Standard Deduction or Itemize? Calculator for 2026
Enter what you expect to pay in 2026. The calculator applies the 2026 rules from the 2025 tax law, including the higher cap on state and local taxes and the new charitable rules, and tells you which is larger.
An estimate for planning, not tax or financial advice. Everything you enter stays in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.
How it works
The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $32,200 for joint filers and $24,150 for heads of household, plus $2,050 per qualifying person 65 or older if unmarried, or $1,650 if married.
State and local taxes are capped at $40,400 ($20,200 married filing separately). The cap shrinks by 30 percent of income above $505,000 ($252,500 separately), but not below $10,000 ($5,000).
From 2026, itemizers deduct only the part of their charitable gifts above 0.5 percent of adjusted gross income. People who take the standard deduction can still deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts ($2,000 joint); gifts of goods and donor-advised fund contributions do not count for that.
Medical costs count only above 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income. Not modeled: limits on charitable gifts as a share of income, the cap on itemized deductions for the 37 percent bracket, and the senior deduction, which applies either way. Our October 27 guide explains each rule.