifts or elective medical costs into one year so that year clears the standard-deduction threshold while the off-year takes the standard amount.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 2025 standard deduction?

After the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increase, it is $15,750 for single filers, $31,500 for married filing jointly, $23,625 for head of household, and $15,750 for married filing separately, plus additional amounts for taxpayers who are 65 or older or blind.

Did OBBBA change the SALT cap?

Yes. The cap on the state and local tax deduction rose to $40,000 for 2025 (from $10,000 under prior law), subject to a high-income phasedown. This is the change most likely to move taxpayers from the standard deduction to itemizing.

Can I take the new $6,000 senior deduction and the standard deduction?

Yes. The OBBBA senior deduction (up to $6,000 per person age 65 or older, 2025–2028) is claimed in addition to either the standard deduction or itemized deductions, subject to the MAGI phase-out described above.