Standard Deduction

A flat amount you can subtract from taxable income without listing individual expenses.

The standard deduction is a fixed sum, set by law and adjusted for inflation, that reduces the income you are taxed on. Taxpayers choose between it and itemizing their actual deductible expenses, whichever is larger. Because the amount was roughly doubled in the United States in 2018, the large majority of filers now take it and never itemize at all.

She took the standard deduction because her mortgage interest and charitable giving added up to less than the flat amount.