2019 SALT Deduction Limit
The 2019 SALT Deduction Limit is $10,000.
Effective 2019-01-01Source: 2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2018
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2018.
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deduction limit | $10,000 | $10,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who itemize deductions and pay state and local income, sales, or property taxes
What changed this year, and why
For 2019, the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) is limited to $10,000. This is the same limit that applied in 2018.
Common questions
- What is the SALT deduction limit for 2019?
- The total deduction for state and local taxes is limited to $10,000 per return, or half that amount if married filing separately.
- Does the SALT limit apply to married couples filing separately?
- Yes. Married taxpayers filing separate returns are limited to a reduced SALT deduction.
The limit shrinks above a stated income
The $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction applies uniformly regardless of a taxpayer's income level. There is no adjusted gross income threshold that reduces or eliminates the limit for higher earners. The deduction for state and local taxes is limited to $10,000, or $5,000 if married filing separately, and this ceiling applies to the combined total of amounts reported on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c of Schedule A. Whether your income is modest or substantial, the same dollar cap governs how much state and local tax you may claim as an itemized deduction. Taxpayers whose state and local taxes exceed the cap must reduce their claimed amount to the limit before combining it with other itemized deductions.
The deduction for state and local taxes is limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married fil- ing separately). State and local taxes are the taxes that you include on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
Income taxes or sales taxes, one or the other
You can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes. You can't deduct both. The election is made on Schedule A, line 5a. If you make the election, you forgo the deduction for state and local income taxes and substitute the amount of general sales taxes you paid during the year. You figure the sales tax amount using either your actual receipts or the IRS optional sales tax tables. This rule means you must choose one category of state and local tax, not combine income and sales taxes on the same return. The combined amount you claim on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c is still subject to the overall state and local tax deduction limit.
You can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local in- come taxes. You can't deduct both.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
What is not a deductible tax
A wide range of state and local taxes are not deductible at all, even if you itemize. Federal income and most excise taxes are excluded, as are Social security, Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), and railroad retirement (RRTA) taxes. Customs duties, federal estate and gift taxes, and foreign personal or real property taxes also do not count. Among state and local charges, tax on gasoline, car inspection fees, assessments for sidewalks or other improvements to your property, tax you paid for someone else, and license fees (for example, marriage, driver's, and pet) are all nondeductible. These excluded amounts never reach Schedule A at all, so they do not reduce or fill up any portion of your state and local tax deduction limit. Only taxes that appear on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c are counted toward the cap.
Taxes You Can't Deduct • Federal income and most excise taxes. • Social security, Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), and railroad re- tirement (RRTA) taxes. • Customs duties. • Federal estate and gift taxes. How- ever, see Line 16, later, if you had in- come in respect of a decedent. • Certain state and local taxes, in- cluding tax on gasoline, car inspection fees, assessments for sidewalks or other improvements to your property, tax you paid for someone else, and license fees (for example, marriage, driver's, and pet). • Foreign personal or real property taxes.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
Payroll contributions that do count
Mandatory payroll contributions to certain state benefit funds are treated as deductible state and local income taxes on Schedule A. Specifically, mandatory contributions to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Benefit Fund, the Rhode Island Temporary Disability Benefit Fund, or the Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund qualify. Mandatory contributions to state unemployment funds in Alaska, California, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, as well as mandatory contributions to state family leave programs such as the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance program and the California Paid Family Leave program, also count. Because these amounts are reported on line 5a as state and local income taxes, they are included in the total that is subject to the overall state and local tax deduction limit.
Mandatory contributions you made to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Bene- fit Fund, Rhode Island Temporary Disa- bility Benefit Fund, or Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
You only get this if you itemize
Most taxpayers must itemize to benefit from the SALT deduction. You compare the total of your itemized deductions - including state and local taxes - with your standard deduction and claim the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard deduction. If your standard deduction is larger, you take it and do not report any SALT amount at all. Only when your itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction do you carry the SALT line onto the return, and even then the amount you may write down is still subject to the $10,000 ceiling. In practice this means that many filers who are close to the standard-deduction threshold receive no separate benefit from the SALT cap, because they would have taken the standard deduction regardless. Taxpayers who do itemize, however, must still respect the cap when totalizing lines 5a, 5b, and 5c on Schedule A.
Use Schedule A (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) to figure your itemized deductions. In most cases, your federal income tax will be less if you take the larger of your itemized de- ductions or your standard deduction.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
2019 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
- Deduction limit
The deduction for state and local taxes is limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married fil- ing separately)