Standard vs. Itemized Deduction Calculator (2026 & 2027, Federal + State)

Quick answer: should you itemize in 2026?

Itemize if your deductions add up to more than your standard deduction: $32,200 married filing jointly, $16,100 single and $24,150 head of household for 2026, plus extra for age 65 or blindness. About 1 in 10 filers itemizes (9.3% of returns for 2021, IRS SOI). The higher SALT cap brings more homeowners in high-tax states back to itemizing in 2026, but most households with a modest mortgage still take the standard deduction.

• Check your state too. Thirteen states let you itemize on the state return even if you take the federal standard deduction, and their standard deductions are often small: a California couple with $180,000 of income, a $14,000 mortgage interest bill, $9,000 of property tax and $5,000 of gifts saves $253 federally by itemizing and $1,543 on the California return. The same couple in Texas is better off with the standard deduction, because without a state income tax their SALT is only property tax (and sales tax, if they track it).
• The new deductions don't depend on it. The senior deduction, tips, overtime and car-loan interest deductions apply whether or not you itemize (IRS).
• Close? Bunch two years of gifts or payments into one year, and itemize every other year (below).

Standard deduction for 2026 and 2027

The 2026 amounts are from Rev. Proc. 2025-32. The IRS publishes 2027 amounts in late October or November; until then the 2027 figures are projections. Married filing separately: if your spouse itemizes, your standard deduction is zero, so you must itemize too (§ 63(c)(6)).

What you can itemize in 2026

• State and local taxes (SALT): income tax (or sales tax, if you choose) plus property tax, up to $40,400 (details).
• Mortgage interest on up to $750,000 of debt used to buy, build or improve your main or second home, and mortgage insurance premiums again from 2026.
• Gifts to charity above 0.5% of your AGI (new for 2026).
• Medical and dental costs above 7.5% of AGI.
• Other: casualty losses from a federally declared or, from 2026, state-declared disaster (§ 165(h)); gambling losses up to winnings, now limited to 90% of losses; unreimbursed educator expenses beyond the $300 adjustment (new for 2026, with coaches included); investment interest.
• Not deductible: unreimbursed job expenses, tax-prep fees and other "miscellaneous" deductions, now permanently (Schedule A).

The $40,400 SALT cap and its phase-down

For 2026 you can deduct up to $40,400 of state and local taxes ($20,200 married filing separately). Above $505,000 of modified AGI ($252,500 separately) the cap shrinks by 30 cents per dollar, but never below $10,000 (§ 164(b)(7)). Some early 2026 materials, including the first Form 1040-ES, used $40,000; the IRS has published a correction (IRS). For 2027 the cap and threshold rise 1%, to about $40,804 and $510,050; from 2030 the cap goes back to $10,000.

The SALT "torpedo": between about $505,000 and $606,333, each extra dollar of income also takes away 30 cents of deduction if you pay that much in state and local tax. In the 35% bracket, which covers most of that range, your rate on that income is about 45.5% (about 41.6% for a couple still in the 32% bracket just above $505,000).

Charity: the 0.5% floor and the deduction without itemizing

From 2026, itemizers can deduct gifts only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of AGI (§ 170(b)(1)(I)): with $150,000 of AGI, the first $750 doesn't count. That amount is lost unless your gifts are also over the 60%-of-AGI limit. If you don't itemize, you can now deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts ($2,000 married filing jointly), but not gifts to donor-advised funds (IRS Topic 506). Giving from an IRA at 70½ or older? A QCD is often better than either, and state rules for charitable gifts vary.

Mortgage interest and mortgage insurance

Interest is deductible on up to $750,000 of acquisition debt ($375,000 married filing separately), a limit now permanent; loans from before December 16, 2017 keep the $1,000,000 limit. Home-equity interest counts only if the money went into the home. Mortgage insurance premiums (PMI, FHA and USDA premiums, the VA funding fee) are deductible again from 2026, cut by 10% for each $1,000 of AGI over $100,000 and gone above $109,000 ($50,000–$54,500 separately) (Pub. 936 draft; § 163(h)). See what a home costs in our mortgage payment calculator.

The 37% bracket limit (2/37 cut)

From 2026, itemized deductions are cut by 2/37 of the smaller of your itemized deductions and the income above the start of the 37% bracket ($640,600 single, $768,700 joint) (§ 68). The cut applies after every other limit, and in effect each itemized dollar saves 35 cents instead of 37. The W-4 worksheet approximates it by counting only 94% of all your itemized deductions once your income (less the senior deduction) is over that amount (Form W-4).

Itemizing on your state return

States set their own rules, and no state lets you deduct its own income tax (Tax Policy Center):

• Small state standard deductions make itemizing common: California's was $5,706 single for 2025 (FTB), New York's $8,000 (NY DTF).
• State limits: Maryland cuts itemized deductions by 7.5% of AGI over $200,000 (Comptroller); North Carolina caps mortgage interest plus property tax at $20,000; Kentucky allows no property tax; Colorado limits all deductions to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) at AGI of $300,000 or more from 2026.
• Itemized on the state return only? If you didn't itemize federally, next year's state tax refund generally isn't federally taxable.

Bunching deductions into one year

If you're just under the standard deduction, pay two years of deductible costs in one year and take the standard deduction the next: give two years of gifts in December (a donor-advised fund lets you spread the grants), or pay January's property tax in December where your county allows it. A single filer with $95,000 of income, $8,500 of state and property tax, $4,000 of mortgage interest and $4,000 of gifts a year takes the standard deduction every year; bunching the gifts saves $424 over two years. The calculator checks this for you.

Put it on your W-4

If you'll itemize, your paychecks still withhold as if you take the standard deduction unless you tell your employer. On the 2026 Form W-4 Deductions Worksheet, line 14 is your itemized deductions minus the standard deduction (or your cash gifts up to $1,000/$2,000 if you won't itemize); add the senior, tips and overtime lines and enter the total in Step 4(b) (Form W-4; Pub. 505). The calculator shows the line 14 amount; the W-4 calculator works out the rest. Many states have their own withholding forms that let you claim itemized deductions too.

Common questions

Can I itemize on my state return and take the standard deduction federally?

In 13 states, yes: AL, AZ, AR, CA, DE, HI, KS, KY, MN, MS, NY, NC, OR. In the others that allow itemizing, you must match your federal choice or start from federal taxable income.

Do I have to itemize to deduct charity in 2026?

No: up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) of cash gifts is deductible without itemizing from 2026.

Is the SALT cap $40,000 or $40,400 for 2026?

$40,400 ($20,200 married filing separately). The $40,000 figure was 2025's.

Should I deduct state income tax or sales tax?

Whichever is larger; sales tax usually wins only in states with no income tax, or if you bought a car or boat. Either way it shares the same cap with property tax.

Can my spouse itemize if I take the standard deduction?

Not on separate returns: if one spouse itemizes, the other's standard deduction is zero.

Does the senior deduction mean I shouldn't itemize?

No. The $6,000 senior deduction applies on top of either choice, for 2025–2028.

Sources

1. 26 U.S. Code § 63, Taxable income defined — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
2. 26 U.S. Code § 68, Overall limitation on itemized deductions — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
3. 26 U.S. Code § 163, Interest — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
4. 26 U.S. Code § 164, Taxes — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
5. 26 U.S. Code § 165, Losses — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
6. 26 U.S. Code § 170, Charitable contributions and gifts — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 17, 2026.
7. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments) — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026.
8. Correction to state and local income tax deduction amount in the 2026 Form 1040-ES — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026. March 16, 2026.
9. Schedule A (Form 1040), 2026 draft — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026. Draft; final form not yet released.
10. Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction (2026 draft) — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026. Draft dated September 30, 2026.
11. Form W-4 (2026), Deductions Worksheet — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026.
12. Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax (2026) — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026.
13. Topic no. 501, Should I itemize? — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026.
14. Topic no. 506, Charitable contributions — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026.
15. New and enhanced deductions for individuals (Tax Tip 2026-12) — IRS. Accessed October 17, 2026. February 12, 2026.
16. Individual income tax returns, preliminary data, tax year 2021 — IRS Statistics of Income. Accessed October 17, 2026. 9.3% of returns itemized.
17. Itemizing on state and federal income tax returns: it's now more complicated — Tax Policy Center. Accessed October 17, 2026.
18. 2025 Schedule CA (540) — California Franchise Tax Board. Accessed October 17, 2026.
19. Itemized deductions (2025) — New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Accessed October 17, 2026.
20. Tax alert: changes to standard and itemized deductions (2025 legislative session) — Comptroller of Maryland. Accessed October 17, 2026.

Last checked October 17, 2026.