Standard Deductions for 2024 Tax Returns, and Extra Benefits for People Over 65
Each year when you fill out your federal income tax return, you can either take the standard deduction or itemize deductions to reduce your taxable income. The overwhelming majority of taxpayers claim the standard deduction, because due to changes in tax law, few people find it worthwhile to itemize anymore. Standard deduction amounts were bulked up by a major tax overhaul in 2017 and in recent years the IRS has made them even bigger, amid the highest inflation in decades.
What Is the Standard Deduction?
The standard deduction is a flat dollar amount set by the IRS based on your filing status. It’s the simplest way to reduce your taxable income on your tax return. In fact, Congress created the standard deduction in 1944 in an effort to simplify what was already a fairly complex federal tax process.
Standard Deduction: Single, Married and Head of Household
The size of your standard deduction depends largely on your tax filing status. Besides your tax filing status, other factors used to calculate your standard deduction include your age, whether you’re blind and whether another taxpayer can claim you as a dependent.
Standard Deduction 2024 (Returns Due April 2025)
Standard Deduction Amounts 2024 Official Annual Adjustments
| Filing Status | Standard Deduction Amount |
|---|---|
| Single | $14,600 |
| Married Filing Jointly & Surviving Spouses | $29,200 |
| Married Filing Separately | $14,600 |
| Heads of Household | $21,900 |
Additional Standard Deduction for People Over 65
Taxpayers who blind and/or are age 65 or older can claim an additional standard deduction, an amount that’s added to the regular standard deduction for their filing status.
| Filing Status | Taxpayer Is: | Additional Standard Deduction 2024 (Per Person) |
| Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately | Blind | $1,550 |
| Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately | 65 or older | $1,550 |
| Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately | Blind AND 65 or older | $3,100 |
| Single or Head of Household | Blind | $1,950 |
| Single or Head of Household | 65 or older | $1,950 |
| Single or Head of Household | Blind AND 65 or older | $3,900 |
Itemized Deductions vs. Standard Deduction
As with the standard deduction, itemizing reduces your taxable income.
You may have a wide range of expenses you can claim as itemized deductions, including out-of-pocket medical expenses, state and local taxes, home mortgage interest and charitable contributions. But itemizing can be much more of a hassle than taking the standard deduction.
You have to track the expenses, keep receipts or other documentation proving you spent the money for deductible purposes, and—if you’re doing taxes using paper and pen—fill out additional tax forms.
Section 199A (Qualified Business Income) Deduction
As part of the 2017 tax reform law, sole proprietors and owners of pass-through businesses like LLCs, S corporations, and partnerships may be eligible for a deduction of up to 20% to lower the tax rate for qualified business income. The deduction is subject to threshold and phased-in amounts. For 2024, the threshold amounts begin at $383,900 for married taxpayers filing jointly.
| Filing Status | Threshold Amount | Phased-In Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Married Filing Jointly | $383,900 | $483,900 |
| Married Filing Separately | $191,950 | $241,950 |
| All Other Taxpayers | $191,950 | $241,950 |
Foreign-Earned Income Exclusion
In 2024, the foreign-earned income exclusion amount is $126,500, up from $120,000 for tax year 2023.
Federal Estate & Gift Tax
The federal estate tax exclusion for decedents dying will increase to $13,610,000 per person (up from $12,920,000 in 2023) or $27,220,00 per married couple.
The federal gift tax exclusion will increase to $18,000 in 2024, up from $17,000 in 2023. That means you can gift $18,000 per person to as many people as you want with no federal gift tax consequences in 2024; if you split gifts with your spouse, that total is $36,000. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, tax-free gifts are limited to present interest gifts whose total value is below the annual exclusion amount, which is $185,000 in 2024 (it was $175,000 in 2023).