Standard Deduction: Filing Status and Dependents (2025 IRS Guide)
This guide covers “Standard Deduction” within filing status and dependents. The following material presents the IRS treatment of this topic, including the qualifications, exceptions, and examples in the source section. Read the rules alongside the facts of your own situation before deciding what to report, deduct, or document.
Adapted from Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, published by the Internal Revenue Service. This guide retains the source edition’s years, amounts, deadlines, and examples. It is guidance for that edition, not a statement that the same figures apply to every tax year.
Standard Deduction
Most taxpayers have a choice of either taking a standard deduction or itemizing their deductions. If you have a choice, you can use the method that gives you the lower tax.
The standard deduction is a dollar amount that reduces your taxable income. It is a benefit that eliminates the need for many taxpayers to itemize actual deductions, such as medical expenses, charitable contributions, and taxes, on Schedule A (Form 1040). The standard deduction is higher for taxpayers who:
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Are 65 or older, or
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Are blind.
.You benefit from the standard deduction if your standard deduction is more than the total of your allowable itemized deductions. .
Persons not eligible for the standard deduction.
Your standard deduction is zero and you should itemize any deductions you have if:
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Your filing status is married filing separately, and your spouse itemizes deductions on their return;
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You are filing a tax return for a short tax year because of a change in your annual accounting period; or
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You are a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year. You are considered a dual-status alien if you were both a nonresident and resident alien during the year.
.If you can be claimed as a dependent on another person’s return (such as your parents’ return), your standard deduction may be limited. See Standard Deduction for Dependents, later. .
Standard Deduction Amount
The standard deduction amount depends on your filing status, whether you are 65 or older or blind, and whether another taxpayer can claim you as a dependent. Generally, the standard deduction amounts are adjusted each year for inflation. The standard deduction amounts for most people are shown in Table 6.
Decedent’s 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. However, if the decedent wasn’t 65 or older at the time of death, the higher standard deduction for age can’t be claimed.
Higher Standard Deduction for Age (65 or Older)
If you are age 65 or older on the last day of the year and don’t itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction. You are considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. Therefore, you can take a higher standard deduction for 2025 if you were born before January 2, 1961.
Use Table 7 to figure the standard deduction amount.
Death of taxpayer.
If you are preparing a return for someone who died in 2025, consider the taxpayer to be 65 or older at the end of 2025 only if the taxpayer was 65 or older at the time of death. Even if the taxpayer was born before January 2, 1961, the taxpayer isn’t considered 65 or older at the end of 2025 unless the taxpayer was 65 or older at the time of death.
A person is considered to reach age 65 on the day before the person’s 65th birthday.
Higher Standard Deduction for Blindness
If you are blind on the last day of the year and you don’t itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction.
Not totally blind.
If you aren’t totally blind, you must get a certified statement from an eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) stating that:
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You can’t see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or
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Your field of vision is 20 degrees or less.
If your eye condition isn’t likely to improve beyond these limits, the statement should include this fact. Keep the statement in your records.
If your vision can be corrected beyond these limits only by contact lenses that you can wear only briefly because of pain, infection, or ulcers, you can take the higher standard deduction for blindness if you otherwise qualify.
Spouse 65 or Older or Blind
You can take the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind and:
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You file a joint return, or
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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. Even if your spouse was born before January 2, 1961, your spouse isn’t considered 65 or older at the end of 2025 unless your spouse was 65 or older at the time of death.
A person is considered to reach age 65 on the day before the person’s 65th birthday.
Example.
Your spouse was born on February 14, 1960, and died on February 13, 2025. Your spouse is considered age 65 at the time of death. However, if your spouse died on February 12, 2025, your spouse isn’t considered age 65 at the time of death and isn’t 65 or older at the end of 2025.
.You can’t claim the higher standard deduction for an individual other than yourself and your spouse. .
Examples
The following examples illustrate how to determine your standard deduction using Table 6 and Table 7.
Example 1.
A married couple is filing a joint return for 2025. Both are under age 65. Neither is blind, and neither can be claimed as a dependent. They decide not to itemize their deductions. They use Table 6. Their standard deduction is $31,500.
Example 2.
The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that one of the spouses is blind at the end of 2025. They use Table 7. Their standard deduction is $33,100.
Example 3.
A married couple is filing a joint return for 2025. Both are over age 65. Neither is blind, and neither can be claimed as a dependent. If they don’t itemize deductions, they use Table 7. Their standard deduction is $34,700.
Standard Deduction for Dependents
The standard deduction for an individual who can be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return is generally limited to the greater of:
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$1,350, or
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The individual’s earned income for the year plus $450 (but not more than the regular standard deduction amount, generally $15,750).
If you (or your spouse if filing jointly) can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return, use Table 8 to determine your standard deduction.
Earned income defined.
Earned income is salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform.
For purposes of the standard deduction, earned income also includes any part of a taxable scholarship or fellowship grant. See chapter 1 of Pub. 970 for more information on what qualifies as a scholarship or fellowship grant.
Example 1.
You are 16 years old and single. Your parents can claim you as a dependent on their 2025 tax return. You have interest income of $780 and wages of $150. You have no itemized deductions and use Table 8 to find your standard deduction. You enter $150 (earned income) on line 1, $600 ($150 + $450) on line 3, $1,350 (the larger of $600 and $1,350) on line 5, and $15,750 on line 6. Your standard deduction, on line 7a, is $1,350 (the smaller of $1,350 and $15,750).
Example 2.
You are a 22-year-old college student and can be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ 2025 tax return. You are married filing a separate return. Your spouse doesn’t itemize deductions. You have $1,500 in interest income and wages of $3,800 and no itemized deductions. You find your standard deduction by using Table 8. You enter earned income of $3,800 on line 1. You add lines 1 and 2 and enter $4,250 on line 3. On line 5, you enter $4,250, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Because you are married filing a separate return, you enter $15,750 on line 6. On line 7a, you enter $4,250 as the standard deduction amount because it is smaller than $15,750, the amount on line 6.
Example 3.
You are single and can be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ 2025 tax return. You are 18 years old and blind, and have interest income of $1,300, wages of $2,900, and no itemized deductions. You use Table 8 to find the standard deduction amount. You enter wages of $2,900 on line 1 and add lines 1 and 2 and enter $3,350 on line 3. On line 5, you enter $3,350, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Because you are single, you enter $15,750 on line 6 and $3,350 on line 7a. This is the smaller of the amounts on lines 5 and 6. Because you checked one box in the top part of the worksheet, you enter $2,000 on line 7b, then add the amounts on lines 7a and 7b and enter the standard deduction amount of $5,350 on line 7c.
Example 4.
You are 18 years old and single and can be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ 2025 tax return. You have wages of $7,000, interest income of $500, a business loss of $3,000, and no itemized deductions. You use Table 8 to figure the standard deduction amount. You enter $4,000 ($7,000 − $3,000) on line 1, add lines 1 and 2, and enter $4,450 on line 3. On line 5, you enter $4,450, the larger of lines 3 and 4, and, because you are single, $15,750 on line 6. On line 7a, you enter $4,450 as the standard deduction amount because it is smaller than $15,750, the amount on line 6.
Who Should Itemize
You should itemize deductions if your total deductions are more than the standard deduction amount. Also, you should itemize if you don’t qualify for the standard deduction, as discussed, earlier, under Persons not eligible for the standard deduction.
You should first figure your itemized deductions and compare that amount to your standard deduction to make sure you are using the method that gives you the greater benefit.
When to itemize.
You may benefit from itemizing your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040) if you:
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Don’t qualify for the standard deduction,
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Had large uninsured medical and dental expenses during the year,
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Paid interest and taxes on your home,
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Had large uninsured casualty or theft losses,
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Made large contributions to qualified charities, or
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Have total itemized deductions that are more than the standard deduction to which you are otherwise entitled.
If you decide to itemize your deductions, complete Schedule A (Form 1040) and attach it to your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Enter the amount from Schedule A (Form 1040), line 17, on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 12e.
Electing to itemize for state tax or other purposes.
Even if your itemized deductions are less than your standard deduction, you can elect to itemize deductions on your federal return rather than take the standard deduction. You may want to do this if, for example, the tax benefit of itemizing your deductions on your state tax return is greater than the tax benefit you lose on your federal return by not taking the standard deduction. To make this election, you must check the box on line 18 of Schedule A (Form 1040).
Changing your mind.
If you don’t itemize your deductions and later find that you should have itemized—or if you itemize your deductions and later find you shouldn’t have—you can change your return by filing Form 1040-X.
Married persons who filed separate returns.
You can change methods of taking deductions only if you and your spouse both make the same changes. Both of you must file a consent to assessment for any additional tax either one may owe as a result of the change.
You and your spouse can use the method that gives you the lower total tax, even though one of you may pay more tax than you would have paid by using the other method. You both must use the same method of claiming deductions. If one itemizes deductions, the other should itemize because the other spouse won’t qualify for the standard deduction. See Persons not eligible for the standard deduction, earlier.
Using the guidance
Keep the documents that establish the dates, amounts, and circumstances described above. References to other chapters, forms, worksheets, or earlier and later sections refer to the linked IRS publication. Check the full publication and its updates before relying on a rule for a different tax year or a situation not addressed here.
Sources and further reading
- Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information: Standard Deduction — Internal Revenue Service; 2025 edition.
The cited U.S. government text is in the public domain. Source accessed October 28, 2026. Fynoptic has organized this material for educational use and is independent of, and not endorsed by, the IRS.