Tax Deductions Seniors Can Take Advantage Of

 

Tax Deductions  Seniors  Can Take Advantage Of

As people age, their tax situation can change significantly.  There are certain deductions and credits that become available to them that may not have been before. In this blog post, we will discuss the top tax deductions for seniors, including when you are considered a senior and how it changes your taxes, as well as a breakdown of the updates for people at ages 50, 55, and 65.

It depends on an individual’s specific circumstances, but generally, it is better for seniors to make itemized deductions if their total is greater than the standard deduction for their filing status.

The standard deduction for the year 2021 for someone over the age of 65 is $13,800 for married couples filing jointly and $12,550 for single filers. For the 2022 tax year, the limit is $25,100 for married couples filing jointly and $12,550 for single filers.

Itemized deductions include things like state and local taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and medical expenses. If the total of these deductions is greater than the standard deduction, it may be more beneficial for a senior to itemize their deductions.

For seniors, the medical expenses deduction can be especially valuable. Medical expenses are only deductible to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for the tax year 2021 and 10% for the tax year 2022. This means that if a senior has high medical expenses, they may be able to deduct a significant portion of those expenses if they itemize.