Legal Definitions - standard deduction

A standard deduction is a set amount of money that a person can subtract from their income when calculating how much they owe in taxes. This is instead of itemizing specific expenses, like medical bills or charitable donations. It's a way to simplify the tax process for people who don't have a lot of deductions to claim. There are also other types of deductions, like ones for charitable donations or for people who are over a certain age or have a disability.