Standard Deduction 2024 Amounts Are Here (2024)

FAQs

What are the standard deductions for 2024? ›

In 2024, the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers and those married filing separately, $29,200 for those married filing jointly, and $21,900 for heads of household. The 2024 standard deduction applies to tax returns filed in 2025. $29,200. $21,900.

In general, the standard deduction is adjusted each year for inflation and varies according to your filing status, whether you're 65 or older and/or blind, and whether another taxpayer can claim you as a dependent. The standard deduction isn't available to certain taxpayers.

Estimate based on prior-year taxes. You can estimate the amount you'll owe for the year, then send one-fourth of that to the IRS. For instance, if you think you'll owe $10,000 for 2024, you'd send $2,500 each quarter.

For the 2023 tax year, which is filed in early 2024, the federal standard deduction for single filers and married folks filing separately was $14,600. It's $29,200 if you're a surviving spouse or you're married and you're filing jointly. If you're the head of your household, it's $21,900.

There's even more good news for older taxpayers. Each joint filer 65 and over can increase the standard deduction by $1,550 apiece, for a total of $3,100 if both joint filers are 65-plus. In total, a married couple 65 or older would have a standard deduction of $32,300.

The standard deduction is a specific dollar amount that reduces the amount of taxable income. The standard deduction consists of the sum of the basic standard deduction and any additional standard deduction amounts for age and/or blindness. In general, the IRS adjusts the standard deduction each year for inflation.

If you don't itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction if you are age 65 or older at the end of the year. You are considered age 65 at the end of the year if your 65th birthday is on or before January 1 of the following year. Credit for the elderly or the disabled.

You may be in line for a smaller tax refund this year if your income rose in 2023. Earning a lot of interest in a bank account could also lead to a smaller refund. A smaller refund isn't necessarily terrible, since it means you got paid sooner rather than loaning the IRS money for no good reason.

Generally, you must make estimated tax payments if you expect to owe at least $500 ($250 if married/RDP filing separately) in tax for 2024 (after subtracting withholding and credits) and you expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of: 90% of the tax shown on your 2024 tax return; or.

What is the 90% rule for estimated taxes? ›

Estimated tax payment safe harbor details

The IRS will not charge you an underpayment penalty if: You pay at least 90% of the tax you owe for the current year, or 100% of the tax you owed for the previous tax year, or.

For the vast majority of tax filers, the standard deduction is the way to go. “Generally, taxpayers whose total itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction (based on their filing status) will benefit from taking the standard deduction.

Social Security income can be taxable no matter how old you are. It all depends on whether your total combined income exceeds a certain level set for your filing status. You may have heard that Social Security income is not taxed after age 70; this is false.

The standard deduction is the portion of income not subject to tax that can be used to reduce your tax bill. The IRS adjusts the standard deduction each year for inflation. The amount of your standard deduction is based on your filing status, age, and other criteria.

As the new year kicks off, some workers could see a slightly bigger paycheck due to tax bracket changes from the IRS. The IRS in November unveiled the federal income tax brackets for 2024, with earnings thresholds for each tier adjusting by about 5.4% higher for inflation.

All of the individual tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expire at the end of 2025. Among the changes: Individual income tax rates will revert to their 2017 levels. The standard deduction will be cut roughly in half, the personal exemption will return while the child tax credit (CTC) will be cut.

Your new year paycheck might have different withholding amounts for federal taxes. Effective Jan 1 2024, IRS has updated the federal tax brackets. The rates remain at 0%, 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, or 37% but the ranges have been adjusted for inflation.

So far in 2024, the average federal income tax refund is $2,850, an increase of 3.5% from 2023. It's not entirely unexpected: To adjust for inflation, the IRS raised both the standard deduction and tax brackets by about 7%.