What the standard deduction does
Federal income tax is charged on taxable income, which is your gross income minus either the standard deduction or the total of your itemized deductions, whichever you choose. The standard deduction is a fixed amount set by law and adjusted for inflation each year; the 2026 figures are in IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. It comes off before the tax brackets are applied, so for a single filer the first $16,100 of income is taxed at 0 percent.
The 2026 amounts
| Filing status | Standard deduction | With one extra amount (65 or older, or blind) |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 | $18,150 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 | $33,850 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $26,200 |
Married filing separately uses the single amount. The extra amount for age or blindness is $1,650 per condition and per person, raised to $2,050 if the person is unmarried and not a surviving spouse, so a married couple who are both over 65 add $3,300 to the joint figure, and a single person who is both over 65 and blind adds $4,100. Someone who can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer gets a smaller standard deduction: the greater of $1,350 or earned income plus $450, capped at the normal amount.
The additional deduction for seniors, 2025 to 2028
On top of the extra standard deduction amount, the 2025 tax law added a deduction of $6,000 per person aged 65 or older for tax years 2025 through 2028. The IRS notes that a married couple where both spouses qualify can claim up to $12,000, that it phases out for modified adjusted gross income over $75,000, and that it is available whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. The same IRS page lists the related temporary deductions for qualifying tips (up to $25,000 a year) and for the extra half of overtime pay (up to $12,500, $25,000 for joint filers), both with phase-outs above $150,000 of modified AGI ($300,000 for joint filers).
Standard deduction or itemize?
The IRS rule is one sentence: itemize if the total amount of your allowable itemized deductions is greater than your standard deduction. Itemized deductions are the specific expenses the tax code lets you deduct on Schedule A, the best known being home mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable gifts and large medical expenses, each with its own limits. Because the standard deduction is large, most people come out ahead with it. A worked check for a single homeowner:
| Itemized deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | $9,800 |
| State and local taxes | $7,200 |
| Charitable gifts | $1,500 |
| Total itemized | $18,500 |
| Standard deduction, single, 2026 | $16,100 |
Here itemizing wins by $2,400 of deduction, which at a 22 percent marginal rate is worth about $528 in tax. Change the mortgage interest to $5,000, as happens late in a loan when most of the payment is principal, and the standard deduction wins. The figures in the table are an example, not averages; the mortgage interest on your own loan is in the amortization schedule from the mortgage calculator, and mortgage insurance premiums count as home mortgage interest again from 2026.
Two things to remember. The choice is made each year, so you can itemize in a year with unusual expenses and take the standard deduction the next. And the extra amounts for age, blindness and the senior deduction do not require itemizing; the senior deduction explicitly works either way.
Who cannot take the standard deduction
The IRS lists the cases: a married person filing separately whose spouse itemizes (both must do the same), a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year, unless married to a US citizen or resident and electing to be treated as a resident, a taxpayer with a short tax year because of a change in annual accounting period, and estates, trusts, common trust funds and partnerships. Everyone else chooses.
What it means for your paycheck
A single person whose income for 2026 stays at or below $16,100 owes no federal income tax at all, because the deduction wipes out the taxable income. The deduction does nothing for Social Security and Medicare taxes, which apply from the first dollar of wages, or for most state taxes. The paycheck calculator applies the 2026 standard deduction and brackets to your gross pay and shows the federal, payroll and state amounts side by side; the percentage calculator turns the result into an effective rate. If you expect to itemize, the budget planner is a simple place to keep the running totals of deductible expenses during the year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard deduction for 2026?
$16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly and $24,150 for heads of household, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. People who are 65 or older or blind add $1,650 per condition, or $2,050 if unmarried and not a surviving spouse.
Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
The IRS puts it simply: itemize if the total of your allowable itemized deductions is greater than your standard deduction. For most people the standard amount is the larger, which is why the majority do not itemize. The exceptions are usually homeowners with large mortgage interest and property tax bills, or people with big medical or charitable expenses in one year.
Who cannot take the standard deduction?
According to the IRS, a married person filing separately whose spouse itemizes, nonresident or dual-status aliens (with an exception for those married to a US citizen or resident who elect to be treated as residents), people with a short tax year because of a change in accounting period, and estates, trusts, common trust funds and partnerships.
Is there an extra deduction for seniors?
Two. The long-standing additional standard deduction of $1,650 ($2,050 if unmarried) for people 65 or older, and, for tax years 2025 through 2028, a further $6,000 per eligible person from the 2025 tax law, which the IRS says is available whether or not you itemize and phases out for modified adjusted gross income over $75,000.
Does the standard deduction reduce payroll taxes too?
No. It only reduces the income on which federal income tax is computed. Social Security and Medicare taxes apply to your wages from the first dollar, and state income taxes have their own rules; some states follow the federal standard deduction and others set their own.
Sources
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 3.14: 2026 standard deduction amounts, the dependent limit and the additional amount for the aged or the blind (PDF)
- IRS news release IR-2025-103: tax inflation adjustments for 2026
- IRS Tax Topic 501: Should I itemize? (when to itemize, who cannot take the standard deduction, additional deduction for age or blindness)
- IRS: One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act tax deductions for working Americans and seniors (the US$6,000 senior deduction for 2025 to 2028, phase-out above US$75,000 MAGI, available whether or not you itemize)