Hi @Catmom5 - this is a great question!
Whether or not you will benefit from itemizing depends on many factors. With the increased standard deduction enacted a few years ago, many fewer people benefit from itemizing than previously.
For 2022, the standard deduction amounts will be:
- $25,900 for married couples filing jointly
- $12,950 for single or married filing separately
- $19,400 for head of household
Whether or not you should itemize depends on whether your total itemized deductions exceed these amounts.
The biggest itemized deductions are generally mortgage interest and state and local taxes paid. The deduction for state and local taxes paid is capped at $10,000.
Other potential itemized deductions are medical expenses (but only to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income) and charitable donations.
You should be able to estimate, for example, if you are filing as Single and paid $3,000 of mortgage interest and $4000 of state and local taxes and $200 of donations (total $7200 < $12,950), you are much better off taking the standard deduction.
When in doubt, we recommend entering your itemized deduction items and letting TurboTax confirm which is best for you. Generally, if you take the standard deduction in one year, unless something changes your tax situation (you buy a house, for example), you will continue to be best off with the standard deduction the next year as well.
NOTE: Some states allow you to take itemized deductions even if you take the standard deduction on the Federal return. So sometimes it's worth it to enter them even if it doesn't change the Federal return, because it could get you a bigger refund from the state.
Here is a great article which covers this topic also: Itemized Deductions
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