Itemized deduction

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Itemized deductions are expenses you can subtract from your income to lower your tax bill, instead of using the standard deduction. You can choose whichever gives you a bigger deduction.

How they work:
- After you figure your adjusted gross income (AGI), you add up your eligible itemized deductions and subtract them from your AGI to get taxable income, or you can take the standard deduction for your filing status. Use the larger amount.
- Deductions are claimed in the year you paid the expense. Example: a December 2009 payment for a 2010 membership is deductible in 2009.

Miscellaneous deductions:
- From 2018 through 2025, miscellaneous itemized deductions are not deductible due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Before 2018, miscellaneous deductions had a 2% floor: you could deduct only the amount that exceeded 2% of your AGI.

Other notes:
- Some deductions have their own rules and are not considered miscellaneous.
- The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ended phaseouts and other limits on itemized deductions for high-income taxpayers.