Standard vs Itemized Deduction 2026 Calculator

Current law (2026): single $16,100, MFJ $32,200, HoH $23,850, and these are now permanent under OBBBA. Under the pre-TCJA law the 2026 sunset would have restored: single ~$7,750, MFJ ~$15,500. The standard deduction would have roughly halved, which would have made itemizing attractive for millions of filers - but that reversion did not happen. Pre-TCJA, personal exemptions also return at ~$5,300 per filer + dependent, partially offsetting.

With the TCJA rules now permanent under OBBBA, the old sunset-timing play (defer deductions to a higher-deduction 2027) no longer applies. Bunching still helps in its own right: combining two years of charitable giving into one year can push you over the standard deduction in the bunching year, then take the standard the next. The strategy is most powerful whenever your itemizable total sits just below the standard deduction.

A lot. Under current law a NY/CA filer with $50K of SALT can deduct up to $40,000 (OBBBA cap), down to a $10,000 floor above $500,000 MAGI. Under the pre-TCJA law the sunset would have restored, the full $50K would be deductible (subject to an AMT add-back). Combined with the much higher standard deduction now permanent, far fewer households itemize than the old $10,000-cap era implied.

TCJA capped mortgage interest at the first $750K of acquisition debt (was $1M pre-TCJA); OBBBA kept the $750K cap, so the pre-TCJA $1M figure here is the what-if the sunset would have restored. Home equity loan interest is only deductible if used to buy/build/improve the home (a TCJA rule, now permanent). For homes purchased pre-Dec 15, 2017, the $1M cap was always grandfathered - TCJA didn't change anything.