Haven’t Filed Taxes Recently? Here Are Some Deductions That No Longer Exist
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Many people are filing taxes for the first time in a while to claim the balance of their extended Child Tax Credit or stimulus payments they’re still owed. If you haven’t filed since before the Trump Administration, you might be surprised to find that many tax deductions have vanished or been scaled back since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 passed.
Here are a few deductions and exemptions you can no longer claim in the 2023 tax season — or that have caps that didn’t exist prior to the 2017 law.
Discontinued Deductions and Exemptions
The following items that used to be deductible no longer are.
Personal Exemption for Taxpayers and Dependents
Prior to 2017, taxpayers could subtract $4,050 from their taxable income for themselves and each dependent they claimed. That exemption has disappeared.
Itemized Deductions
Many itemized deductions have disappeared for W-2 employees. Employees can no longer deduct fees related to financial services, including tax preparation, professional membership dues, unreimbursed employment expenses (in most cases), moving expenses (except for members of the military) and alimony payments.
Mortgage Insurance Premiums
When a borrower purchases a home with less than 20% down, the lender requires that they have mortgage insurance, which protects the lender in the event the borrower defaults on their loan. The TCJA eliminated the deduction. Although Congress extended it temporarily, the extension has expired.
Capped Deductions
Some previously unlimited deductions now have caps.
State and Local Tax Deductions (SALT)
State and local taxes (SALT) used to be fully deductible for taxpayers who itemized expenses. Today’s tax laws cap the deduction at $10,000 annually. The cap includes property tax plus state tax, whether the taxpayer bases their liability on income or sales.
Mortgage Interest
Previously, homeowners could deduct mortgage interest payments on up to $1 million of mortgage debt. That cap was reduced to $750,000 of mortgage debt.
Home Equity Loan Interest
Likewise, home-equity-loan interest paid in or after 2018 is not deductible. Following the inception of the TCJA, interest paid before 2018 was included in the $750,000 cap for mortgage interest. But you could only deduct interest on the loan if you were using the money to buy, build or substantially improve the home that secured the loan.
Although many deductions have been lost, the standard deduction significantly increased. For tax year 2022, the deduction is $12,950 for single taxpayers and married individual filers. The deduction is $25,900 for married couples filing jointly. The increased standard deduction results in a lower tax liability for many homeowners who used to itemize their deductions. However, things could change again in tax year 2026. Most of the TCJA provisions affecting individual taxpayers expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
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