Should You Itemize Your Deductions in 2025?
By Crystal Wilson, Enrolled Agent & Senior Executive Tax Strategist
Crystal Clear Tax – Clearing the Path to Success
What are itemized deductions?
When you file taxes, you get to reduce your income before the IRS calculates your tax bill. Most people use the standard deduction, which is a flat amount. But you also have the option to itemize deductions by listing out certain expenses like mortgage interest, medical bills, property taxes, or charitable donations.
If your itemized deductions add up to more than the standard deduction for your filing status, itemizing can save you money.
What changed under H.R.1 (One Big Beautiful Bill)?
The new tax law made a few important updates that affect whether itemizing makes sense:
- State and Local Taxes (SALT): The cap on how much you can deduct for state income, sales, and property taxes has been raised.
- Mortgage Interest and Property Taxes: These deductions still exist, but limits apply. The higher SALT cap makes them more valuable for many homeowners.
- Medical Expenses: You can still deduct unreimbursed medical and dental expenses that are more than 7.5% of your income.
- Energy Credits: Some of the “green” home improvement credits have been cut back.
- Other Provisions: New rules around tips, overtime, Pell Grants, and student loans may change your taxable income.
Common types of itemized deductions
Here are the expenses most taxpayers use when they itemize:
- Mortgage interest on your home (and a second home if you have one)
- State and local taxes, including property tax
- Medical and dental expenses over 7.5% of income
- Charitable donations to qualified nonprofits
- Certain casualty or theft losses, but only in federally declared disaster areas
When should you itemize?
You should compare your total itemized deductions to the standard deduction amounts for 2025:
- $14,900 for single filers
- $29,800 for married filing jointly
- $22,400 for head of household
If your deductions are higher than those amounts, itemizing will usually save you more on taxes.
Things to keep in mind
- You must keep receipts, bank records, and donation letters if you plan to itemize.
- The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) may reduce the benefit of some deductions.
- Your state tax rules may be different from federal rules, so check both.
How Crystal Clear Tax can help
At Crystal Clear Tax, we look at the full picture. For many of our clients, the decision to itemize ties into bigger goals like:
- Choosing the right business entity
- Making the most of real estate strategies such as rental properties or home equity planning
- Timing charitable giving or retirement contributions for the best tax impact
We do not just fill out forms. We make sure every deduction works toward your long-term financial plan.
Bottom line
Itemizing deductions is about more than just paperwork. It is about finding every legal way to lower your tax bill. With the new rules under H.R.1, it is worth taking a second look this year to see if itemizing could save you money.
Want to know if itemizing is right for you? Schedule your consultation with Crystal Clear Tax and let us walk you through the numbers.
Reference: H.R.1 (119th Congress) “One Big Beautiful Bill” summary 【congress.gov†source】
