Standard deduction

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Under United States tax law, the standard deduction is a dollar amount that non-itemizers may subtract from their income before income tax (but not other kinds of tax, such as payroll tax) is applied. Taxpayers may choose either itemized deductions or the standard deduction,^[1] but usually choose whichever results in the lesser amount of tax payable.^[2] The standard deduction is available to individuals who are US citizens or resident aliens. The standard deduction is based on filing status and typically increases each year, based on inflation measurements from the previous year. It is not available to nonresident aliens residing in the United States (with few exceptions, for example, students from India on F1 visa status can use the standard deduction^[3]). Additional amounts are available for persons who are blind and/or are at least 65 years of age.^[4]

The standard deduction is distinct from the personal exemption, which was set to $0 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 for tax years 2018–2025.^[5]