2008 Standard Deductions

The majority of individual taxpayers claim the standard deduction, rather than itemizing their deductions. For 2008, the standard deductions are as follows:

• Married Filing Jointly $10,900
• Head of Household $ 8,000
• Single or Married Filing Separately $5,450

Special rules apply if another person can claim the taxpayer as a dependent (e.g., a 19-year-old college student claimed as a dependent on his parents' return). The lengthy IRS publication on standard deductions, dependents, and filing status is available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_publink100041982.