| Higher standard deductions for all taxpayers |
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In 2007 the standard deduction thresholds increased adjusted for inflation. The standard deduction threshold for each filing status, such as single, married, married filing separately, and head of household, have been increased.
By raising the standard deduction limits, your effective tax tax bracket may be lowered since this deduction lowers your adjusted gross income. The standard deduction is usually taken when you can't itemize deductions or have less deductions than the limit to itemize. Always compute your takes both ways, since this can be a tricky computation. And of course if your filing status changes during the tax year, then your standard deduction will also change. Your standard deduction is deducted from your adjusted gross income to arrive at your taxable income. |
2007 Standard Deductions
| Filling status |
Amount |
|
Married filling jointly or qualifying widow(er) |
$10,700 |
|
Heads of households |
$ 7,850 |
|
Singles |
$ 5,350 |
|
Married filling separately |
$ 5,350 |
Additional amounts for age 65 or older, or blind, per person, per event
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If you're 65 or blind: An additional $1,050 standard deduction may be claimed by a married taxpayer who is at least 65 years old or blind. If the taxpayer is single, the additional standard deduction amount is $1,300.
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If you're 65 AND blind: A married taxpayer can claim a second $1,050 standard deduction -- for a total of $2,100. If the taxpayer is single, he can claim a second $1,300 standard deduction -- for a total of $2,600.
Rules for taxpayer claimed a a dependent
A taxpayer claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return may claim a standard deduction of $ 850, or earned income plus $ 300 not to exceed $ 5,350 for single taxpayers and not to exceed the standard deduction for other filing statuses. Taxpayers claimed as a dependent on other tax return can also claim an additional deduction for being blind or over 65 years old.
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