The Standard Deduction or Itemizing Your Tax Return | Which Is Best?

Both the standard deduction and itemized deductions reduce the amount of tax you pay in a given year. So which is better? Should you itemize or should you keep things simple and take the standard deduction? We explain when each option makes sense.

It’s important to note that good tax software will help make the decision for you — by automatically choosing the deduction that gives you the best savings.

And for most Americans, the answer is the standard deduction. Almost 90% of taxpayers simply claim the standard deduction because it's the better choice.

If you don’t know what tax software to use, check out our list of the Best Tax Software to get started.