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Should you take the standard deduction or itemize?
by financebrain · October 20, 2026
Take whichever is bigger. Every US taxpayer subtracts either the standard deduction or their total itemized deductions from their income, never both. Add up everything you could itemize, compare it with your standard deduction, and pick the larger number. It's your choice every year, and tax software does the comparison for you.
For most people the answer is the standard deduction. Since the 2017 tax law, only about one taxpayer in ten itemizes.
What the standard deduction is
It's a flat amount set by Congress and adjusted for inflation each year. It depends on your filing status: married couples filing jointly get twice the single amount, and head of household sits in between. The figures change every year, so check the IRS's current figure.
What you can itemize
Itemized deductions go on Schedule A, and you need records for each one. The main categories:
- Mortgage interest, on up to $750,000 of debt used to buy the home.
- State and local taxes (SALT): income or sales tax plus property tax, capped at a combined $10,000 by the 2017 tax law. A 2025 law raised the cap for several years, with a lower cap for high earners, so check the IRS's current figure.
- Charitable gifts to qualifying organizations, in cash or property such as clothing or stock.
- Medical and dental costs, but only the part above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. With an AGI of $80,000, only medical costs above $6,000 count.
"Writing something off" usually means claiming one of these. It doesn't make the expense free. It lowers your taxable income, and the money you actually save is the deduction times your tax rate.
A worked example
A hypothetical single filer, with a standard deduction of $15,000 (a round figure for illustration):
| Possible itemized deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Mortgage interest | $7,000 |
| State and local taxes | $5,000 |
| Charitable gifts | $1,500 |
| Total itemized | $13,500 |
| Standard deduction | $15,000 |
$13,500 is less than $15,000, so this person takes the standard deduction.
Who still tends to itemize
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubled the standard deduction and capped SALT, so many homeowners who used to itemize no longer come out ahead. Itemizing still tends to pay for people who have a large mortgage on an expensive home, live in a high-tax state, give a lot to charity, or have big out-of-pocket medical bills. If none of those fit, the standard deduction is very likely the better choice.
Bunching: when you're just under the line
If your itemized total lands just below the standard deduction every year, you can concentrate deductible spending, usually charitable gifts, into alternate years. Instead of giving $8,000 a year, you give $16,000 every other year. In the giving year you itemize; in the off year you take the standard deduction. Over the two years, you deduct more in total.
A donor-advised fund makes this easier: you put the larger amount in during the bunching year, take the deduction then, and pass the money on to charities at whatever pace you like.
Learn it properly
Finance Brain's Standard Deduction vs Itemizing lesson, in the Deductions Credits and Filing course, covers each itemized category, what changed in 2017, and how bunching works. It ends with a short quiz.
Finance Brain is educational content, not tax advice. This post describes US federal rules, which change; check the IRS's current figures for your tax year.