For tax year 2024, a married couple filing jointly gets a standard deduction of $29,200. That is $1,500 more than the year before. The Internal Revenue Service set the figure on November 9, 2023, in Revenue Procedure 2023-34, as part of its yearly inflation adjustments to more than 60 tax provisions.
The amounts matter for returns filed in 2025, which covered income earned in 2024. This piece looks only at what the IRS said in its announcement.
The standard deduction
Single taxpayers and married people filing separately get $14,600, up $750. Heads of household get $21,900, up $1,100. The deduction comes off income before any tax is figured, so a bigger number means less income taxed.
The personal exemption stayed at zero for 2024, as it did in 2023. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated it. That law also removed the cap on itemized deductions, and the IRS noted there has been no such limit for 2018 through 2024.
Where the brackets start
The top rate remains 37%. For a single filer it applies above $609,350, and for joint filers above $731,200. Further down the schedule, by the IRS’s figures:
35% starts above $243,725 for single filers and $487,450 for joint filers. 32% starts above $191,950 and $383,900. 24% starts above $100,525 and $201,050. 22% starts above $47,150 and $94,300. 12% starts above $11,600 and $23,200. The lowest rate, 10%, covers single income of $11,600 or less and joint income of $23,200 or less.
Other numbers the agency flagged
The alternative minimum tax exemption is $85,700 for 2024, against $81,300 in 2023. It starts phasing out at $609,350, or $1,218,700 for joint filers, where the exemption amount is $133,300.
The maximum Earned Income Tax Credit reaches $7,830 for a taxpayer with three or more qualifying children, up from $7,430.
The monthly limit for the qualified transportation fringe benefit, and for qualified parking, rises to $315, which is $15 higher. Employee salary reductions into a health flexible spending arrangement can go up to $3,200, and cafeteria plans that allow carryover can let $640 roll forward, an increase of $30.
The foreign earned income exclusion moves to $126,500 from $120,000. The annual gift exclusion rises to $18,000 from $17,000.
The IRS pointed taxpayers to Revenue Procedure 2023-34 for the full list. For personal advice on which deduction fits your situation, a tax professional is the person to ask.
