Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing in 2026
After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled the standard deduction, the share of US households that itemize collapsed from about 30% to under 10%. For most filers, the standard deduction is now strictly better. But "most" is not "all" — and the households for whom itemizing still wins tend to leave real money on the table when they default to the standard.
The 2025 standard deduction numbers
- Single or married filing separately: $14,600
- Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er): $29,200
- Head of household: $21,900
- Additional amount if age 65+ or blind: $1,550 (married) or $1,950 (single/HoH) per condition
What counts as an itemized deduction
Itemized deductions are claimed on Schedule A and fall into a small number of buckets. The big ones for most filers are state and local taxes (capped at $10,000 per return — the SALT cap), mortgage interest on up to $750,000 of acquisition debt, and charitable contributions. Medical expenses count only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI.
When itemizing still wins
Three profiles consistently beat the standard deduction in 2026:
- Homeowners in high-tax states. If you pay $10,000 in SALT (the cap), $15,000 in mortgage interest, and donate $3,000, you reach $28,000 — close to but under MFJ standard. Add modest medical or charitable giving and you cross the line.
- High-income charitable givers. A household tithing 10% on $200,000 of income deducts $20,000 from charity alone, and a stacked SALT cap pushes them well past the standard deduction.
- Households with a major medical year. Anything above 7.5% of AGI counts. A $40,000 surgery on $100,000 of income produces a $32,500 medical deduction by itself.
The five-minute itemize check
- Add your property tax + state income tax, capped at $10,000.
- Add your annual mortgage interest (from Form 1098).
- Add your documented charitable contributions.
- Add medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI.
- Compare the total to your standard deduction. If you're within $1,000 either way, run both options in tax software — software handles edge cases like state tax-deduction recapture that this checklist doesn't.
The bunching strategy
Households that are close to the standard deduction in a typical year can often beat it by bunching deductions into alternate years — making two years of charitable contributions in December of an itemizing year, then taking the standard the following year. Donor-advised funds are the standard vehicle for this. The math works whenever your two-year average of itemizable deductions is comfortably above the standard.
Sources: IRS Publication 17, IRS Schedule A instructions, IRS Revenue Procedure 2023-34, and Joint Committee on Taxation post-TCJA estimates.