Question

Theodore, age 74, and Maureen, age 59, are married taxpayers with two dependents. Their adjusted gross income for the 2019 tax year is $43,600, and they have itemized deductions of $7,800. Determine the following for Theodore and Maureen's 2019 income tax return:

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a.	The greater of the amount of their standard deduction or their itemized deductions
b.	Their taxable income

Answer 1

The Standard deduction for 2019 for Married Filling Jointly(MFJ) / Qualified Widow(er) is $ 24400.

However there is an additional deduction for Elderly(>65) and/or Blind

	Single	MFJ
Single/ Only 1 Spouse qualifies
65 years OR Blind	$1650	$1300
65 years AND Blind	$3300	$2600
Both Spouse qualifies
65 years OR Blind	N/A	$2600
65 years AND Blind	N/A	$5200

In the given question,

Theodore, age 74, and Maureen, age 59 are married tax payers so they are allowed a Standard Deductions of $24400. Additionally, One of the spouse (Theodore) qualifies for additional deduction of $1300 as he is above 65 years of age.

So total Standard Deduction would be $24400 + $1300 = $25700 (which is greater than the itemized deduction of $7800 as given in the question)

So the answer to the given question would be-

a. Standard deduction of $25700 would be greater than the itemized deduction.

b. Their Taxable income = Adjusted Gross Income - Standard Seduction = $ 43600 - $25700 = $17900.