Tax Year 2025

Should I take the standard deduction or itemize?

Your actual return

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Try your own numbers

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Calculating…

Every filer gets to subtract either a fixed standard deduction or the total of their actual itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable giving, state and local taxes up to the cap, and a few others) — whichever is larger. You never have to justify the standard deduction with receipts; itemizing requires records for everything you claim. Since the 2017 tax law nearly doubled the standard deduction, most filers no longer benefit from itemizing at all. The only way to know for sure is to actually add up what you could itemize and compare it to this year's standard amount for your filing status.

2025 standard deduction by filing status

Filing status	Standard deduction
Single	$15,750
Married Joint	$31,500
Married Separate	$15,750
Head Of Household	$23,625
Qualifying Surviving Spouse	$31,500

A real comparison

A single filer with $70,000 in wages and no itemizable expenses takes the standard deduction: $15,750. The same filer with $12,000 of mortgage interest and $5,000 of charitable giving comes out ahead itemizing: $17,000 - $1,250 more deducted, simply because their actual itemizable expenses exceed the standard amount.