| Publication 17 |
2003 Tax Year |
Standard Deduction
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2003 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
Important Changes
Increase in standard deduction. The standard deduction for most taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on Schedule A of Form 1040 is higher in 2003 than
it was in 2002. The amount depends on your filing status. 2003 Standard Deduction Tables are shown at the end of this chapter.
Itemized deductions.
The amount you can deduct for itemized deductions is limited if your adjusted gross income is
more than $139,500 ($69,750 if you are married filing separately). See chapter 31 for more information.
Introduction
This chapter discusses:
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How to figure the amount of your standard deduction,
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The standard deduction for dependents, and
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Who should itemize deductions.
Most taxpayers have a choice of either taking a standard deduction or itemizing their deductions. The standard
deduction is a dollar amount that reduces the amount of income on which you are taxed.
The standard deduction is a benefit that eliminates the need for many taxpayers to itemize actual deductions,
such as medical expenses, charitable contributions, and taxes, on Schedule A of Form 1040. The standard deduction is higher
for taxpayers who are 65
or older or blind. If you have a choice, you should use the method that gives you the lower tax.
You benefit from the standard deduction if your standard deduction is more than the total of your allowable itemized deductions.
Persons not eligible for the standard deduction.
Your standard deduction is zero and you should itemize any deductions you have if:
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You are married and filing a separate return, and your spouse itemizes deductions,
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You are filing a tax return for a short tax year because of a change in your annual accounting period, or
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You are a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year. You are considered a dual-status alien if you were both a nonresident
and
resident alien during the year.
Note. If you are a nonresident alien who is married to a U.S. citizen or resident at the end of the year, you can choose to be treated
as a U.S. resident. (See Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.) If you make this choice, you can take the standard deduction.
If an exemption for you can be claimed on another person's return (such as your parents' return),
your standard deduction may be limited. See Standard Deduction for Dependents, later.
Standard Deduction Amount
The standard deduction amount depends on your filing status, whether you are 65 or older or blind, and whether an exemption
can be claimed for you
by another taxpayer. Generally, the standard deduction amounts are adjusted each year for inflation. The standard deduction
amounts for most taxpayers
for 2003 are shown in Table 22–1.
Decedent's final return.
The amount of the standard deduction for a decedent's final return is the same as it would have been had the decedent
continued to live. However,
if the decedent was not 65 or older at the time of death, the higher standard deduction for age cannot be claimed.
Higher Standard Deduction
for Age (65 or Older)
If you do not itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction if you are age 65 or older at the end of
the year. You are
considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday. Therefore, you can take a higher standard deduction for 2003 if you were
born before January 2,
1939.
Use Table 22–2 to figure the standard deduction amount.
Higher Standard Deduction
for Blindness
If you are blind on the last day of the year and you do not itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction
as shown in
Table 22–2. You qualify for this benefit if you are totally or partly blind.
Partly blind.
If you are partly blind, you must get a certified statement from an eye doctor or registered optometrist that:
-
You cannot see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or
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Your field of vision is not more than 20 degrees.
If your eye condition will never improve beyond these limits, the statement should include this fact. You must keep
the statement in your records.
If your vision can be corrected beyond these limits only by contact lenses that you can wear only briefly because
of pain, infection, or ulcers,
you can take the higher standard deduction for blindness if you otherwise qualify.
Spouse 65 or Older or Blind
You can take the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind and:
-
You file a joint return, or
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You file a separate return and can claim an exemption for your spouse because your spouse had no gross income and an exemption
for your
spouse could not be claimed by another taxpayer.
You cannot claim the higher standard deduction for an individual other than yourself and your spouse.
Examples
The following examples illustrate how to determine your standard deduction using Tables 22–1 and 22–2.
Example 1.
Larry, 46, and Donna, 33, are filing a joint return for 2003. Neither is blind. They decide not to itemize their deductions.
They use Table
22–1. Their standard deduction is $9,500.
Example 2.
Assume the same facts as in Example 1, except that Larry is blind at the end of 2003. Larry and Donna use Table 22–2. Their
standard deduction is $10,450.
Example 3.
Bill, 72, and Terry, 66, are filing a joint return for 2003. Neither is blind. They decide not to itemize their deductions.
They use Table
22–2. Their standard deduction is $11,400.
Standard Deduction
for Dependents
The standard deduction for an individual for whom an exemption can be claimed on another person's tax return is generally
limited to the greater
of:
-
$750, or
-
The individual's earned income for the year plus $250 (but not more than the regular standard deduction amount, generally
$4,750).
However, if the individual is 65 or older or blind, the standard deduction may be higher.
If an exemption for you (or your spouse if you are filing jointly) can be claimed on someone else's return, use Table 22–3 to
determine your standard deduction.
Earned income defined.
Earned income is salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually
perform.
For purposes of the standard deduction, earned income also includes any part of a scholarship
or fellowship grant that you must include in your gross income. See Scholarship and Fellowship Grants in chapter 1 of Publication 970
for more information on what qualifies as a scholarship or fellowship grant.
Example 1.
Michael is single. His parents claim an exemption for him on their 2003 tax return. He has interest income of $780 and wages
of $150. He has no
itemized deductions. Michael uses Table 22–3 to find his standard deduction. He enters $150 (his earned income) on line 1, $400 ($150
plus $250) on line 3, $750 (the larger of $400 and $750) on line 5, and $4,750 on line 6. The amount of his standard deduction,
on line 7a, is $750
(the smaller of $750 and $4,750).
Example 2.
Joe, a 22-year-old full-time college student, is claimed on his parents' 2003 tax return. Joe is married and files a separate
return. His wife does
not itemize deductions on her separate return.
Joe has $1,500 in interest income and wages of $3,800. He has no itemized deductions. Joe finds his standard deduction by
using Table
21–3. He enters his earned income, $3,800, on line 1. He adds lines 1 and 2 and enters $4,050 on line 3. On line 5 he enters $4,050,
the
larger of lines 3 and 4. Since Joe is married filing a separate return, he enters $4,750 on line 6. On line 7a he enters $4,050
as his standard
deduction because it is smaller than $4,750, the amount on line 6.
Example 3.
Amy, who is single, is claimed on her parents' 2003 tax return. She is 18 years old and blind. She has interest income of
$1,300 and wages of
$2,900. She has no itemized deductions. Amy uses Table 22–3 to find her standard deduction. She enters her wages of $2,900 on line 1.
She adds lines 1 and 2 and enters $3,150 on line 3. On line 5 she enters $3,150, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Since she is
single, Amy enters $4,750
on line 6. She enters $3,150 on line 7a. This is the smaller of the amounts on lines 5 and 6. Because she checked one box
in the top part of the
worksheet, she enters $1,150 on line 7b. She then adds the amounts on lines 7a and 7b and enters her standard deduction of
$4,300 on line 7c.
Who Should Itemize
You should itemize deductions if your total deductions are more than the standard deduction amount. Also, you should itemize
if you do not qualify
for the standard deduction, as discussed earlier under Persons not eligible for the standard deduction.
You should first figure your itemized deductions and compare that amount to your
standard deduction to make sure you are using the method that gives you the greater benefit.
You may be subject to a limit on some of your itemized deductions if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than $139,500
($69,750 if you are
married filing separately). See chapter 22 and the instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040), line 28, for more information
on figuring the correct
amount of your itemized deductions.
When to itemize.
You may benefit from itemizing your deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040) if you:
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Do not qualify for the standard deduction, or the amount you can claim is limited,
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Had large uninsured medical and dental expenses during the year,
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Paid interest and taxes on your home,
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Had large unreimbursed employee business expenses or other miscellaneous deductions,
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Had large uninsured casualty or theft losses,
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Made large contributions to qualified charities, or
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Have total itemized deductions that are more than the standard deduction to which you otherwise are entitled.
These deductions are explained in chapters 23–30.
If you decide to itemize your deductions, complete Schedule A and attach it to your Form 1040.
Enter the amount from Schedule A, line 28, on Form 1040, line 37.
Electing to itemize for state tax or other purposes.
Even if your itemized deductions are less than the amount of your standard deduction, you can elect to itemize deductions
on your federal return
rather than take the standard deduction. You may want to do this, for example, if the tax benefit of being able to itemize
your deductions on your
state tax return is greater than the tax benefit you lose on your federal return by not taking the standard deduction. To
make this election, you must
enter “IE” (itemized elected) on the dotted line next to line 37 (Form 1040).
Changing your mind.
If you do not itemize your deductions and later find that you should have itemized — or if you itemize your
deductions and later find you should not have — you can change your return by filing Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
See Amended Returns and Claims for Refund in chapter 1 for more information on amended returns.
Married persons who filed separate returns.
You can change methods of taking deductions only if you and your spouse both make the same changes. Both of you must
file a consent to assessment
for any additional tax either one may owe as a result of the change.
You and your spouse can use the method that gives you the lower total tax, even though one of you may pay
more tax than you would have paid by using the other method. You both must use the same method of claiming deductions. If
one itemizes deductions, the
other should itemize because he or she will not qualify for the standard deduction. (See Persons not eligible for the standard deduction,
earlier.)
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