2024 SALT Deduction Limit
The 2024 SALT Deduction Limit is $10,000.
Effective 2024-01-01Source: 2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2023
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2023.
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deduction limit | $10,000 | $10,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who itemize deductions on Schedule A and pay state and local income, sales, real estate, or personal property taxes.
What changed this year, and why
For 2024, the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) is limited to $10,000. Taxpayers who are married and file separate returns have a lower limit.
Common questions
- What is the SALT deduction limit for 2024?
- The SALT deduction limit caps the amount of state and local taxes you can deduct on your federal return at $10,000 for 2024.
- Which taxes are subject to the SALT cap?
- The limit applies to state and local income taxes (or sales taxes), real estate taxes, and personal property taxes reported on Schedule A lines 5a, 5b, and 5c.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The SALT cap headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The limit shrinks above a stated income
The Internal Revenue Service caps the total amount you may deduct for state and local taxes at $10,000 if you are single, head of household, married filing jointly, or a qualifying surviving spouse. If you are married and file a separate return, the cap drops to $5,000. This ceiling applies to the combined total of the state and local income taxes (or general sales taxes) you elect to deduct under line 5a, plus the state and local personal property taxes on line 5b, plus the state and local real estate taxes on line 5c. Even if the actual taxes you paid during the year add up to more than the limit, the amount that flows onto Schedule A cannot exceed $10,000 (or $5,000 for married filing separately). Any excess is simply lost; it does not carry forward to a later year. The limit is a fixed dollar amount set by statute, so it does not automatically rise with inflation unless Congress changes the law.
The deduction for state and local taxes is generally limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately). State and local taxes subject to this limit are the taxes that you include on lines 5a, 5b, and 5c.
2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
Income taxes or sales taxes, one or the other
The IRS allows you to choose between two options on Schedule A line 5a: you can deduct the state and local income taxes withheld and paid during the year, or you can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead. The instructions explicitly state that you cannot deduct both. This election makes sense because some taxpayers live in states with no income tax but pay significant sales taxes on purchases, while others in high-income-tax states benefit more from the income tax deduction. You make this choice once for the entire tax year when you file your return. If you elect the sales tax option, you can use either your actual receipts or the IRS optional sales tax tables to calculate the amount. Whichever method you choose, the amount you deduct counts toward the overall $10,000 cap that applies to all state and local taxes combined. The key point is that this is an either-or decision: you cannot split the difference or claim part of each category.
You can elect to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of state and local income taxes. You can't deduct both.
2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
What is not a deductible tax
The IRS publication lists several categories of taxes that do not qualify as deductible state and local taxes on Schedule A. Federal income taxes and most federal excise taxes are never deductible. Social security, Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), and railroad retirement (RRTA) taxes cannot be deducted, even though they are payroll taxes. Customs duties imposed on imported goods are also excluded. Federal estate and gift taxes are generally not deductible, though there is a limited exception if you had income in respect of a decedent. At the state and local level, certain taxes also do not count: tax on gasoline, car inspection fees, assessments for sidewalks or other improvements to your property, tax you paid on behalf of someone else, and license fees such as marriage licenses, driver's licenses, and pet licenses. Foreign personal or real property taxes are also excluded from the deduction. These items cannot be included on lines 5a, 5b, or 5c of Schedule A, and therefore do not count toward the $10,000 deduction limit.
Taxes You Can't Deduct • Federal income and most excise taxes. • Social security, Medicare, federal unemployment (FUTA), and railroad retirement (RRTA) taxes. • Customs duties. • Federal estate and gift taxes. However, see Line 16, later, if you had income in respect of a decedent. • Certain state and local taxes, including 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.
2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
Payroll contributions that do count
Certain mandatory payroll contributions to state benefit programs are treated as deductible state income taxes on Schedule A. If you work in California, New Jersey, or New York and had mandatory contributions withheld for the Nonoccupational Disability Benefit Fund, those amounts qualify. Rhode Island's Temporary Disability Benefit Fund contributions are also deductible. Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund contributions count as well. These are employee-side payroll deductions that your employer withholds from your wages, similar to state income tax withholding. In addition, mandatory contributions to state unemployment funds in Alaska, California, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania are deductible. Mandatory contributions to state family leave programs, such as the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance program and the California Paid Family Leave program, also qualify. All of these amounts are reported as state and local income taxes on line 5a, but they remain subject to the overall $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions.
Mandatory contributions you made to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Benefit Fund, Rhode Island Temporary Disability Benefit Fund, or Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund.
2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
You only get this if you itemize
This paragraph from the IRS instructions makes clear that Schedule A (Form 1040) is the worksheet you use to figure itemized deductions, and that your federal income tax will generally be lower only if you take the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard deduction. In other words, the SALT deduction is not a separate benefit you claim on top of the standard deduction. You must first add up all of your allowable itemized deductions - state and local taxes, mortgage interest, charitable gifts, medical expenses above the threshold, and so on - and then compare that total to your standard deduction. Only if the itemized total is larger do you actually itemize and thereby receive any tax benefit from SALT. If your standard deduction exceeds your itemized deductions, you will take the standard deduction and none of the state and local taxes you paid will reduce your federal taxable income. For 2024 this means that even though you may have paid well over the $10,000 cap in state and local taxes, those payments do not help you at all unless your total itemized deductions cross the standard-deduction threshold.
Use Schedule A (Form 1040) to figure your itemized deductions. In most cases, your federal income tax will be less if you take the larger of your itemized deductions or your standard deduction.
2024 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.
2024 Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (IRS)
- Deduction limit
The deduction for state and local taxes is generally limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately).