The tax year 2026 adjustments described below generally apply to tax returns filed in 2027. The tax items for tax year 2026 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts:

• Standard Deduction. For tax year 2026, the standard deduction increases to $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for tax year 2026, and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $24,150.

(Additionally, for tax year 2025, the OBBB raises the standard deduction amount to $31,500 for married couples filing jointly. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction for 2025 is $15,750, and for heads of households, the standard deduction is $23,625.)

Alternative Minimum Tax Exemption Amounts. For tax year 2026, the exemption amount for unmarried individuals is $90,100 and begins to phase out at $500,000 ($140,200 for married couples filing jointly for whom the exemption begins to phase out at $1,000,000).

Estate Tax Credits. Estates of decedents who die during 2026 have a basic exclusion amount of $15,000,000, up from a total of $13,990,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2025.

Adoption Credits. The maximum credit allowed for adoptions for tax year 2026 is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $17,670, up from $17,280 for 2025. For tax year 2026, the amount of credit that may be refundable is $5,120.

Employer-Provided Childcare Tax Credit. For tax year 2026, the OBBB significantly enhances an important credit for employers; it increases the maximum amount of employer-provided childcare tax credit from $150,000 to $500,000 ($600,000 if the employer is an eligible small business).

Other notable items affected by indexing

• Earned Income Tax Credits. The tax year 2026 maximum Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) amount is $8,231 for qualifying taxpayers who have three or more qualifying children, up from $8,046 for tax year 2025. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 contains a table providing maximum EITC amount for other categories, income thresholds and phase-outs.
• Medical Savings Accounts. For tax year 2026, participants who have self-only coverage in a Medical Savings Account, the plan must have an annual deductible that is not less than $2,900, up $50 from tax year 2025 – but not more than $4,400, an increase of $100 from tax year 2025. For self-only coverage, the maximum out-of-pocket expense amount is $5,850, up $150 from 2025. For tax year 2026, for family coverage, the annual deductible is not less than $5,850, up from $5,700 for 2025; however, the deductible cannot be more than $8,750, up $200 from the limit for tax year 2025. For family coverage, the out-of-pocket expense limit is $10,700 for tax year 2026, an increase of $200 from tax year 2025.