Standard vs. Itemized Deduction Calculator

What this calculator does

Find out whether you should itemize your deductions for 2026 or take the standard deduction, and how much the better choice saves you. Every filer gets to subtract one or the other from their income before tax is figured. The standard deduction is a set amount. Itemizing means adding up certain things you paid for, such as mortgage interest, state and local taxes, gifts to charity and large medical bills.

The calculator applies the 2026 rules to each item. These include the $40,400 cap on state and local taxes and the 7.5% floor on medical costs. They also include two new charity rules for 2026. Then it compares the two totals and estimates the federal income tax you save with the larger one. State tax isn't included, and the result is an estimate, not tax advice.

Where it's used

Why this math matters outside the classroom:

• Medical floor. A retiree with $60,000 of AGI and $7,000 of medical bills subtracts 7.5% of AGI, $4,500, leaving $2,500 to deduct.
• Charity floor. A filer with $110,000 of AGI gives $2,500 and can itemize only $1,950 after the 0.5% floor of $550.
• Choosing a deduction. A homeowner compares a $20,450 itemized total with a $17,100 standard side and itemizes for $3,350 more.
• Tax savings. In the 22% bracket, a deduction $3,350 larger cuts federal income tax by 0.22 × 3,350, which is $737.
• Household budgeting. Families add up a year of mortgage, tax and charity receipts in January to decide whether itemizing is worth it.

Grade level and standards: Grade 7; Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 7.RP.A.3. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

How to use it

1. Pick your filing status and enter your adjusted gross income (AGI). Add any boxes for age 65 or older or blindness.
2. Enter your mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and gifts to charity.
3. Add medical costs and other itemized deductions if you have them.
4. Read which choice is larger and by how much. The table shows what counted from each item.

What the inputs mean

Adjusted gross income (AGI)

AGI is your total income after a few adjustments, such as pre-tax retirement savings. It's the line labeled adjusted gross income on Form 1040. The medical and charity floors are figured from it, and so is the cap on state and local taxes at high incomes.

Boxes checked for age 65+ or blind (optional)

These make the standard deduction bigger: one per person 65 or older, one per person who is blind.

Home mortgage interest (optional)

Use the interest and points from Form 1098 for your main home and a second home. If your mortgage is over $750,000 ($375,000 married filing separately), only part of the interest counts. Enter just that part here.

State and local taxes paid (optional)

Add up state and local income tax (or general sales tax instead), real estate tax on your home, and personal property tax, such as a yearly car tax. For 2026, the total that counts is capped at $40,400, or $20,200 married filing separately. At AGI over $505,000 ($252,500 separately) the cap shrinks by 30% of the extra, but not below $10,000 ($5,000 separately).

Cash gifts to charity (optional)

New for 2026, people who itemize can only deduct gifts above 0.5% of their AGI. People who don't itemize can now deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts, or $2,000 joint. The calculator counts your gifts both ways.

Non-cash gifts to charity (optional)

The fair market value of donated clothing, goods or stock.

Medical and dental costs (optional)

Only the part of your medical and dental costs above 7.5% of your AGI counts. With $60,000 of AGI, the first $4,500 doesn't count. Leave out anything insurance paid or an HSA or FSA covered.

Other itemized deductions (optional)

Less common Schedule A items. Examples are investment interest, gambling losses up to your winnings (90% of losses from 2026), and losses from a federally declared disaster.

Formula and method

SALT counted = smaller of (taxes paid, $40,400 cap)
medical counted = max(0, medical costs − 7.5% × AGI)
charity counted = max(0, gifts − 0.5% × AGI)
itemized total = mortgage interest + SALT + medical + charity + other
standard side = standard deduction + age/blind amounts + cash gifts up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint)
difference = larger total − smaller total

SALT is state and local taxes. AGI is adjusted gross income, and max(0, …) means a result can't go below zero. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and for married people filing separately. It's $24,150 for heads of household and $32,200 for joint filers. Each age-65 or blindness box adds $2,050 if you're unmarried, or $1,650 if you're married.

Very high incomes have one more rule for 2026. If your income before itemized deductions reaches the 37% bracket, itemized deductions are cut by 5.4%. The cut applies to the smaller of the itemized total and the income above where that bracket starts.

The tax saved is the federal income tax on your AGI minus the smaller deduction, less the tax on AGI minus the larger one. At a 22% bracket, each extra $100 of deduction saves about $22.

Worked example

A single filer with $110,000 of AGI paid $9,000 of mortgage interest and $9,500 of state and local taxes, and gave $2,500 in cash to charity in 2026.

1. State and local taxes: $9,500 is under the $40,400 cap, so all of it counts.
2. Charity when itemizing: $2,500 − 0.5% of $110,000 ($550) = $1,950.
3. Itemized total: $9,000 + $9,500 + $1,950 = $20,450.
4. Standard side: $16,100 + $1,000 of cash gifts = $17,100.
5. Difference: $20,450 − $17,100 = $3,350.

Result: Itemizing beats the standard deduction by $3,350, which saves about $737 in federal income tax in the 22% bracket.

Understanding the result

If itemizing wins by only a small amount, it may not be worth the extra records. You'll need receipts and forms for every item. If it wins by a lot, itemizing is clearly the better choice.

Married couples filing separately should be careful. If one spouse itemizes, the other must itemize too, even if their standard deduction would be larger.

If you're close to the line, timing can help. Some people bunch two years of charity gifts into one year so they can itemize that year and take the standard deduction the next.

Assumptions and limitations

• It uses the tax year 2026 standard deduction, the $40,400 SALT cap and the 7.5% medical floor. It also uses the new 0.5% charity floor, the $1,000 or $2,000 cash gift deduction and the 37% bracket cut, as published by the IRS.
• Your AGI stands in for the modified AGI used by the SALT cap. The tax saved uses the 2026 brackets on ordinary income only.
• The tips, overtime and senior deductions are taken with either choice, so they don't change which one wins. They're left out of the comparison.
• This is an estimate, not tax advice. Schedule A and its instructions have the full rules for each item.
• State income tax and state deductions aren't included. Your state may have its own rules about itemizing.
• The percent-of-AGI limits on very large charity gifts and the mortgage limit for big loans aren't worked out for you. Enter the amounts you can deduct.
• The cash gift deduction for people who don't itemize has a few other rules about which gifts qualify. The calculator assumes all of your cash gifts do.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• IRS Schedule A (Form 1040), 2026 draft (checked 2026-10-25)
• IRS Publication 505 (2026), Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (checked 2026-10-25)
• IRS: Correction to the state and local tax deduction amount in the 2026 Form 1040-ES (checked 2026-10-25)
• IRS Instructions for Schedule A (2025) (checked 2026-10-25)

How this calculator is checked

Method: 2026 Schedule A (draft): 7.5% medical floor and $40,400 SALT cap; SALT phase-down per the State and Local Tax Deduction Worksheet in the 2025 Schedule A instructions with 2026 amounts from Publication 505 (2026); 0.5% charity floor, $1,000/$2,000 non-itemizer cash deduction and 5.4% overall limit from Publication 505 (2026) Worksheets 2-5 and 2-6; standard deduction from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (figures in src/lib/finance/tax-2026.ts). The calculation is covered by automated tests with known reference values and edge cases. Last updated 2026-10-25. Found a problem? Tell us.

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