How to Qualify for a Higher Standard Deduction

The standard deduction is a specific dollar amount taxpayers can subtract from their income to reduce the amount on which they are taxed. It provides a way to lower taxable income without tracking and documenting numerous individual expenses. By choosing the standard deduction, you forgo itemizing deductions, which involves listing specific costs like mortgage interest or charitable gifts. Most taxpayers use the standard deduction because it often exceeds their total itemizable deductions and requires less record-keeping.

Base Standard Deduction Amounts

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets the standard deduction amounts annually, adjusting them for inflation. These figures serve as the starting point for your deduction and vary based on your filing status. For the 2025 tax year, the base amounts are:

• Single: $15,000
• Married Filing Separately: $15,000
• Head of Household: $22,500
• Married Filing Jointly: $30,000
• Qualifying Widow(er): $30,000

These base amounts represent the minimum deduction available to filers who do not itemize.

Qualifications for an Increased Standard Deduction

Certain circumstances allow taxpayers to increase their standard deduction beyond the base amounts. The two primary qualifications recognized by the IRS are age and blindness. A taxpayer meets the age qualification if they are 65 or older on the last day of the tax year. For tax purposes, the IRS considers you to be age 65 on the day before your 65th birthday; for the 2025 tax year, this means you were born before January 2, 1961.

The second qualification is legal blindness, which must also be met by the end of the tax year. The IRS defines blindness as being unable to see better than 20/200 in your better eye with corrective lenses, or having a field of vision limited to 20 degrees or less. This requires a certified statement from an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

For each of these qualifications met, a taxpayer can add an additional amount to their base standard deduction. For the 2025 tax year, this additional amount is $2,000 for Single and Head of Household filers. For those who are Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, or a Qualifying Widow(er), the additional amount is $1,600 per qualification. A taxpayer who is both over 65 and blind can claim two additional amounts, and these additions apply to each spouse individually on a joint return.

Calculating Your Total Standard Deduction

Consider a single individual who is 68 years old. This person starts with the 2025 single base deduction of $15,000. Because they meet the age-65-or-older qualification, they can add $2,000 to their base amount. Their total standard deduction would be $17,000 ($15,000 + $2,000). If that same individual were also legally blind, they would add another $2,000, for a total deduction of $19,000 ($15,000 + $2,000 for age + $2,000 for blindness).

A couple filing jointly where one spouse is 70 and the other is 62 would start with the $30,000 base deduction for 2025. They would add one additional amount of $1,600 for the spouse who is over 65, resulting in a total standard deduction of $31,600. If one spouse was 70 and blind, while the other spouse did not meet either qualification, the couple would add two additional amounts of $1,600 each, for a total deduction of $33,200 ($30,000 + $1,600 for age + $1,600 for blindness).

Claiming the Standard Deduction on Your Tax Return

Claiming your calculated standard deduction is done on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR (U.S. Tax Return for Seniors). You do not need to attach medical certifications for age or blindness when you file, but you should maintain any doctor’s statements for your records.

On the first page of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, there are checkboxes for age and blindness. You must check the appropriate box if you were age 65 or over or were blind at the end of the tax year; if filing a joint return, there are separate boxes for your spouse. After checking the relevant boxes, you will enter your final calculated standard deduction amount on the designated line of the form.