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Does the standard or itemized deduction save me more?
$16,
This week: add last year's mortgage interest, state taxes, and gifts before you decide to itemize.
Used only for the medical expense floor, 7.5% of AGI.
Student loan interest (up to $2,500) is deducted whether or not you itemize, so it is not counted here. It phases out between $85,000 and $100,000 of income for single filers, and between $175,000 and $205,000 for joint filers (2026). Unreimbursed job expenses are not deductible for employees, and self-employed business expenses go on Schedule C.
Interest on up to $750,000 of mortgage debt. This lab does not check your loan balance.
State income, local, and property taxes. The cap shrinks above $505,000 of income.
Donations to qualified charitable organizations
Unreimbursed medical expenses. Only the part above 7.5% of your AGI counts.
Standard deduction is $16,100 higher
Written by Elizabeth Stein
The 2026 standard deduction for a single filer is $16,100. If your mortgage interest, state and local taxes and charitable giving add up to $19,000 in itemized deductions, itemizing beats the standard deduction by $2,900. At a 22% marginal rate, that's about $638 in tax saved for doing the extra recordkeeping. If your itemized total only reaches $12,000, the standard deduction wins outright and there's nothing to gain from itemizing.
Finance Quest is educational. It is not financial advice, and no calculator here knows your full situation.
The standard deduction changes most years, and life changes too: a mortgage paid down means less interest, a state tax bill can shift, and a big charitable gift is often a one-time thing. Recalculate the comparison each year instead of assuming last year's itemized total still clears this year's bar. If you're close to the line, bunching two years of charitable giving into one tax year is a legitimate way to clear the standard deduction in the year you itemize.
$16,100 for single filers and those married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household.
For 2026, up to $40,400 of state and local income, sales and property taxes combined ($20,200 if married filing separately). The cap was $10,000 from 2018 through 2024. It shrinks by 30 cents per dollar of income above $505,000, down to a $10,000 floor.
No. It's one or the other for your whole return. You total every itemizable expense you're claiming and compare that single total against the standard deduction, then pick whichever is larger.
Yes, keep documentation for every itemized deduction you claim: mortgage interest statements, property tax bills, charitable donation receipts, and medical expense records. The IRS can ask for support on any of them, and without it the deduction can be disallowed.