A single filer earning exactly $100,000 paid tax on $84,250 in 2025. In 2026, the same salary is taxed on $83,900. Nothing about the tax rates changed. The standard deduction just moved up by $350, and the rest of the arithmetic followed. This is the least glamorous tax number on the page, and it is the one that determines whether itemizing is even worth the paperwork for most households.
What is the 2026 standard deduction for single and married filing jointly?
The IRS released the 2026 inflation adjustments in IR-2025-103, covering tax year 2026, which you file in 2027. The amounts:
| Filing status | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Single / married filing separately | $16,100 | $15,750 |
| Married filing jointly / surviving spouse | $32,200 | $31,500 |
| Head of household | $24,150 | $23,625 |
The increases are modest: $350 for single and married filing separately, $700 for joint returns, $525 for heads of household. Modest, but they compound with the bracket threshold adjustments. If your income did not change at all between 2025 and 2026, your tax bill is slightly lower or your refund slightly larger, because more of your income sits at a zero rate before the brackets even begin.
What a $100,000 salary looks like under it
Take that single filer at $100,000 with no adjustments, standard deduction:
Single, $100,000 gross, 2026
The $350 increase in the standard deduction saves a 22% bracket filer about $77. Nobody is retiring on it, but this is the mechanism behind the quiet yearly tax cut that inflation indexing produces, and it is the same mechanism I traced in when brackets started indexing for inflation.
The stacks on top: seniors get a taller number
Two additions raise the deduction further for older filers. First, the long-standing additional amount for being 65 or blind: $2,050 per condition for single or head-of-household filers, $1,650 per spouse if married. Second, the genuinely new piece: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act added a temporary $6,000 per-person senior deduction for tax years 2025 through 2028. It stacks on top of everything, it works whether you take the standard deduction or itemize, and it phases out starting at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income, $150,000 for joint filers.
A 70-year-old single filer with modest income can therefore shield roughly $24,100 at zero rate: $16,100 plus $2,050 plus $6,000. That is nearly a quarter of a $100,000 income erased before brackets apply. The phaseout is the part to plan around: bunching income into a single year can cost you part of the $6,000.
Who does not get to claim it
Most people can, but the standard deduction is not universal. You generally lose it if you are married filing separately and your spouse itemizes, if you are a nonresident or dual-status alien, if you are filing a short-year return after changing your accounting period, or if you are an estate or trust. Dependents get a capped version: the greater of $1,350 or earned income plus $450. None of these are common situations, but the married-filing-separately trap is the one that actually bites real couples, because one spouse itemizing drags the other into itemizing too, even when the other spouse has almost nothing to itemize.
The decision rule for 2026: add up your itemizable expenses, mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable giving, and compare the total to your standard deduction number. Higher wins. At $32,200 for joint filers, most households will not clear the bar. If you land close, bunching two years of charitable donations into one tax year is the one move that can flip the answer.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the standard deduction for 2026?
- $16,100 for single and married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, $24,150 for heads of household. These apply to income earned in 2026, filed in 2027.
- How much is the extra senior deduction in 2026?
- Taxpayers 65 or older or blind add $2,050 per condition if unmarried, $1,650 per spouse if married. Plus the temporary $6,000 per-person senior deduction for 2025 through 2028, which phases out above $75,000 of MAGI ($150,000 joint).
- Who cannot claim the standard deduction?
- Married filing separately when the spouse itemizes, nonresident and dual-status aliens, short-year filers, and estates and trusts. Dependents are limited to the greater of $1,350 or earned income plus $450.
- Should I itemize or take the standard deduction in 2026?
- Whichever is larger. At $32,200 joint, itemizing is a minority sport in 2026. If you are close to the line, bunching charitable giving into one year can push you over it.