8. Higher standard deductions and new personal tax brackets
The tax changes from the past couple of years have seen itemized deductions increasingly fazed out in favor of higher standard deductions, and 2019 was no exception.
For the 2020 season, the standard deduction increased $400 to $24,800 for married couples filing jointly, $200 to $12,400 for single taxpayers, and $300 to $18,650 for heads of households. The IRS also released new personal tax brackets for 2020, slightly higher to account for inflation.
