The Internal Revenue Service has set the 2027 standard deduction at $33,200 for married couples filing jointly and $16,600 for single filers. The head-of-household amount is $24,925, according to the agency’s inflation adjustments for the new tax year.
The figures were released on Nov. 5, 2026, in news release IR-2026-133 and apply to returns generally filed in 2028. For households planning next year’s budgets and paycheck withholding, they offer an early look at how much income stays out of the tax calculation.
The 2027 standard deduction by filing status
The IRS release lists three amounts for tax year 2027:
- Married filing jointly: $33,200, up $1,000 from 2026.
- Single filers and married people filing separately: $16,600.
- Head of household: $24,925.
The standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount that reduces taxable income, and it is adjusted each year for inflation, according to IRS Topic 551. It depends on filing status, age and blindness, and on whether another taxpayer can claim the filer as a dependent. People who itemize cannot also take it.
How the amount has grown
Older readers weighing the extra amounts can also find planning ideas in a list of money mistakes financial planners say people over 50 make. A longer view shows how quickly the figure has climbed. Wikipedia’s article on the standard deduction lists $15,750 for single filers and $31,500 for joint filers in 2025, compared with $14,600 and $29,200 in 2024. In 2017, the single amount was $6,350 and the joint amount was $12,700.
Tax burdens differ widely from place to place, as one list of states where Americans struggle with the most tax burden shows. Households that watch every dollar can pair the new figures with simple habits, such as the ones in 26 easy tips for saving money fast. A bigger deduction does not shrink a grocery bill directly, but it is one more number that shapes how much of a paycheck is left for food and everything else.
Other 2027 numbers in the release
The IRS also adjusted the income brackets. For 2027, the 10% rate applies to taxable income of $12,800 or less for single filers and $25,600 or less for joint filers. The 12% bracket then runs up to $52,025 for single filers and $104,050 for joint filers, at which point the 22% rate begins. The 24% rate starts above $109,125 for single filers and $218,250 for joint filers.
The Earned Income Tax Credit helps low- to moderate-income workers and families by reducing taxes owed, and it may increase refunds, according to the IRS credit page. Beginning with tax year 2026, claimants must complete Schedule 3-A, and refunds for returns that claim the credit cannot be issued until mid-February by law.
Several credits and limits moved as well, per the release:
- The maximum Child Tax Credit is $2,300, up $100, and the refundable portion is up to $1,800.
- The maximum Earned Income Tax Credit is $8,496 for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children, up from $8,231.
- Health flexible spending account salary reductions are capped at $3,500, up $100, for tax years beginning in 2027.
- The qualified transportation fringe and parking limit is $350 a month, up $10.
- The annual gift exclusion is $20,000, up from $19,000.
- The estate basic exclusion is $15,480,000 for people who die in 2027, up from $15,000,000 in 2026.
Personal exemptions stay at $0, the IRS notes. Readers weighing what to do with any extra take-home pay may find ideas in a guide to saving for an emergency fund and in a story on habits of people who rarely run short of money.
Extra amounts for age and blindness
Some filers add to the basic standard deduction. IRS Topic 551 says people who are 65 or older at the end of the year, or who are blind, qualify for an additional amount per condition. For 2025, that addition was $1,600, rising to $2,000 for unmarried filers who are not surviving spouses. The 2027 additional amounts are not listed in the news release, which points readers to Revenue Procedure 2026-35 for further detail.
Topic 551 also describes a separate deduction for seniors. For 2025, people 65 and older may qualify for an additional $6,000, subject to an income limit, claimed on Schedule 1-A. It is separate from the standard deduction.
Anyone claimed as a dependent faces a limit. For 2025, the standard deduction was the greater of $1,350 or earned income plus $450, and it could not exceed the basic amount for the filer’s status.
What households can do now
None of these numbers change what a household owes for 2026, which is still governed by this year’s amounts. The 2027 figures are best read as planning inputs for the year ahead.
The 2027 amounts will not matter until returns are filed in 2028, but they do shape withholding and budgeting sooner. The IRS suggests completing a new Form W-4 each year and when personal or financial situations change. Employers use that form to set federal income tax withholding from pay.
Because the 2027 numbers were announced in early November, there is time to review withholding before the year ends and again before January paychecks are set. Families planning a big holiday grocery trip or a year-end restaurant dinner can also factor in the new brackets when estimating next year’s take-home pay.
The IRS says the adjustments continue the changes made by the Working Families Tax Cuts. One change noted in the release is that the itemized deduction limitation was permanently eliminated, though it still limits the benefit of itemized deductions for taxpayers in the 37% bracket.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
