Itemized deduction
Under United States tax law, itemized deductions are eligible expenses that individual taxpayers can claim on federal income tax returns and which decrease their taxable income, and is claimable in place of a standard deduction, if available. Most taxpayers are allowed a choice between the itemized deductions and the standard deduction. After computing their adjusted gross income (AGI), taxpayers can itemize deductions (from a list of allowable items) and subtract those itemized deductions from their AGI amount to arrive at the taxable income. Alternatively, they can elect to subtract the standard deduction for their filing status to arrive  at the taxable income. In other words, the taxpayer may generally deduct the total itemized deduction amount, or the applicable standard deduction amount, whichever is greater. The choice between the standard deduction and itemizing involves a number of considerations: Deductions are reported in the tax year in which the eligible expenses were paid. For example, an annual membership fee for a professional association paid in December 2009 for year 2010 is deductible in year 2009. The United States has a comparatively large and complicated number of deductions owing to policy makers preference to pass policy through the tax code. Examples  of allowable itemized deductions. Allowable deductions include: Miscellaneous itemized deductions (Tax Years 2017 and earlier). Per the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, miscellaneous itemized deductions are not deductible for tax years 2018 to 2025. For tax years before 2018: Miscellaneous itemized deductions are subject to a 2% floor, a.k.a. the "2% Haircut." A taxpayer can only deduct the amount of miscellaneous itemized deductions that exceed 2% of their adjusted gross income. For example, if a taxpayer has adjusted gross income of $50,000 with $4,000 in miscellaneous itemized deductions, the taxpayer can only deduct $3,000, since  the first $1,000 is below the 2% floor. There are 12 deductions listed in 26 U.S.C. § 67(b). These are not miscellaneous itemized deductions, and thus not subject to the 2% floor (although they may have their own rules). Any deduction not found in section 67(b) is a miscellaneous itemized deduction. Examples include: Limitations. The amount of itemized deductions was limited and phased out for high income taxpayers for tax years before 2017; however, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the phaseout and limitations.