What is the standard deduction?
One way to take deductions from your adjusted gross income is to take the standard deduction. This is an automatic deduction that any taxpayer can take in a predetermined amount (set by the tax code and generally based upon your filing status) without having to calculate actual expenses and figuring out how those expenses can be deducted. The disadvantage is that the amount of the standard deduction may be substantially less than what your itemized deductions could be, meaning you would have to pay more taxes when using the standard deduction than you would when using the itemized deductions.