Itemize vs Standard Deduction Calculator
Enter your filing status and the three big itemizable lines. The calculator totals the itemized side - SALT capped at 10,000 - against the standard deduction and names the winner with the gap.
Since 2018 the standard deduction is so large that about 90 percent of filers take it without a second look. Itemizing re-enters the picture with a mortgage, high state taxes, or serious giving - and the bunching trick can make it worth it every other year instead of every year.
How to use
- Filing status first - it sets the standard bar: 15,000, 22,500 or 30,000.
- Mortgage interest from Form 1098, state and local taxes paid (capped at 10,000).
- Charitable donations for the year. The verdict and the gap update live.
Frequently asked questions
Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
Whichever number is bigger: itemized totals of mortgage interest plus capped SALT plus giving, against 15,000 single / 22,500 HoH / 30,000 MFJ. Nine in ten filers take the standard since it nearly doubled in 2018 - the calculator shows the gap so the pick is arithmetic, not folklore.
What is the SALT cap?
State and local tax deductions cap at 10,000 dollars per return no matter what you actually paid - high-tax-state homeowners hit it every year. The calculator applies the cap before comparing, which is the step most blog comparisons forget.
What is donation bunching?
Concentrating two years of charitable gifts into one December - clearing the itemize bar that year, taking the standard the next, and repeating. Same lifetime giving, bigger total deduction. The calculator shows the bar your giving needs to clear.
Do I need receipts for the standard deduction?
No - that is its whole appeal: no records, no schedules, nothing to prove. Itemized deductions are the ones that need paperwork, which is a real cost of itemizing beyond the tax math itself.