2026 Standard Deduction

For 2026, the Standard Deduction is $16,100 (Single unmarried), $32,200 (Married jointly), $24,150 (Head of household) and 2 more figures below.

Single unmarried$16,100
Married jointly$32,200
Head of household$24,150
Aged blind addition+$1,650
Aged blind addition unmarried+$2,050

Effective 2026-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01

Compared with 2025

Item20252026Change
Single unmarried$15,750$16,100+$350 (+2.2%)
Married jointly$31,500$32,200+$700 (+2.2%)
Head of household$23,625$24,150+$525 (+2.2%)
Aged blind addition+$1,600+$1,650+$50 (+3.1%)
Aged blind addition unmarried+$2,000+$2,050+$50 (+2.5%)

Who it applies to

The amount you use depends on filing status, and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 gives four rows for taxable years beginning in 2026: $32,200 for a joint return or a surviving spouse, $24,150 for a head of household, and $16,100 for an unmarried individual or a married individual filing a separate return. The § 63(f) addition for the aged or the blind sits on top of the basic amount at $1,650, and is increased to $2,050 where the individual is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse. An individual who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer is handled by a separate rule in the same item and is capped well below the ordinary figures. The revenue procedure sets these amounts and does not restate who may claim the standard deduction at all.

What changed this year, and why

For taxable years beginning in 2026, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the standard deduction under § 63 at $32,200 for married individuals filing joint returns and surviving spouses, $24,150 for heads of households, and $16,100 for unmarried individuals and for married individuals filing separate returns. The additional standard deduction under § 63(f) for the aged or the blind rises to $1,650, from the $1,600 Rev. Proc. 2024-40 stated for 2025, and the increased amount for an individual who is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse rises to $2,050 from $2,000. The basic amounts this site publishes for 2025 come from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 itself: it removed the general standard deduction table Rev. Proc. 2024-40 had published for that year, because the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act made the increased base amounts in § 63(c) permanent and raised them, and it restates the 2025 basic amounts in its own section 3.

Common questions

What is the 2026 standard deduction for a single filer?
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the § 63 standard deduction at $16,100 for taxable years beginning in 2026 for unmarried individuals other than surviving spouses and heads of households. That is the basic amount before any addition for the aged or the blind. A single filer who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer is handled by a separate rule in the same item and does not use the $16,100 figure.
What is the 2026 standard deduction for married filing jointly?
$32,200. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states that amount under § 63 for taxable years beginning in 2026 for married individuals filing joint returns and for surviving spouses, who share one row of the table. It is the basic amount only; a couple in which one or both spouses qualify for the § 63(f) addition for the aged or the blind adds $1,650 for each qualifying spouse on top.
What is the 2026 standard deduction for head of household?
$24,150 for taxable years beginning in 2026, under § 63. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 gives heads of households their own row, set between the $32,200 for a joint return and the $16,100 for an unmarried individual. As with the other rows, the figure is the basic standard deduction before any additional amount for the aged or the blind is applied.
What is the 2026 standard deduction for married filing separately?
$16,100. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 gives married individuals filing separate returns their own row for taxable years beginning in 2026, carrying the same amount as the row for unmarried individuals. Filing separately therefore does not produce two joint-sized deductions: each spouse works from $16,100 rather than from the $32,200 stated for a joint return.
Did the standard deduction go up for 2026?
The § 63(f) additional amount for the aged or the blind moved to $1,650 for 2026 from the $1,600 Rev. Proc. 2024-40 set for 2025, and the increased amount for an unmarried individual who is not a surviving spouse moved to $2,050 from $2,000. The basic amounts for 2026 are $32,200, $24,150 and $16,100. The basic amounts Rev. Proc. 2024-40 had published for 2025 were later removed by Rev. Proc. 2025-32, so this site's 2025 page states the amounts that procedure restated instead.
Why did Rev. Proc. 2025-32 change the 2025 standard deduction table?
Because the law changed after Rev. Proc. 2024-40 was issued. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 explains that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act amended § 63(c) to make the temporary increases in the basic standard deduction permanent and to raise the base amounts further. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 therefore removes the general standard deduction table in section 2.15 of Rev. Proc. 2024-40 and restates the 2025 basic amounts in its own section 3, so the figures that earlier procedure published for 2025 no longer stand.
How much extra standard deduction is there for someone 65 or older or blind in 2026?
The additional standard deduction amount under § 63(f) for the aged or the blind is $1,650 for taxable years beginning in 2026, and it is increased to $2,050 if the individual is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse. The wording is an increase, not a stack: an unmarried qualifying individual uses $2,050 as the additional amount rather than adding it to $1,650. The addition goes on top of the basic amount for the filing status.
What is the standard deduction for someone claimed as a dependent in 2026?
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 handles dependents separately. For taxable years beginning in 2026 the standard deduction under § 63 for an individual who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer cannot exceed the greater of a fixed figure stated in that item or the sum of the individual's earned income and a further stated amount. Whichever is greater is the ceiling, and it sits far below the ordinary amount for the filing status.

Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Standard deduction against itemising takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.

Three ways your standard deduction becomes zero

Most taxpayers can claim the standard deduction, but three situations make your standard deduction zero. First, if you are married filing separately and your spouse chooses to itemize their deductions instead, you cannot take the standard deduction and must itemize as well. Second, if you are filing a tax return for a short tax year because you changed your annual accounting period, your standard deduction is zero. Third, if you are a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year, you generally cannot take the standard deduction. A dual-status alien is someone who was both a nonresident and resident alien during the same year. There is an exception for nonresident aliens married to U.S. citizens or resident aliens at year-end who can choose to be treated as U.S. residents. If you fall into any of these three categories, you should itemize whatever deductions you are eligible for instead of claiming the standard deduction.

Persons not eligible for the standard de- duction. Your standard deduction is zero and you should itemize any deductions you have if: 1. Your filing status is married filing sepa- rately, and your spouse itemizes deduc- tions on their return; 2. You are filing a tax return for a short tax year because of a change in your annual accounting period; or 3. You are a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year.

Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (IRS)

You are 65 the day before your birthday

Age 65 arrives, for this deduction, one day early. Someone whose 65th birthday falls on New Year's Day is treated as 65 on the last day of the year before, and so takes the higher standard deduction a full filing year sooner than the birthday alone would suggest. The rule bites at exactly one boundary and for exactly one group - people born on the first day of a year - but for them it decides which return the larger amount belongs to. What the test reads is the age reached by the last day of the tax year, not an age held throughout it. The same reading is why a return prepared for someone who died during the year asks whether they had reached 65 at the time of death, rather than how much of the year they were 65 for.

considered 65 on the day before your 65th birth- day.

Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (IRS)

What "blind" means, and the letter you need

To claim the higher standard deduction for blindness, you must meet specific medical criteria and obtain proper documentation. If you are not totally blind, you must get a certified statement from an eye doctor - either an ophthalmologist or optometrist - that confirms one of two conditions: either you cannot see better than 20/200 in your better eye even with glasses or contact lenses, or your field of vision is 20 degrees or less. The statement should also note whether your eye condition is likely to improve beyond these limits. You must keep this statement in your records. Even if your vision can only be corrected beyond these limits by contact lenses that you can wear only briefly due to pain, infection, or ulcers, you can still take the higher standard deduction for blindness if you otherwise qualify. The additional amount for blindness in 2026 is $2,050 for unmarried taxpayers and $1,650 for married taxpayers, added to the base standard deduction of $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, or $24,150 for head of household.

If you aren’t totally blind, you must get a certified statement from an eye doc- tor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) stating that: 1. You can’t see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or 2. Your field of vision is 20 degrees or less.

Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (IRS)

Claiming your spouse's extra amount

You can claim the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind, provided you meet one of two conditions. First, you can claim it if you file a joint return together. Second, you can claim it if you file a separate return and your spouse had no gross income for the year and cannot be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. If your spouse died before reaching age 65, you cannot take the higher standard deduction because of your spouse. Even if your spouse would have turned 65 before the end of the year, your spouse is not considered 65 or older unless your spouse was actually 65 or older at the time of death. The additional amounts for 2026 are $1,650 for married taxpayers and $2,050 for unmarried taxpayers, which can be added to the base amounts of $32,200 for married filing jointly, $16,100 for single, or $24,150 for head of household. On a joint return, each spouse who is 65 or older or blind can qualify for their own additional amount.

You can take the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind and: 1. You file a joint return, or 2. You file a separate return and your spouse had no gross income and can’t be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. Death of spouse. If your spouse died in 2025 before reaching age 65, you can’t take a higher standard deduction because of your spouse.

Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (IRS)

The deduction on a final return

The standard deduction for a decedent's final tax return is the same as it would have been had the decedent continued to live. This means the deceased person's estate can claim the same standard deduction amount based on their filing status, age, and blindness as if they were still alive. However, there is an important limitation: if the decedent was not 65 or older at the time of death, the higher standard deduction for age cannot be claimed on the final return, even if the decedent would have turned 65 before the end of the year. This rule applies specifically to the age-related increase. The base standard deduction amounts for 2026 are $16,100 for single filers, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. The additional amounts for those 65 or older are $2,050 for unmarried taxpayers and $1,650 for married taxpayers. If the decedent was 65 or older at death, these additional amounts can be included on the final return.

The standard deduc- tion for a decedent’s final tax return is the same as it would have been had the decedent contin- ued to live. However, if the decedent wasn’t 65 or older at the time of death, the higher stand- ard deduction for age can’t be claimed.

Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (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.

Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)

Single unmarried
Unmarried Individuals (other than Surviving Spouses and Heads of Households) (§ 1(j)(2)(C)) $16,100
Married jointly
Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns and Surviving Spouses (§ 1(j)(2)(A)) $32,200
Head of household
Heads of Households (§ 1(j)(2)(B)) $24,150
Aged blind addition
the additional standard deduction amount under § 63(f) for the aged or the blind is $1,650
Aged blind addition unmarried
The additional standard deduction amount is increased to $2,050 if the individual is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse.
  • Fetched 2026-08-27T11:16:52.657Z
  • Verified 2026-09-01
  • Stored text sha256 208b7933feb97c60e786d17f8cf3d07ba95526429ab16cf0bc809d455bc8ca66

Specific situations

Other years

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