What is Schedule A?
Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, attaches to Form 1040 and replaces the standard deduction with the sum of your actual deductible expenses: medical costs above 7.5% of AGI, state and local taxes (SALT, subject to a cap), home mortgage interest, charitable gifts, and certain casualty losses.
Since the standard deduction nearly doubled in 2018, most filers no longer itemize — it only pays when the itemized total is larger. The filers it still rewards: homeowners with sizable mortgage interest and property taxes, generous charitable givers, residents of high-tax states, and anyone with a high-medical-cost year.
Who files Schedule A?
- Homeowners whose mortgage interest plus property taxes approach or exceed the standard deduction.
- High-tax-state residents making the most of the SALT deduction cap.
- Charitable givers — especially those who "bunch" multiple years of giving into one.
- Filers with major medical events — the portion of unreimbursed costs above 7.5% of AGI is deductible.
Deadlines
Files with Form 1040 by the April deadline. The itemize-or-standard choice is made fresh every year — you can itemize one year and take the standard deduction the next, whichever is larger.
How to fill out Schedule A
Total medical and dental expenses
Only the amount above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income counts — premiums, treatment, prescriptions, mileage to appointments.
Add state and local taxes
Income (or sales) taxes plus property taxes, subject to the SALT cap.
Enter home mortgage interest
From Form 1098, on acquisition debt within the loan limits; points and mortgage insurance may also qualify.
Record charitable contributions
Cash and property gifts to qualified organizations — receipts required, appraisals for large property gifts, and AGI-based limits apply.
Compare to the standard deduction
If the Schedule A total wins, attach it; if not, skip it. Tax software — or a quick side-by-side — settles it.