Claiming the Standard Deduction or Itemized Deductions
Claim the standard deduction if it exceeds your allowable itemized deductions for mortgage interest, property taxes, medical costs, charitable donations, casualty losses, and miscellaneous deductions for job costs and investment expenses. The amount of your standard deduction depends on your filing status for the year and whether you are age 65 or older and/or legally blind. Dependents with only unearned (investment) income are limited to a lower standard deduction.
Whether you claim the standard deduction or itemize should be determined anew each year. Increases in the standard deduction amounts because of inflation adjustments, changes in your marital status, or changes in your itemized expenses can influence this determination annually.
Caution: If you are married and file separately and your spouse itemized deductions, you must also itemize deductions, even though this is less than the standard deduction to which you would otherwise be entitled.
