New Standard Deduction

The additional standard deduction will be retained. This is what came out of the conference committee:

Senate Amendment

The Senate amendment temporarily increases the basic standard deduction for individuals across all filing statuses. Under the provision, the amount of the standard deduction is temporarily increased to $24,000 for married individuals filing a joint return, $18,000 for headof- household filers, and $12,000 for all other individuals. The amount of the standard deduction is indexed for inflation using the C-CPI-U for taxable years beginning after December

The additional standard deduction for the elderly and the blind is not changed by the provision.

The increase of the basic standard deduction does not apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.15

Effective date.?The provision is effective for taxable years beginning after December 31,2017.

Conference Agreement

The conference agreement follows the Senate amendment.

Tks, helps a lotta folks....

bw

When you say it is not changed: Does that mean you get an addition over the $24k for the married elderly? How much is that for a married couple?

Mike

It's the Senate Amendment, accepted by the Conference, that is saying it. But that's the way I and others are reading it. 2017 amounts of the additional standard deduction are $1,250 per spouse, or $2,500 for two over-65s filing jointly; and $1,550 for single seniors. Tax free income for an over-65 couple for 2017 is $23,300 ($12,700 standard deduction plus $2,500 additional standard deduction plus $8,100 exemptions). The additional standard deduction will bump up in 2018, and tax free income will be $26,600 for a married over-65 couple ($24,000 standard deduction plus $2,600 additional standard deduction).

Change over-65 references to 65-and-over