752 / What is the standard deduction?

Editor’s Note: The 2017 tax reform legislation roughly doubled the standard deduction to $24,000 per married couple ($30,000 for 2025, $29,200 for 2024, $27,700 for 2023, $25,900 for 2022 and $25,100 for 2021) and $12,000 per individual in 2018 ($15,000 for 2025, $14,600 for 2024, $13,850 for 2023, $12,950 for 2022 and $12,550 for 2021).

For heads of households, the standard deduction is increased to $18,000 ($22,500 for 2025, $21,900 for 2024, $20,800 for 2023, $19,400 for 2022 and $18,800 for 2021).

For married taxpayers filing separate returns, the standard deduction is $12,000 ($15,000 for 2025, $14,600 for 2024, $13,850 for 2023, $12,950 for 2022 and $12,550 for 2021).

These amounts are indexed for inflation for tax years beginning after December 31, 2018 and are set to revert to pre-reform levels for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.¹

There are two ways that taxable income may be calculated. First, taxpayers may subtract from adjusted gross income (see Q 715) the sum of their personal exemptions (prior to 2018 and after 2025) and the standard deduction. Alternatively, taxpayers can deduct from adjusted gross income their allowable personal exemptions (see Q 728, Q 729) and the total of their itemized deductions (see Q 731).²

Pre-reform, the standard deduction for 2017 was $12,700 for married individuals filing jointly and surviving spouses, $9,350 for heads of households and $6,350 for single individuals and married taxpayers filing separately.³ The standard deduction is adjusted annually for inflation.⁴

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Planning Point: Because of the increased standard deduction and the elimination of many itemized deductions, more taxpayers choose the standard deduction under the new tax law. Those taxpayers who wish to take advantage of the remaining itemized deductions (for example, the deduction for charitable contributions) may benefit from planning to “bunch” those deductions into a single tax year in order to ensure that itemized deductions exceed the expanded standard deduction.

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Individuals who do not itemize and who are classified as elderly (age 65 or older) or blind are entitled to increase their standard deduction. For taxable years beginning in 2025, individuals who are married or are surviving spouses are each entitled to an additional deduction of $1,600 ($1,550 in 2024, $1,500 in 2023, $1,400 in 2022, $1,350 in 2021, $1,300 in 2018-2020) if they are elderly and an additional $1,600 deduction if they are blind. The extra standard deduction is $2,000 (in 2025, $1,950 in 2024, $1,850 in 2023, $1,750 in 2022, $1,700 in 2021, $1,650 in 2019-2020) for unmarried elderly taxpayers and $2,000 in 2025 for unmarried blind taxpayers.⁵ The additional amounts for elderly and blind individuals are indexed for inflation, and were not changed under the 2017 tax reform legislation.⁶

The following taxpayers are ineligible for the standard deduction and thus must itemize their deductions or take a standard deduction of zero dollars: (1) married taxpayers filing separately, if either spouse itemizes,⁷ (2) non-resident aliens, (3) taxpayers filing a short year return because of a change in their annual accounting period, and (4) estates or trusts, common trust funds, or partnerships.⁸

For taxable years beginning in 2025, the standard deduction for an individual who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer is the greater of $1,350 ($1,300 in 2024, $1,250 in 2023, $1,150 in 2022, $1,100 in 2019-2021) or the sum of $450 (in 2025, $450 in 2024, $400 in 2022 and 2023, $350 in 2019-2021) and the dependent’s earned income (but the standard deduction so calculated cannot exceed the regular standard deduction amount above).⁹ These dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation.¹⁰

“Marriage penalty” relief. EGTRRA 2001 increased the basic standard deduction for a married couple filing a joint return, providing for a phase-in of the increase until the basic standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly equaled twice the basic standard deduction for an unmarried individual filing a single return by 2009. JGTRRA 2003 accelerated the phase-in, providing that the basic standard deduction for a married couple filing a joint return equaled twice the standard deduction for an unmarried individual filing a single return for 2003 and 2004, then reverting to the lower, gradually increasing standard deduction amounts provided for under EGTRRA for 2005 through 2009. However, under WFTRA 2004 the standard deduction for married individuals filing jointly (and surviving spouses) is twice the amount (200 percent) of the standard deduction for unmarried individuals filing single returns for tax years beginning after December 31, 2003.¹¹ The larger standard deduction for married individuals filing jointly was scheduled to “sunset” (expire) for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012, at which time the standard deduction in effect prior to the enactment of EGTRRA 2001 was to become effective (i.e., the standard deduction for married individuals filing jointly would, once again, be 167 percent of the standard deduction for single individuals).¹² The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 prevented this sunset, so that the standard deduction for married individuals filing jointly (and surviving spouses) continues to be equal to 200 percent of the standard deduction for individual filers for tax years beginning after 2012.¹³