How to use this calculator
- Choose the tax year and the filing status you will use.
- Enter your wages. Other income, such as interest, a pension or capital gains, goes under More options.
- Enter what you paid during the year: state and local income tax (withholding and payments, from your W-2 and state return) or sales tax, property taxes, and mortgage interest and points (Form 1098, box 1).
- Enter the cash you gave directly to charity, your medical and dental costs, and any tips, overtime or car loan interest deductions you take.
- Under More options, add gifts to a donor-advised fund, gifts of stock or other property, mortgage insurance, investment interest, other itemized deductions, how many years of gifts to bunch, the age and blindness boxes, children, and other income.
The numbers already filled in are an example. Replace them with your own.
What counts as an itemized deduction
Itemized deductions are the expenses you list on Schedule A. Each has its own limit:
- State and local taxes. Income tax or sales tax, whichever is larger, plus real estate and personal property taxes. The SALT deduction is limited to $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026 (half on a separate return). Above $500,000 of modified adjusted gross income for 2025, or $505,000 for 2026 (half that on a separate return), the limit falls by 30 cents for each dollar over (15 cents on a separate return), down to $10,000 ($5,000 separately).
- Mortgage interest. Interest and points on up to $750,000 of debt used to buy, build or improve your main or second home ($375,000 separately), or $1 million for debt from before December 16, 2017. From 2026, mortgage insurance premiums count again, reduced for incomes over $100,000.
- Gifts to charity. Cash gifts count up to 60% of your adjusted gross income and gifts of appreciated stock or property up to 30%, with any excess carried forward for five years. From 2026 only the part of your gifts above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income counts when you itemize. Keep a written acknowledgment for any gift of $250 or more, and file Form 8283 for noncash gifts over $500.
- Medical and dental costs. The part above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, including health insurance premiums you paid after tax.
- The rest. Investment interest, casualty losses from a declared disaster, gambling losses up to your winnings (from 2026, only 90% of your losses count, still no more than your winnings), and from 2026 educator expenses you don't deduct elsewhere. The miscellaneous deductions that were subject to a 2% floor, such as unreimbursed employee expenses, are not allowed under current law.
Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare tax, rent and homeowners insurance are not deductible. The tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions are not itemized deductions: you take them either way.
For 2026, a married couple with $180,000 of income, $16,000 of state and property taxes, $12,000 of mortgage interest, $5,000 of gifts and $3,000 of medical costs would have $32,100 of itemized deductions: their medical costs are under the $13,500 floor, so none of them count, and the first $900 of their gifts doesn't count either. That is under their $32,200 standard deduction, and they could also deduct $2,000 of their gifts without itemizing, for $34,200. Taking the standard deduction saves them $462.
Bunching charitable gifts
If your deductions are close to the standard deduction, bunching can help: you give two or three years of gifts in one year, itemize that year, and take the standard deduction in the others. A donor-advised fund is the usual way to do it, because you get the deduction when you put money in and can still send grants to charities every year.
In the example above, giving $5,000 a year means taking the standard deduction every year, for $19,312 of federal income tax over 2026–2027. Giving $10,000 in 2026 and nothing the next year means itemizing in 2026 and taking the standard deduction after, for $18,542: a saving of $770.
The 2026 rules pull both ways. Bunching now also saves the 0.5% floor on gifts, which you pay once instead of every year. But in the years you don't itemize, you can deduct up to $1,000 ($2,000 on a joint return) of cash you give directly to charity, and bunching everything gives that up. Keeping that amount of direct gifts in each year you don't itemize usually costs little or nothing, and it saves more when your bunching year falls into a lower tax bracket than the others. The calculator prices that plan too and picks whichever totals less. Gifts to a donor-advised fund never count toward the non-itemizer deduction.
You can also bunch other deductions: pay a property tax installment that has been billed before the year ends, or schedule planned medical care in the same year. The calculator bunches only charitable gifts.
How it's calculated
The calculator adds up your Schedule A under the limits for the tax year, works out your standard deduction (plus the charitable deduction for non-itemizers from 2026), and figures your federal income tax twice, once each way. The difference between the two is what the better choice saves.
An example
Say you file single for 2026 with $85,000 of wages. You paid $4,000 of state income tax and $3,000 of property tax, $5,000 of mortgage interest, and gave $5,000 to charity. Your itemized deductions come to $16,575 , after the $425 floor on your gifts. That is more than your $16,100 standard deduction, but without itemizing you can also deduct $1,000 of your gifts, for $17,100. Your taxable income is $67,900 taking the standard deduction and $68,425 itemizing, for a federal income tax of $9,656 and $9,766. The standard deduction saves you $110.
The limit on state and local taxes
A married couple filing jointly with $600,000 of income paid $45,000 of state and property taxes. Their income is $95,000 over the $505,000 threshold, so their limit falls by 30% of that, from $40,400 to $11,900, and they can deduct $11,900. With their mortgage interest and gifts, itemizing still saves them $6,895.
The 37% bracket limit
From 2026, if your income reaches the 37% bracket, your itemized deductions are reduced by 2/37 of the smaller of your itemized deductions and the part of your income (before this limit, with the itemized deductions added back) that is in the 37% bracket. A single filer with $700,000 of income and $16,600 of itemized deductions loses $897.30 to the limit, which leaves $15,702.70: less than the $16,100 standard deduction, so the standard deduction saves them $147.
Why it compares taxes, not just totals
The larger total almost always gives the lower tax, but not always by the difference times your tax rate. The IRS Tax Table taxes income below $100,000 in rows ($50 wide above $3,000), a difference can cross a bracket, capital gains can move to a lower rate, and the child tax credit can already cover your tax. When the two choices give the same tax, the calculator says so.
Assumptions and limits
- It figures federal income tax only. State income tax, and whether your state lets you itemize if you take the federal standard deduction, are not included.
- The amounts you enter are already the deductible amounts under the rules this calculator doesn't apply: mortgage interest within the debt limits (Publication 936), investment interest within Form 4952's limit, gambling losses within your winnings, and casualty losses from Form 4684. A net qualified disaster loss, which you can take whether or not you itemize, is not included.
- Gifts are to public charities, including donor-advised funds. Gifts of property are treated as appreciated stock or property held more than a year, limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income; used clothing and household goods are held to the same 30% here, which matters only for gifts above that. Carryovers from earlier years are not included, and an amount over this year's limits is shown but not carried forward.
- Qualified charitable distributions from an IRA are not gifts on Schedule A: they lower your income instead. Leave them out of both your gifts and your income.
- It does not figure the alternative minimum tax, the net investment income tax or the Additional Medicare Tax. State and local taxes are not deductible for the alternative minimum tax, so a large SALT deduction can trigger it at high incomes.
- It figures the regular income tax, the child tax credit, the credit for other dependents and the additional child tax credit, with your wages as earned income, and no other credits. Capital losses and student loan interest are not included; enter gains net of losses.
- The qualified business income you enter is used as figured on Form 8995, without the wage and property limits. Modified adjusted gross income is your adjusted gross income: the Puerto Rico and foreign income exclusions are not included. If you file separately and receive Social Security, the taxable part is figured as if you lived with your spouse during the year.
- For 2026 the IRS has not yet printed its Tax Table or its Schedule A instructions. The tax below $100,000 of taxable income is figured the way the IRS builds the table, and the 2026 rules come from the tax code and the draft forms.
- The bunching comparison holds your income, filing status and other deductions at this year's; a qualifying surviving spouse keeps that status only for the two years after the year of death. Years after the newest tax year use that year's figures and follow the scheduled end of the 2025–2028 deductions.
- If someone can claim you as a dependent, your standard deduction may be smaller than shown.
Input field details
What to enter in each box, where to find the number, and how this calculator treats it. When two calculators give different answers from the same numbers, it's usually because they handle one of these differently.
Filing status
The status you will file under for the tax year.
How this tool treats itYour status sets your standard deduction, the fixed amount you subtract from income if you don’t itemize, and your tax brackets. A qualifying surviving spouse uses the joint brackets and standard deduction, but the charitable deduction for people who don’t itemize is $1,000 for every return except a joint one, where it is $2,000. From 2026, itemized deductions are also reduced when your income reaches the 37% bracket: by 2/37 of the smaller of your itemized deductions and your income above the start of that bracket.
Wages
Your wages for the year. On a joint return, add your spouse’s.
Where to find itForm W-2, box 1. With more than one job, add the box 1 amounts.
How this tool treats itYour adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11) is your wages plus other income, qualified dividends and gains and the taxable part of Social Security, less your adjustments. It sets the 7.5% medical floor and the charitable limits. Modified adjusted gross income, which sets the limit on state and local taxes, is the same figure here, because the foreign and possession income exclusions that would be added back are not included. Your wages are also your earned income for the refundable part of the child tax credit.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
State and local income tax, or sales tax
The state and local income tax you paid during the year, or your general sales tax if that is larger. Not both.
Where to find itWithholding on your W-2s (boxes 17 and 19), estimated payments you made during the year, and any balance for last year you paid during the year. For sales tax, your receipts or the optional sales tax tables in the IRS’s Schedule A instructions.
How this tool treats itState and local income or sales tax and property taxes share one limit: $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026. Above $500,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($505,000 for 2026) the limit falls by 30 cents for each dollar over, but never below $10,000. On a separate return every one of those figures is halved. The calculator applies the limit to the two tax fields together.
Allowed range$0 to $2,000,000
Not includedForeign real property taxes, which are not deductible, and taxes paid in a business, which are not limited.
Property taxes
Real estate taxes on property you own and personal property taxes based on value, such as a car registration fee figured on the car’s value.
Where to find itYour property tax bills, or your lender’s escrow statement when the lender pays them. Enter only what was paid during the year.
How this tool treats itThese share the state and local tax limit with the field above.
Allowed range$0 to $2,000,000
Home mortgage interest and points
The deductible interest and points on loans that bought, built or improved your main or second home.
Where to find itForm 1098, box 1 (interest) and box 6 (points).
How this tool treats itInterest is deductible on up to $750,000 of home loans taken out after December 15, 2017 ($375,000 on a separate return), or $1,000,000 for older loans. If your loans are larger, Publication 936 works out the part you can deduct, and that is the figure to enter. Interest on a home equity loan counts only when the loan bought, built or improved the home.
Allowed range$0 to $2,000,000
Not includedThe debt limits and the home equity use test, which the calculator takes as already applied.
Cash gifts to charity
Gifts by cash, check or card made directly to churches, schools, hospitals and other public charities during the year.
Where to find itYour bank records and the charities’ receipts. A gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the charity.
How this tool treats itCash gifts are deductible up to 60% of your adjusted gross income, the contribution base. From 2026, when you itemize, the first 0.5% of your adjusted gross income in gifts isn’t deductible. From 2026, if you don’t itemize, you can still deduct up to $1,000 of these gifts ($2,000 on a joint return), which is Form 1040 line 12f; gifts to a donor-advised fund don’t count toward it, which is why they have their own field.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Not includedGifts to private foundations, carryovers from earlier years, and qualified charitable distributions from an IRA, which lower your income instead and belong in neither your gifts nor your income.
Medical and dental expenses
What you paid during the year for medical and dental care that insurance did not reimburse and that you did not pay from an HSA or pretax through work.
Where to find itYour bills and statements. Health insurance premiums you paid after tax count, including Medicare premiums.
How this tool treats itOnly the part above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income is deductible.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Tips, overtime and car loan interest deductions
The total of any tips, overtime and car loan interest deductions you are taking for the year.
Where to find itSchedule 1-A, the form for the tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions.
How this tool treats itThese deductions are taken whether or not you itemize, so they lower your taxable income by the same amount on both returns. The senior deduction is figured for you from the age boxes and should not be included here.
Allowed range$0 to $60,000
Cash gifts to a donor-advised fund
Cash you gave to a donor-advised fund, or to a supporting organization, during the year.
Where to find itThe fund sponsor’s receipt.
How this tool treats itA donor-advised fund is an account at a public charity: you get the deduction when you give to it, and recommend grants to other charities later. These gifts count toward the 60% limit when you itemize, but not toward the charitable deduction for people who don’t itemize.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Gifts of stock or other property
The market value on the day you gave it of stock or other property held more than a year, given to public charities or a donor-advised fund.
Where to find itYour brokerage’s transfer confirmation, or the charity’s receipt. Over $500 of noncash gifts, you file Form 8283.
How this tool treats itCapital gain property, such as appreciated stock held more than a year, is deducted at its market value and limited to 30% of your adjusted gross income, and together with cash gifts to 50% of it. Used clothing and household goods count at their thrift-shop value; the calculator holds them to 30% too, which only matters for gifts above 30% of your adjusted gross income. Anything over a limit carries forward for up to five years; the calculator shows that amount but doesn’t count it in later years.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Not includedThe reduced-basis election, conservation easements and appraisal rules.
Mortgage insurance premiums
Mortgage insurance premiums you paid during the year on a loan for your home, including private mortgage insurance and FHA or VA premiums.
Where to find itForm 1098, box 5.
How this tool treats itNot deductible for 2025, and deductible again from 2026. The deduction falls by 10% for each $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of adjusted gross income over $100,000, so it is gone above $109,000; on a separate return the steps are $500 over $50,000.
Allowed range$0 to $100,000
Not includedMortgage insurance contracts issued before 2007, which the law treats differently.
Investment interest
The deductible interest on money you borrowed to buy taxable investments, such as margin interest.
Where to find itForm 4952, line 8.
How this tool treats itForm 4952 limits it to your net investment income; enter the amount after that limit.
Allowed range$0 to $2,000,000
Other itemized deductions
Any other itemized deductions, already figured: foreign income tax you don’t take as a credit, casualty and theft losses from a federally declared disaster, gambling losses and the other items on the form.
Where to find itSchedule A line 6, and lines 15 and 16 of the 2025 form (lines 16 and 17a–17z of the 2026 draft).
How this tool treats itItemized deductions are the expenses you list on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction. Gambling losses are limited to your winnings, and from 2026 to 90% of your losses. From 2026, educator expenses you don’t deduct on Schedule 1 go here too. A net qualified disaster loss is deductible whether or not you itemize, so leave it out: entered here, it would make itemizing look better by its full amount.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Not includedThe casualty loss computation (Form 4684), the gambling loss limit and a net qualified disaster loss.
Years of gifts to bunch
How many years of gifts to compare giving all at once: two or three.
How this tool treats itBunching means giving two or three years of gifts in one year and none in the years after, so you itemize in the year you give and take the standard deduction in the others. The calculator compares three plans: giving every year; giving it all in the first year; and giving most of it in the first year while keeping the amount of the non-itemizer deduction as direct gifts in each later year. Each year takes whichever choice gives the lower tax. Later years without published figures use the newest year’s.
Allowed range2 or 3
Not includedBunching property tax payments or medical costs, and windows longer than three years.
65 or older
Tick each box for a person on the return who was 65 or older at the end of the year. The IRS counts you as 65 on the day before your 65th birthday, so someone whose 65th birthday is January 1 counts as 65 for the year before.
How this tool treats itEach person 65 or older adds an amount to the standard deduction, and from 2025 through 2028 also gets the senior deduction: $6,000 each, less 6% of modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return), taken whether or not you itemize. It is not allowed on a separate return. The spouse’s box is read only on a joint return.
Blind
Tick each box for a person on the return who was blind on the last day of the year.
How this tool treats itEach box adds an amount to the standard deduction. The spouse’s box is read only on a joint return.
My spouse itemizes on a separate return
Tick it if you file separately and your spouse itemizes deductions on their own return.
How this tool treats itThen your standard deduction is $0. From 2026 you can still skip itemizing and deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts, and the calculator compares that with itemizing. The reverse also holds: if you itemize on a separate return, your spouse’s standard deduction is $0. Read only when your filing status is married filing separately.
Children under 17
Your qualifying children who are under 17 at the end of the year and have a Social Security number valid for work.
How this tool treats itThe child tax credit first reduces your income tax. What is left can come back to you as the additional child tax credit, the refundable part, up to a fixed amount a child and to 15% of your wages over $2,500. A larger deduction lowers your tax, which can leave more of the credit to be refunded, so itemizing can pay off as a larger refund rather than a lower tax.
Allowed range0 to 10
Not includedPart II-B of Schedule 8812, which can give a larger refundable credit to a family with three or more children. The calculator uses Part II-A and says when Part II-B may give more.
Other dependents
Dependents who are not qualifying children under 17, such as a child of 17 or older or a parent you support.
How this tool treats itEach gives the $500 credit for other dependents, which is not refundable.
Allowed range0 to 10
Other taxable income
Taxable income other than wages, Social Security and qualified dividends and long-term gains: interest, pensions, IRA withdrawals, business profit and short-term gains.
Where to find itForms 1099-INT, 1099-R and 1099-B, and Schedule C.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Not includedCapital losses: enter gains net of losses.
Qualified dividends and net long-term capital gains
Your qualified dividends plus your long-term gains net of losses.
Where to find itForm 1099-DIV box 1b, and Schedule D.
How this tool treats itTaxed at 0%, 15% or 20% on top of your other income. A larger deduction can move some of them from 15% to 0%, so what itemizing saves can be more than your bracket times the difference.
Allowed range$0 to $5,000,000
Social Security benefits
The Social Security benefits you received for the year.
Where to find itBox 5 of Form SSA-1099.
How this tool treats itThe taxable part is figured for you with the IRS worksheet, and it is the same on both returns, because the choice of deduction comes after adjusted gross income. On a separate return, it uses the rule for spouses who lived together during the year.
Allowed range$0 to $200,000
Adjustments to income
Your deductible adjustments, already figured: traditional IRA and HSA contributions, half of self-employment tax and the others on Schedule 1.
Where to find itSchedule 1, Part II.
Allowed range$0 to $1,000,000
Not includedStudent loan interest, which is not computed: if you deduct it, your adjusted gross income here is too high by that amount.
Qualified business income
The qualified business income of a business you own, as figured for the qualified business income deduction. Include its profit in other taxable income too.
Where to find itForm 8995, line 2.
How this tool treats itThe deduction is 20% of it, limited to 20% of taxable income less qualified dividends and long-term gains, and it applies whether or not you itemize. A larger deduction lowers taxable income, so it can lower this limit.
Allowed range$0 to $2,000,000
Not includedFiguring qualified business income, and the W-2 wage and property limits above the income threshold.
Questions
Should I itemize or take the standard deduction?
How much do my deductions need to be to itemize in 2026?
Can I deduct charitable gifts without itemizing?
What is the limit on state and local taxes for 2026?
Do the tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions require itemizing?
What is bunching, and does it still work in 2026?
If we file separately, can one of us itemize and the other take the standard deduction?
Why isn’t my saving exactly my tax rate times the difference?
Version history
- September 28, 2026 (version 1.0.0): First version.