{
  "id": "senior-tax-deduction",
  "version": "5378e2f05830",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "New Senior Tax Deduction Calculator",
  "question": "What’s my new senior tax deduction?",
  "summary": "Works out the new $6,000 senior deduction for people 65 or older (tax years 2025 to 2028), its phase-out above $75,000 or $150,000 of income, and the federal tax it saves.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "tax-and-pay",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/senior-tax-deduction-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/senior-tax-deduction-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Per person = $6,000 − 6% × (modified AGI − $75,000), or − $150,000 on a joint return, not below 0. Deduction = per person × people 65 or older on the return (both spouses on a joint return). Married filing separately gets none. Tax saved = Form 1040 tax without it − tax with it, both with the standard deduction and its $2,050 (single, head of household) or $1,650 (married) addition for each person 65 or older.",
  "assumptions": [
    "The deduction is for tax years 2025 to 2028 (P.L. 119-21 section 70103). It is taken whether you itemize or not.",
    "Each person 65 or older must have a Social Security number valid for work, and the return must include it.",
    "The tax saved treats your modified AGI as ordinary income with the standard deduction and no credits; years other than 2026 use the 2026 federal tax tables and say so.",
    "An estimate, not tax advice."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "status": {
        "title": "Filing status",
        "description": "Your federal filing status. Married people must file jointly to claim it.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "single",
          "mfj",
          "hoh",
          "qss",
          "mfs"
        ]
      },
      "you": {
        "title": "You are 65 or older",
        "description": "Born before January 2, 1962, for tax year 2026 (one year earlier for each earlier tax year).",
        "type": "boolean"
      },
      "spouse": {
        "title": "Your spouse is 65 or older",
        "description": "On a joint return, your spouse also gets the deduction if 65 or older.",
        "type": "boolean"
      },
      "magi": {
        "title": "Modified AGI",
        "description": "Your adjusted gross income (Form 1040 line 11), plus any foreign income you excluded. Taxable Social Security counts.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 100000000
      },
      "year": {
        "title": "Tax year",
        "description": "The deduction applies to tax years 2025 to 2028.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 2025,
        "maximum": 2028
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "deduction": {
      "label": "Senior deduction",
      "description": "The deduction on Schedule 1-A line 37, for everyone on the return.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "each": {
      "label": "Per person",
      "description": "$6,000 less the phase-out.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "people": {
      "label": "People who qualify",
      "description": "People on the return aged 65 or older.",
      "format": "integer"
    },
    "phaseout": {
      "label": "Phase-out per person",
      "description": "6% of modified AGI over the threshold.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "saved": {
      "label": "Federal tax saved",
      "description": "Tax without the deduction minus tax with it, on the standard deduction, treating the income as ordinary.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "ends": {
      "label": "Deduction ends at modified AGI",
      "description": "Where the phase-out reaches 0.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "reason": {
      "label": "Note",
      "description": "Why the deduction is 0, or which rates the tax uses.",
      "format": "text"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "status": "single",
      "you": true,
      "spouse": false,
      "magi": 50000,
      "year": 2026
    },
    "outputs": {
      "deduction": 6000,
      "each": 6000,
      "people": 1,
      "phaseout": 0,
      "saved": 720,
      "ends": 175000,
      "reason": "Tax saved uses the 2026 federal tax tables."
    },
    "text": "At $50,000.00 of modified AGI, the new senior deduction is $6,000.00 and saves $720.00 of federal tax."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "status": "single",
        "you": true,
        "magi": 50000
      },
      "expect": {
        "deduction": 6000,
        "saved": 720,
        "ends": 175000
      },
      "source": "IRC 151(d)(5)(C) (P.L. 119-21 section 70103); Tax Table rows $31,850 ($3,577) and $25,850 ($2,857) with the $16,100 + $2,050 standard deduction; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-112/check.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "status": "mfj",
        "you": true,
        "spouse": true,
        "magi": 180000
      },
      "expect": {
        "each": 4200,
        "deduction": 8400,
        "phaseout": 1800,
        "ends": 250000
      },
      "source": "Schedule 1-A Part V: 6% × (180,000 − 150,000) = 1,800 off each $6,000; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-112/check.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "status": "single",
        "you": true,
        "magi": 120000
      },
      "expect": {
        "deduction": 3300
      },
      "source": "6,000 − 6% × (120,000 − 75,000) = 3,300; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-112/check.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "status": "single",
        "you": true,
        "magi": 200000
      },
      "expect": {
        "deduction": 0,
        "saved": 0
      },
      "source": "Phase-out: 6% × 125,000 = 7,500, more than $6,000"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "status": "mfs",
        "you": true,
        "magi": 50000
      },
      "expect": {
        "deduction": 0,
        "people": 0
      },
      "source": "Schedule 1-A Part V: if married, you must file jointly to claim this deduction"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "IRS, One, Big, Beautiful Bill provisions: enhanced deduction for seniors. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/one-big-beautiful-bill-provisions (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "IRS, Schedule 1-A, Additional Deductions: what to know about the new form (Part V, enhanced deduction for seniors). https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/schedule-1-a-additional-deductions-what-to-know-about-the-new-form (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "IRC 151(d)(5)(C), deduction for seniors (P.L. 119-21 section 70103). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/151 (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45), sections 4.01 and 4.14. https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB (retrieved 2026-10-05)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "income-tax",
    "taxable-income",
    "social-security",
    "married-filing-jointly-vs-separately"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}