The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount the IRS subtracts from your adjusted gross income before the tax brackets apply. Most US filers claim it instead of itemizing, and in 2026 it is worth $16,100 to a single filer.
2026 standard deduction amounts
| Filing status | Standard deduction (2026) |
|---|---|
| Single | $16,100 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,200 |
| Head of household | $24,150 |
| Married filing separately | $16,100 |
These amounts come from the 2026 inflation adjustments in IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (§4.14).
What it is worth in tax
For a single filer with $78,000 of wages: $78,000 − $16,100 = $61,900 of taxable income. Applying the 2026 brackets — 10% on the first $12,400 ($1,240), 12% to $50,400 ($4,560) and 22% on the remaining $11,500 ($2,530) — the federal income tax is $8,330.
Without the standard deduction the same $78,000 would be taxed at $11,872, so the deduction saves $3,542. That equals 22% of $16,100: the savings are your marginal rate applied to the deducted amount.
The same logic for a married couple filing jointly with $130,000 of income: taxable income drops to $97,800 and federal tax to $11,240 (10% on $24,800 plus 12% on $73,000), against $18,024 if nothing were deducted — a saving of $6,784.
The income tax calculator applies the 2026 brackets and your standard deduction to your own numbers.
Standard deduction or itemized deductions?
You are not forced to itemize. You take whichever is larger:
- Itemized deductions include mortgage interest, state and local taxes up to the statutory cap, charitable contributions, and medical expenses above the threshold.
- The standard deduction needs no receipts and no Schedule A — you get it as long as you are not married filing separately while your spouse itemizes.
Itemizing only wins when those deductions add up to more than $16,100 (single), $24,150 (head of household) or $32,200 (married filing jointly). IRS Tax Topic 501 walks through the decision.
Two cases where the standard deduction does not help by itself
Self-employment tax. The 15.3% Social Security and Medicare tax for self-employed workers applies to 92.35% of net business earnings — an effective 14.13% — and the standard deduction does not reduce that base. Only income tax is lowered. The self-employment tax calculator separates the two.
Capital gains brackets are measured after the deduction. Long-term gains get their own rates, and the 0% bracket is defined by taxable income. A single filer with no other income can realize about $65,550 of long-term gains before the 15% rate starts, because the 0% bracket runs to $49,450 of taxable income and the $16,100 standard deduction sits below it. Check your own split with the capital gains calculator.
How it shows up in your paycheck
Your employer does not ask you for your deductions — the 2026 standard deduction is built into the withholding tables in IRS Pub. 15-T. For a single filer paid $1,500 a week, that means $160.19 of federal income tax withheld, plus $93.00 of Social Security and $21.75 of Medicare, leaving $1,225.06 of net pay. The withholding calculator shows the breakdown, and if you have income with no withholding the estimated tax calculator covers the quarterly side.
The official 2026 amounts are published in Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and summarized in IRS Tax Topic 551.