Last Updated on October 14, 2025 by Hannah Cooper
The Single Filer’s Best Friend: Your Guide to the Standard Deduction
Let’s be real. Tax season can feel like a confusing maze of paperwork and jargon. You’re just trying to do the right thing and maybe get a little money back, but it’s easy to get lost. If you’re filing as a single person, there’s one part of the tax code that’s actually on your side. It’s simple, powerful, and for most of us, it’s the single best move you can make.
I’m talking about the standard deduction.
Think of it as the IRS giving you a giant “get out of math free” card. It’s a noquestionsasked chunk of money that gets subtracted from your taxable income right off the bat. The higher your standard deduction, the less of your income is subject to tax. Simple as that.
Here’s a quick story. My friend Sarah, a graphic designer, used to spend hours on a Saturday trying to itemize her deductions. She’d gather every receipt for charity donations, her student loan interest, and the few workrelated expenses she had. She’d hunch over her calculator, convinced she was beating the system. One year, I convinced her to just let the software do its thing and take the standard deduction. Her refund was larger. She’d been wasting her time for years. The look of relief on her face was priceless.
That’s the power of understanding this rule. It saves you time, stress, and often, a surprising amount of money.
What Exactly Is the Standard Deduction for Single Filers?
In plain English, the standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount that reduces the income you’re taxed on. It’s available to every taxpayer, but the amount depends on your filing status. For single filers, it’s a pretty generous number.
For the 2023 tax year (the one you file in 2024), the standard deduction for single filers is $13,850. For the 2024 tax year (filed in 2025), it’s rising to $14,600.
Let that sink in for a minute. If you’re single and made $50,000 in 2023, the standard deduction immediately knocks your taxable income down to $36,150. That’s a huge chunk of change that the government just ignores. Pretty wild, right?
The system is designed this way to simplify the process for the vast majority of Americans who don’t have a mountain of deductible expenses. Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the standard deduction was much lower, which forced more people to itemize. Now, it’s been nearly doubled, making it the clear winner for most single people.
The Golden Question: Should You Take the Standard Deduction or Itemize?
This is the big decision. And for probably 90% of single filers, the answer is a resounding “take the standard deduction.” But let’s break down why.
Itemizing deductions means you’re listing out all your qualifying expenses individually to see if their total is greater than the standard deduction. These expenses include things like:
- State and local income, sales, and property taxes (capped at $10,000)
- Mortgage interest on your home
- Significant charitable contributions
- Major medical and dental expenses (that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income)
Here’s the kicker: you only get to pick one method. You can’t take the standard deduction AND itemize. So, you add up all your potential itemized deductions. If the total is less than $13,850 (for 2023), you take the standard deduction. If it’s more, you itemize.
Think about it. As a single person, do you pay more than $10,000 in state and local taxes? Do you have a mortgage where the interest is thousands of dollars a year? Did you donate a car to charity? For most renters and younger single people, hitting that $13,850 threshold is really, really tough.
My biggest mistake I see people make is forcing the itemization. They feel like they’re leaving money on the table if they don’t, so they scrape together every little receipt. In reality, they’re often just creating more work for themselves for no financial gain. Trust me on this one—unless you have a very specific financial situation (like owning a home in a hightax state), the standard deduction is your best bet.
Who Gets a Higher Standard Deduction?
The IRS gives a little extra help to two specific groups: the elderly and the blind. It’s called an additional standard deduction.
If you are age 65 or older by the end of the tax year, you get an extra $1,850 on top of the base amount for 2023. If you are legally blind, you get the same additional amount. And if you’re both 65+ and blind, you get two additional deductions, totaling $3,700 extra.
So, for a single filer in 2023 who is 68 years old, their standard deduction isn’t $13,850. It’s $15,700. That’s a significant boost that can really help on a fixed income.
I remember helping my grandfather with his taxes a few years back. He was so worried he was doing it wrong because the number seemed so high. When I explained the additional deduction for his age, he was so relieved. It’s a small piece of the tax code, but it makes a real difference for people who need it.
Special Cases and Quirks You Should Know
Taxes are never completely straightforward, are they? Here are a couple of special situations that can trip up single filers.
Can Someone Claim You as a Dependent? This is a big one for college students or young adults living at home. If your parents (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent on their tax return, your standard deduction is severely limited.
For 2023, if you can be claimed as a dependent, your standard deduction is limited to the greater of:
- $1,250, OR
- Your earned income + $400 (up to the full standard deduction amount of $13,850).
Let’s say you’re a college student with a parttime job where you earned $4,000. Your standard deduction would be $4,400 ($4,000 + $400). It’s not the full $13,850, but it’s still something. This is a crucial detail that many students miss.
Changing Filing Status Your life situation can change your tax situation. If you get married on December 31st, the IRS considers you married for the entire year. You’d then have to choose between filing as “Married Filing Jointly” or “Married Filing Separately,” which completely changes your standard deduction amount. For 2023, the standard deduction for Married Filing Jointly is $27,700—exactly double the single amount.
The RealWorld Benefit: More Money in Your Pocket
Let’s move from theory to practice. How does this actually play out on your tax return?
Imagine two single people, Alex and Taylor, both with a taxable income of $50,000 before any deductions.
- Alex takes the standard deduction of $13,850. Alex’s taxable income becomes $36,150.
- Taylor tries to itemize but only has $8,000 in total deductions (some state taxes and charitable gifts). Taylor’s taxable income becomes $42,000.
Who pays less tax? Alex, by a long shot. By taking the standard deduction, Alex shielded an extra $5,850 of income from taxation. At a 22% tax bracket, that’s a tax savings of nearly $1,300 compared to Taylor’s approach.
That’s not a hypothetical number. That’s a new laptop, a month of groceries, or a nice weekend trip. All for clicking the “standard deduction” box instead of spending a Sunday afternoon with a shoebox full of receipts.
For the most current and official numbers, always doublecheck the latest figures on the IRS website.
Your Action Plan for Tax Season
So, what should you do with all this information? Here’s a simple, stressfree plan.
- Gather Your Documents: Wait for your W2 and any 1099s. That’s your starting point.
- Use Tax Software: Whether it’s a free version or a paid one, good tax software is your best friend. It will automatically prompt you and calculate everything. I’m a big fan of the IRS Free File program if your income qualifies.
- Let the Software Guide You: As you go through the interview, the software will ask about home ownership, charitable donations, etc. Answer honestly. At the end, it will run the numbers and definitively tell you whether the standard deduction or itemizing is better for you. 99 times out of 100, it will choose the standard deduction for you.
- Don’t SecondGuess It: If the software says “standard deduction,” trust it. You’ve just saved yourself time and likely money.
Here’s a pro tip from my own experience: If you’re ever in doubt or have a more complex situation (like you started a business, sold crypto, or have rental income), it’s worth the few hundred dollars to sit down with a qualified tax professional. They can look at your entire financial picture and find savings you never knew existed. It’s an investment, not an expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m a single homeowner. Should I still itemize?
It’s possible, but less common than it used to be. You need to add up your mortgage interest, plus your state and local taxes (capped at $10,000), plus any other deductions. If that total beats the standard deduction ($13,850 for 2023, $14,600 for 2024), then yes, itemize. But for many with smaller mortgages or who live in lowtax states, the standard deduction still wins. Your tax software will compare the two numbers for you.
What if my itemized deductions are almost the same as the standard deduction?
Take the standard deduction. Every time. It’s simpler, faster, and creates a cleaner tax record. There’s no prize for making your return more complicated. The path of least resistance is usually the financially smart one here.
Can I switch back to the standard deduction if I itemized last year?
Absolutely. You can switch between itemizing and taking the standard deduction every year. You’re not locked into one method. You just choose the one that gives you the biggest benefit for that specific tax year.
Does the standard deduction change every year?
Yes, it’s adjusted for inflation. That’s why it went up from $12,950 in 2022 to $13,850 in 2023, and will be $14,600 in 2024. The IRS does this to prevent “bracket creep,” where inflation pushes you into a higher tax bracket even though your purchasing power hasn’t changed. You can find a great breakdown of historical rates and how they’re calculated on resources like Investopedia.
At the end of the day, the standard deduction is the tax code’s way of cutting you a break. It’s a powerful, simple tool designed to make your life easier. So this tax season, embrace it. Let it do the heavy lifting for you. File your return with confidence, get your refund, and go enjoy your life without the taxtime headache.