Tax guides
2025 standard deduction: how much it is and how it applies
Vordana Tax ·
The standard deduction is a fixed amount subtracted from your income before your tax is figured. Most people use it because it is higher than their deductible expenses added up. This guide explains how much it is for 2025, the extra amounts for age or blindness, and the new deduction for seniors.
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How much it is in 2025
- Single or married filing separately: $15,750.
- Married filing jointly, or qualifying surviving spouse: $31,500.
- Head of household: $23,625.
Extra amount if you are 65 or older, or blind
If you are 65 or older at the end of 2025, or blind, your standard deduction goes up. The increase is added once for each condition and for each person: someone who is 65 and also blind gets it twice.
- Single or head of household: an extra $2,000 for each condition.
- Married (filing jointly or separately) or qualifying surviving spouse: an extra $1,600 for each condition, for each spouse.
New for 2025: the senior deduction
Starting in 2025 there is a separate deduction of up to $6,000 for each person who is 65 or older at the end of the year. It is added on top of the standard deduction, and you can also take it if you itemize. On a joint return, if both spouses are 65 or older, each one counts.
It is reduced by 6% of the part of your modified adjusted gross income above $75,000, or $150,000 if you file jointly. Married couples filing separately cannot take it. According to the IRS, the person must also have a valid Social Security number.
If someone else can claim you as a dependent
If someone else can claim you as their dependent, your standard deduction is the larger of $1,350 or your earned income plus $450, but no more than the normal standard deduction for your filing status. The extra amounts for age or blindness are added on top.
How Vordana Tax handles it
Vordana Tax applies the standard deduction that fits your filing status, your age and your answers, and adds the extra amounts and the senior deduction when you qualify. If you enter expenses that can be itemized, such as mortgage interest or donations, the program compares the two options and uses the one that gives you the larger deduction.
Questions
Is the standard deduction or itemizing better for me?
Whichever is larger. Itemizing is only worth it if your deductible expenses add up to more than your standard deduction. Vordana Tax makes that comparison for you.
I turn 65 in 2025. What do I get?
If you are single, $2,000 is added to your $15,750 standard deduction. You may also qualify for the new senior deduction of up to $6,000, depending on your income.
If I file with an ITIN, do I get the standard deduction?
Yes, if you file Form 1040 as a resident for tax purposes. The standard deduction does not depend on having a Social Security number; it applies the same as for anyone else with the same filing status.
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