The $6,000 senior deduction and the new charitable rules: keeping MAGI in range

The 2025 tax law gave taxpayers 65 and older a new deduction, separate from the existing extra standard deduction. Because it phases out with income, it rewards careful MAGI management.

How the senior deduction works

• The deduction is up to $6,000 per qualifying person age 65 or older by year-end, so up to $12,000 for a couple.
• You can claim it whether you itemize or take the standard deduction.
• The reduction is 6% of modified AGI above $75,000, or above $150,000 on a joint return, applied separately to each qualifying person's $6,000.
• Phase-out is complete at $175,000 of MAGI for a single filer, and at $250,000 for a joint return whether one or both spouses qualify.
• Eligibility covers tax years 2025 through 2028. Married couples must file jointly, and each qualifying person needs a valid Social Security number on the return.

It stacks with the regular extra standard deduction at 65, which for 2026 is $2,050 for unmarried taxpayers and $1,650 per married person.

In Connecticut

The senior deduction doesn't lower Connecticut tax. It's claimed on Schedule 1-A after AGI, and Connecticut starts from federal AGI with no matching subtraction. The MAGI levers below, such as QCDs, qualified Roth withdrawals, and harvested losses, work by keeping income out of AGI, so they help on the Connecticut return too.

Key numbers: $6,000 per person · phase-out starts at $75,000 / $150,000 MAGI · 2026 standard deduction $32,200 joint plus $1,650 per spouse 65+.

Levers that keep MAGI down

• Give through QCDs instead of cash gifts. Our QCD guide explains the rules.
• Use Roth withdrawals for big expenses, since qualified Roth distributions aren't income. A distribution is qualified once you're 59½ and your first Roth IRA has been open five tax years.
• Harvest capital losses and manage the timing of gains in taxable accounts.
• Size Roth conversions with the phase-out in mind. In the phase-out range, each $1,000 of conversion also costs $60 of deduction, or $120 for a couple who both qualify. In the 22% bracket, that adds about 1.3 points to the tax rate on that income, or 2.6 points for the couple.
• Treat municipal bonds with care, because tax-exempt interest still counts toward Social Security taxation.

Changes for charitable itemizers

Starting in 2026:

• Itemized charitable deductions count only above a floor of 0.5% of AGI.
• For taxpayers in the 37% bracket, the value of itemized deductions is capped at 35%.
• Non-itemizers can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts, or $2,000 on a joint return.

Retirees who give regularly should compare three approaches: QCDs, bunching gifts of appreciated stock into alternate years through a donor-advised fund, and the non-itemizer deduction.

A worked example

A married couple, both 68, has MAGI of $180,000. Each spouse's deduction is $6,000 − 6% × ($180,000 − $150,000) = $4,200, so together they get $8,400. Redirecting $20,000 of planned cash gifts to QCDs lowers MAGI to $160,000 and raises the deduction to 2 × $5,400 = $10,800, in addition to excluding the $20,000 from income.

Common mistakes

1. Assuming the deduction is automatic for everyone over 65 regardless of income.
2. Filing separately as a married couple, which disqualifies the deduction.
3. Realizing a large gain in December without checking the phase-out.

How Summer Associates helps

Summer Associates projects your MAGI each fall and recommends the mix of QCDs, gains, and conversions that preserves the most deductions.

This guide is general education based on federal and Connecticut law as of 2026-11-15. State rules differ and facts matter. Before acting, get advice for your situation from Summer Associates or another qualified advisor.