What Is an Itemized Deduction?

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The Balance / Julie Bang

Definition

An itemized deduction is a tax-deductible expense that you paid in a tax year. Only specific expenses defined by the Internal Revenue Service can be itemized.

Key Takeaways

  • Itemized deductions are qualified expenses you can deduct from your taxable income.
  • Most people do not benefit from itemizing their expenses because the standard deduction is high enough.
  • If your itemized deductions total more than your standard deduction, you should itemize your expenses to save on taxes.

How Does an Itemized Deduction Work?

When you file your taxes, you have a choice to take a standard deduction or to itemize your expenses for the year. Itemizing allows you to total up your qualified expenses.

Both the standard deduction and the total of your itemized deductions reduce the amount of income on which you must pay federal income tax. You can claim the standard deduction, or you can itemize individual deductions that you qualify to claim—line by line by line—but you can't do both. It only makes sense to choose the one that reduces your taxable income more.

The standard deduction is the simpler solution: a set amount based on your filing status, (e.g., single or married). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) more or less doubled standard deductions when it went into effect in January 2018.

As of the 2022 tax year (the return filed in 2023), the standard deduction is $12,950 for single taxpayers and for those who are married but filing separate returns. This goes up to $25,900 if you're married and filing jointly with your spouse or if you're a qualifying widow or widower with a dependent child. It's $19,400 if you qualify for the head-of-household filing status.

Note

Although you can't claim both the standard deduction and itemize other deductions in the same tax year, you can change your election from year to year, itemizing on one annual return and then claiming the standard deduction on the next.

Most taxpayers claimed the standard deduction even before the TCJA, which also made some adjustments to some itemized deductions, capping them at certain amounts where they had been unlimited before. Other itemized deductions were eliminated entirely.

Types of Itemized Deductions

Itemizing involves reporting your expenses for specific types of allowable deductions, adding them all together, then entering that total on your tax return. The itemized total is subtracted from your AGI to reduce the amount of taxable income.

If you plan to itemize, you should keep track of your qualified expenses during the year. Keep your receipts and other documents to show that these expenses are legitimate in case the IRS asks for proof. Documentation can include bank statements, check stubs, property tax statements, insurance bills, medical bills, and acknowledgment letters for charitable donations

Generally, you can claim itemized deductions in the following categories:

  • Medical and dental expenses
  • State and local income taxes 
  • Real estate and personal property taxes 
  • Home mortgage interest of $750,000 or less
  • Gifts to charity
  • Casualty or theft losses

Medical and Dental

Medical and dental expenses include the cost of insurance premiums as long as your health plan doesn't reimburse you for them. Other medical and dental care costs can be deducted if they are qualified expenses. You can deduct the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your AGI. For instance, if your AGI were $55,000, and you had $7,000 in qualifying medical expenses, your deduction would be limited to $3,375—the amount that exceeds $4,125 (7.5% of your AGI).

State, Local, and Real Estate Taxes

Deductions for state, local, and property taxes are limited to $10,000, or $5,000 if you're married and filing a separate return. This is $10,000 collectively, not $10,000 for each type of tax.

Mortgage Interest Deduction

The mortgage interest deduction is capped at debts of $750,000. If you're married and file separately, the cap is $375,000. The limitations increase to $1 million and $500,000 if you incurred the debt on which you pay interest before December 16, 2017.

The deduction is limited to acquisition debt only, not equity debt as has historically been the case, unless the funds from the equity loan are used to "buy, build, or substantially improve" a home, according to the IRS.

Charitable Gifts

Most taxpayers can deduct charitable contributions of up to 60% of their AGI, although some types of gifts are still subject to 20%, 30%, and 50% limits.

Casualty and Theft Losses

Casualty and theft loss deductions are limited to losses sustained due to events that occurred in locations that have been declared to be disaster areas by the president, unless you file a reimbursement claim and reduce the loss by the amount you were reimbursed.

Do I Need to Itemize Deductions?

It's to your advantage to itemize when the total of all your individual deductions exceeds the standard deduction for your filing status. Otherwise, it would make no sense—you'd be paying taxes on more income than you should be.

For example, you would be better off itemizing if you had total itemized deductions of $13,500 in 2022. This would take an additional $500 off your taxable income, because the standard deduction is $12,950.

But if you were to qualify for a head-of-household deduction and choose to itemize instead, you'd end up paying taxes on an additional $5,900—the difference between $13,500 in itemized deductions and the $19,400 standard head-of-household deduction.

Sometimes the decision to itemize or to claim the standard deduction can be out of your hands. Married couples who file separate tax returns must each use the same method. You must both take the standard deduction, or you must both itemize.

Note

Non-resident tax payers must also itemize since they're not eligible to claim the standard deduction.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between standard and itemized deduction?

Standard deduction and itemized deduction are two ways of lowering your tax bill. Standard deduction is based on your income, filing status, age among other factors and can change every year. Itemized deductions can be used if you cannot claim standard deduction, your standard deduction is limited or if you have certain expenses. For example, you can itemize deductions on expenses such as medical bills, state and local property taxes, or mortgage interest payments.

When are itemized deductions more beneficial than the standard deduction?

According to the IRS, there are a number of scenarios where itemizing your deductions may be more beneficial than taking standard deduction. These include cases where you cannot claim standard deduction or your standard deduction is limited, have large unreimbursed medical or dental expenses, have made mortgage interest and property tax payments, had casualty or theft losses from a disaster or made qualified charitable donations.

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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. IRS. "Topic No. 551 Standard Deduction."

  2. IRS. "IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2022."

  3. IRS. "Instructions for Schedule A."

  4. IRS. "Topic No. 502 Medical and Dental Expenses."

  5. IRS. "Topic No. 503 Deductible Taxes."

  6. IRS. "Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction."

  7. Internal Revenue Service. "Charitable Contribution Deductions."

  8. IRS. "Topic No. 515 Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Losses."

  9. IRS. "Topic No. 501 Should I Itemize?"

  10. IRS. "Nonresident Alien Figuring Your Tax."

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