The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount that reduces the income you pay federal taxes on. For tax year 2026, it’s $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, and $24,150 for heads of household. You don’t need receipts or records to claim it. The IRS gives it to you automatically unless you choose to itemize your deductions instead.
2026 Standard Deduction Amounts
The IRS adjusts the standard deduction each year to keep pace with inflation. Here are the amounts for tax year 2026, which you’ll use when filing your return in early 2027:
- Single: $16,100
- Married filing jointly: $32,200
- Married filing separately: $16,100
- Head of household: $24,150
Your filing status determines which amount applies. Head of household, for example, is available to unmarried taxpayers who pay more than half the cost of maintaining a home for a qualifying dependent. It comes with a larger deduction than the single filing status.
How the Standard Deduction Lowers Your Tax Bill
The standard deduction reduces your taxable income, not your tax bill dollar for dollar. If you’re a single filer earning $55,000 and you take the $16,100 standard deduction, the IRS calculates your tax on $38,900 instead of the full $55,000. Your actual tax savings depend on which tax bracket that income falls into. For someone in the 22% bracket, the $16,100 deduction saves roughly $3,542 in federal taxes.
Extra Deduction for Seniors and Blind Taxpayers
If you’re 65 or older, or legally blind, you qualify for an additional standard deduction on top of the regular amount. For tax year 2025, the additional amount is $1,600 per qualifying condition for married filers, and $2,000 for unmarried filers who aren’t surviving spouses. These figures adjust annually for inflation.
The extra amounts stack. A single filer who is both 65 and blind gets two additional deductions. A married couple filing jointly where both spouses are over 65 gets two additional amounts added to their joint standard deduction. You’re considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday, so if your birthday falls on January 1, you count as 65 for the prior tax year.
Standard Deduction for Dependents
If someone else claims you as a dependent on their tax return, your standard deduction is capped. Instead of the full amount for your filing status, you get the greater of two figures: $1,350, or your earned income plus $450. Either way, the result can’t exceed the regular standard deduction for your filing status.
This rule mostly affects teenagers and college students with part-time jobs whose parents still claim them. A dependent who earns $5,000 from a summer job would get a standard deduction of $5,450 ($5,000 plus $450). A dependent with no earned income but $2,000 in interest from a savings account would be limited to the $1,350 floor.
Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing
Every tax filer makes this choice: take the standard deduction or itemize. Itemizing means listing your actual deductible expenses on Schedule A of your tax return. The math is simple. If your itemized expenses add up to more than the standard deduction, itemize. If they don’t, take the standard deduction.
The expenses you can itemize include state and local taxes (capped at $10,000), mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and certain medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. Casualty and theft losses from federally declared disasters also qualify.
Most taxpayers take the standard deduction. Because the amounts are relatively high, your itemizable expenses need to be substantial before itemizing saves you money. A married couple filing jointly would need more than $32,200 in deductible expenses to benefit from itemizing. That’s a high bar for households without large mortgage interest payments or significant charitable giving.
If you’re on the fence, fill out Schedule A with your actual numbers and compare the total to your standard deduction. You’re not locked in. You can switch between the standard deduction and itemizing from year to year based on whichever gives you a bigger deduction.
Who Can’t Take the Standard Deduction
A few groups of taxpayers are ineligible. If you’re married and filing separately, and your spouse itemizes, you must also itemize. You can’t take the standard deduction for a tax year shorter than 12 months that results from a change in your accounting period. Nonresident aliens generally can’t claim it either, though there are limited exceptions for certain residents of specific countries under tax treaties.
Everyone else has the option. You don’t need to apply or qualify. When you file your return and don’t attach Schedule A, the IRS applies the standard deduction for your filing status automatically.