2018 Standard Deduction Amounts, Mileage Rates and Itemized Deduction Changes

Standard Deduction for 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased the standard deduction amounts for 2018 as follows:

                   
  • $24,000 – Married Filing Jointly/Surviving Spouse
    •                
  • $12,000 - Single or Married Filing Separately
    •                
  • $18,000 - Heads of Household
    •                

Additional Standard Deduction for Aged/Blind:

                   
  • $1,300 – Married or surviving spouse 
    •                
  • $1,600 – Unmarried and not a surviving spouse
    •                

Standard Deduction for individuals who may be claimed as a dependent cannot exceed the greater of $1,050 or the sum of $350 (up to the standard deduction amount) and the individual’s earned income.

For more details see IRS Revenue Procedure 2018-10.

Also remember a deduction for exemptions is no longer applicable for 2018.


Mileage Rates for 2018

     
  • Business  purposes: 54.5 cents per mile
    •  
  • Medical  of moving purposes: 18 cents per mile
    •  
  • Charitable  purposes: 14 cents per mile

For more  details see Standard Mileage Rates for 2018 up  from Rates for 2017 on the IRS website.

Itemized Deduction Changes for 2018
 The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made the  following changes to itemized deductions for 2018:

     
  • Itemized  deduction for state and local income, sales and property taxes on Schedule A is  limited to $10,000.
    •  
  • Mortgage  Interest is only deductible on a taxpayer’s principal home and the for a  mortgage on a home purchased after December 15, 2017 the interest is limited to  interest on up to $750,000 of a loan.
    •  
  • Home  equity loan interest is only deductible if the loan is used to improve an  existing home. If the home equity loan was used to pay personal expenses, such  as credit card debts, it is not deductible.
    •  
  • Job  expenses and miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to 2% AGI floor are no  longer deductible on Schedule A. This includes employee business expenses that  were reported on Form 2106 such as vehicle expenses, travel expenses, meals and  entertainment, job education, etc.
    •  
  • Only  casualty losses that are attributable to a presidentially declared disaster will  be deductible as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.
    •  
  • The  medical deduction threshold is 7.5% for 2018.
CEMCI, IRS, Standard Deduction, Rates, Itemized, Deduction, deductionsComment