Taxes at 65 and Older: The New Senior Deduction

1Why this matters

For many retirees, these two deductions decide whether they owe federal income tax at all. Together they can shelter more than $47,000 of income for a married couple over 65, before any tax is due. Because the new deduction is temporary, phases out with income and has its own filing rules, it is easy to miss part of it or to plan around an amount you will not get. This guide explains both deductions, how the income limit works, and how they relate to taxes on Social Security.

2What is the additional standard deduction?

If you are 65 or older at the end of the tax year, or blind, you add an amount to your standard deduction. For 2026 it is $2,050 for single filers and heads of household, and $1,650 for each qualifying spouse on a joint return, up from $2,000 and $1,600 for 2025. If you are both 65 or older and blind, the amount doubles.

The additional deduction is on top of the base standard deduction, $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly in 2026. It applies only if you take the standard deduction rather than itemizing.

3What is the new senior deduction?

For tax years 2025 through 2028, each taxpayer who is 65 or older at the end of the year can claim an additional deduction of up to $6,000. A married couple filing jointly where both spouses qualify can claim up to $12,000.

• You can claim it whether you take the standard deduction or itemize.
• You do not have to receive Social Security to qualify; age is the test.
• Each qualifying person's Social Security number valid for employment must be on the return.
• Married couples must file jointly to claim it.
• It is claimed on a new schedule filed with Form 1040, Schedule 1-A, which also holds the deductions for tips and overtime.

The deduction is scheduled to end after tax year 2028 unless Congress extends it.

4Who counts as 65 for the year?

For tax purposes you are treated as reaching an age on the day before your birthday. So for tax year 2026 you count as 65 or older if you were born before January 2, 1962. Someone whose 65th birthday is January 1, 2027 counts as 65 for 2026.

Each spouse is tested separately, and a spouse who died during the year is treated by their age on the date of death. The rule is the same for the additional standard deduction and the senior deduction.

5How does the income limit work?

The senior deduction is reduced by 6 percent of the amount by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000, or $150,000 on a joint return. It is gone completely at $175,000 for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers. For most people, modified adjusted gross income is the same as adjusted gross income.

Because the reduction is gradual, someone just above the threshold loses only a little. Check your income against the thresholds before planning around the full amount.

6What does it look like for a couple?

Each person's amounts depend on their own age at the end of the year. A couple where only one spouse is 65 gets one additional amount and one senior deduction, and the younger spouse qualifies in the year they turn 65.

7If you itemize

If your itemized deductions, such as mortgage interest, state and local taxes, medical costs and charitable gifts, add up to more than your standard deduction, you itemize instead. You then lose the additional standard deduction for age, because it is part of the standard deduction, but you keep the senior deduction, which applies either way.

8How it relates to taxes on Social Security

Whether part of your Social Security is taxable is decided by a separate test based on your combined income, explained in our guide to whether Social Security is taxable. The senior deduction does not change that test or the taxable portion of your benefits. It lowers the taxable income that tax is charged on afterward, and for many retirees that removes the tax their benefits would otherwise have produced.

Withholding from Social Security, pensions or IRA withdrawals is not adjusted automatically for the new deduction. If you have tax withheld or pay estimated tax, review the amount so you are not overpaying all year.

9Other tax breaks worth checking at 65 and older

• Medical expenses: if you itemize, unreimbursed medical costs above 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income are deductible, including Medicare premiums.
• Qualified charitable distributions: after 70 and a half, gifts made directly from an IRA to charity are left out of adjusted gross income.
• The credit for the elderly or the disabled: a small credit for people with low income and limited Social Security.
• Free tax preparation: the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly program helps people 60 and older at no cost.

10Planning around the phase-out

Because the deduction shrinks between $75,000 and $175,000 of income, or $150,000 and $250,000 for couples, the timing of other income can matter for the four years it lasts. A large IRA withdrawal, a Roth conversion or a capital gain in one year can reduce the deduction for that year. Spreading such income across years, or making charitable gifts directly from an IRA after 70 and a half, can keep more of it. Weigh this against other tax effects; the deduction is one factor, not the whole picture.

11Common mistakes

• Assuming the senior deduction requires receiving Social Security. It depends only on age.
• Filing separately as a married couple, which rules out the deduction.
• Leaving off a spouse's Social Security number, or using a taxpayer identification number instead.
• Forgetting that itemizers can still claim the senior deduction.
• Planning around the full $6,000 when income is in the phase-out range.

13What this does not tell you

The senior deduction is scheduled for tax years 2025 through 2028 and could change. The amounts here come from IRS figures for 2025 and 2026, and later years are updated by the IRS.

Your total tax depends on all of your income, credits and deductions. This guide explains two deductions and does not estimate your tax; it is not tax advice.