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When you file a federal income tax return, you generally have the choice between taking the standard deduction and itemizing your deductions. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) increased the standard deduction, which could make itemizing less beneficial for some taxpayers. However, taxpayers can still itemize when their eligible deductions exceed the standard deduction, and the law also expanded certain tax breaks, including temporarily raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. Let’s take a look at deductions that you can take without itemizing.
A financial advisor with tax planning expertise can potentially help you to optimize your tax strategy.
Making Adjustments to Your Income
You can reduce your taxable income by itemizing your deductions. This means that you list expenses that will later be subtracted from your adjusted gross income (AGI). If your expenses throughout the tax year were more than the value of the standard deduction, itemizing is a useful filing strategy to maximize your tax benefits.
However, itemizing isn’t the only way to reduce your income. You can make “adjustments” to your gross income, which are called “above the line” deductions. These are basically extra deductions that reduce the amount of income you have to pay tax on. They’re literally above line 11 on your standard income tax return Form 1040 where you have to write in your AGI. Anyone eligible can claim them without itemizing, as they’re completely different types of deductions. Here’s a breakdown of each:
1. Educator Expenses
For your 2026 taxes, which you will file by April 15, 2027, teachers, counselors and principals who aren’t reimbursed for buying supplies can deduct up to $300. If they’re married to another educator and they’re filing jointly, the limit rises to $600. Qualified expenses include books, supplies, computer equipment and software licensing or services, and any other teaching material that you had to buy during the tax year for the development of a course and in the classroom.
To claim the above-the-line deduction for educator expenses, you must work at least 900 hours during the school year. If you receive tax-free reimbursements or distributions for eligible expenses, including funds from a Coverdell education savings account or qualified tuition program, you generally must subtract those amounts when calculating your deduction.
To deduct your educator expenses, you will need to fill out Schedule 1. Line 11 on page 2 of this form allows you to report your educator expenses.
2. Student Loan Interest
If you are paying off student loans for yourself or your dependent, you can get a tax break for up to $2,500 of paid interest. There are some important income limits to know, though. In the tax year 2026 (filed in 2027), the tax break for single filers will completely phase out when their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is higher than $100,000, and $200,000 for married couples filing jointly. Student loan interest counts as an above-the-line deduction on Schedule 1 (line 21) of Form 1040.
3. HSA Contributions
Taxpayers with a health savings account can get a tax break for contributions they’ve made using after-tax dollars. Single folks under the age of 55 can make deductible contributions of up to $4,400 in 2026. Those with family coverage can make deductible contributions of $8,750 in 2026. Account holders who are age 55 and over contribute an additional $1,000. Any employer contributions count toward the maximum contribution limits.
4. IRA Contributions
Your ability to qualify for the traditional IRA deduction depends on your income level. It’s also based on whether you or your spouse has an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
For tax year 2026 (filed in 2027), for single filers covered by a workplace plan the phase-out range is between $81,000 and $91,000, or $129,000 to $149,000 for those married filing jointly. For joint filers where the other spouse has access to a workplace plan, the phase-out range is between $242,000 and $252,000.
5. Self-Employed Retirement Contributions
If you are working for yourself, you can deduct contributions to self-directed retirement plans like SEP-IRAs or SIMPLE IRAs for yourself as adjustments to income.For tax year 2026, you can contribute and deduct up to 25% of your specially calculated net earnings (using the IRS formula) up to $72,000
Use our income tax calculator to see how pre-tax retirement savings may reduce what you owe.
6. Early Withdrawal Penalties
When you withdraw earnings from a certificate of deposit (or another time-deposit account) before it matures, your bank will charge you a fee. Fortunately, you can deduct the full amount of the penalty on Form 1040. You will just need to attach Schedule 1.
7. Alimony Payments
You might be able to write off the alimony payments you’ve made to an ex-spouse as long as your divorce agreement was finalized by the end of 2018. You could lose this deduction if changes to your divorce agreement were made after 2018.
8. Certain Business Expenses
Some workers, like performing artists and certain government officials, can include certain unreimbursed business expenses on their income tax returns (line 12 of Schedule 1). If you’re trying to determine whether you qualify and what business expenses can be deducted, then it’s important to speak to a tax professional as every situation can be very different.
9. Jury Duty Payments
If you gave your earnings from jury duty to your employer, because the employer paid your salary while you were away on jury duty, you can include that in your Adjustments to Income on Schedule 1.
10. Self-Employed Health Insurance
Self-employed taxpayers may qualify to deduct the cost of health insurance premiums paid for themselves, a spouse, dependents and eligible long-term care coverage. Because this is an above-the-line deduction, you can claim it even if you take the standard deduction instead of itemizing.
The deduction is generally limited to your net earnings from self-employment for the year. In addition, you generally can’t claim it for any month in which you or your spouse were eligible to participate in an employer-sponsored health plan. Eligible taxpayers report the deduction on Schedule 1 as part of their adjustments to income.
Bottom Line
Above-the-line deductions can reduce your adjusted gross income whether you take the standard deduction or itemize. Depending on your situation, eligible expenses such as student loan interest, certain retirement contributions and self-employed health insurance premiums could lower the income subject to federal tax. Reviewing which adjustments you qualify for can help you avoid missing deductions when filing your return.
Tips for Filing Your Taxes
- A financial advisor with tax expertise can help you build a tax plan. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- A tax filing service can help you maneuver through all the tax code changes. SmartAsset’s annual roundup of the best tax filing software will get you through this tax season as painlessly as possible.
- If you want to plan ahead, use SmartAsset’s tax return calculator. It can help you estimate out whether you’ll get a tax refund or have to pay a tax bill.
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