Tax Deduction Calculator

Tax Deduction Calculator

Compare standard vs. itemized deductions to minimize your tax liability. Take the higher deduction to reduce taxable income.

2024 Standard Deductions

Filing Status	Standard Deduction	Age 65+/Blind (Additional)
Single	$14,600	+$1,950
Married Filing Jointly	$29,200	+$1,550 per spouse
Married Filing Separately	$14,600	+$1,550
Head of Household	$21,900	+$1,950

Common Itemized Deductions

Category	Deductible Items	Limits
State/Local Taxes (SALT)	Income, property, sales tax	$10,000 cap
Mortgage Interest	Interest on first $750k of debt	Primary + second home
Charitable Giving	Cash, property donations	Up to 60% of AGI
Medical Expenses	Out-of-pocket costs	Exceeding 7.5% of AGI

Deduction Calculator

``javascript function calculateDeductions(itemizedExpenses, filingStatus = 'single', age65 = false) { const standardDeduction = { single: 14600, married: 29200, separate: 14600, head: 21900 };

const extraDeduction = { single: 1950, married: 1550, separate: 1550, head: 1950 };

let standard = standardDeduction[filingStatus]; if (age65) standard += extraDeduction[filingStatus];

// Calculate itemized total with SALT cap const saltCapped = Math.min(itemizedExpenses.salt || 0, 10000); const totalItemized = saltCapped + (itemizedExpenses.mortgage || 0) + (itemizedExpenses.charity || 0) + Math.max(0, (itemizedExpenses.medical || 0) - (itemizedExpenses.agi * 0.075));

const bestChoice = totalItemized > standard ? 'itemize' : 'standard';

return { standardDeduction: standard, itemizedTotal: totalItemized.toFixed(2), recommendation: bestChoice, taxSavings: Math.max(standard, totalItemized) }; } ``

Should You Itemize? Quick Check

If you have...	Standard likely wins	Itemize likely wins
Mortgage interest	Small mortgage or paid off	Large mortgage, early years
Property tax + state tax	Under $10k combined	Near $10k (SALT cap)
Charitable giving	Small donations	Large donations
Medical expenses	Low/moderate costs	Major medical year

Tax Savings Example

Deduction	Amount	Tax Savings (22% bracket)
Standard ($14,600)	$14,600	$3,212
Itemized ($20,000)	$20,000	$4,400
Extra benefit	$5,400	$1,188

Worked Through the Brackets

On $75,000 of gross income, filing single, taking the $14,600 standard deduction — so $60,400 of taxable income:

Bracket	Range	Income taxed here	Tax
10%	$0 – $11,600	$11,600	$1,160
12%	$11,600 – $47,150	$35,550	$4,266
22%	$47,150 – $100,525	$13,250	$2,915
Total			$8,341

That is a 11.1% effective rate against a 22% marginal rate. The two answer different questions: the marginal rate is what the next dollar costs, and it is the one that decides whether a 401(k) contribution or an extra shift is worth it. The effective rate is what you actually paid, and it is the one to budget against.

The Same Income, Different Sources

Source	Federal tax on it
Wages (above)	$8,341
Self-employment profit	$8,341 income tax plus $10,597 SE tax
Long-term capital gain of $10,000	$1,500 at 15%

Where income comes from changes the bill more than how much of it there is. A self-employed filer at this level pays roughly $10,597 that an employee never sees, because there is no employer paying the other half of FICA.