2026 SALT deduction calculator
The personal state and local tax cap is $40,400 for 2026. It starts shrinking above $505,000 of modified AGI, but it cannot fall below $10,000. Married filing separately uses half of each amount.
Use MAGI after adding back income excluded under sections 911, 931 and 933.
Your entries stay in this browser. This calculator sends no financial inputs anywhere.
The choice the cap can hide
Schedule A lets you use state and local income tax or general sales tax. Property tax is added to either path. Comparing only the uncapped totals can mislead you because two different totals may produce the same allowed amount.
| Path at $600,000 MAGI | Paid | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Income plus property | $23,000.00 | $11,900.00 |
| Sales plus property | $20,000.00 | $11,900.00 |
Illustrative TaxBreakCalc inputs use $18,000 of income tax, $15,000 of sales tax and $5,000 of property tax. Both paths are capped at $11,900.00, so the allowed results tie even though the payments do not.
When your payment first gets limited
The usual phase-down table assumes you paid at least the full cap. Your own breakpoint depends on your qualifying payment. The table shows the first MAGI cent where the exact cap is lower than that payment.
| Non-MFS payment | First limited MAGI | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | Never | At or below the $10,000 floor |
| $15,000 | $589,666.67 | Payment and exact cap are equal immediately before this cent |
| $20,000 | $573,000.01 | Payment and exact cap are equal immediately before this cent |
| $30,000 | $539,666.67 | Payment and exact cap are equal immediately before this cent |
| $40,400 | $505,000.01 | Payment and exact cap are equal immediately before this cent |
| MFS payment | First limited MAGI | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | Never | At or below the $5,000.00 floor |
| $10,000 | $320,500.01 | Uses the reduction-before-halving rule |
| $15,000 | $287,166.67 | Uses the reduction-before-halving rule |
| $20,200 | $252,500.01 | Uses the reduction-before-halving rule |
How the section 164 amount is built
Which payments belong here
The calculator does not determine eligibility or look up a sales-tax allowance. Use actual qualifying receipts or the IRS Sales Tax Deduction Calculator, then enter the result here.
Where the numbers come from
The year-specific values come from 2026 Publication 505. Section 164 supplies the election and phase-down order. The Schedule A instructions explain qualifying payments, and section 68 documents the later overall limit.
- IRS Publication 505 (2026), the $40,400 cap, $505,000 threshold, $10,000 floor and MFS amounts
- 26 U.S.C. 164(b)(5)-(7), the income-or-sales election, 30% reduction and MFS ordering
- IRS Schedule A instructions, the SALT worksheet and rules for qualifying tax payments
- 26 U.S.C. 68, the separate overall limitation applied after other itemized-deduction limits
The Schedule A instructions linked here are for 2025 and confirm worksheet structure, not the 2026 dollar values. The table scenarios and calculator results are TaxBreakCalc computations from the cited rules.
Continue through your return
This calculator isolates the personal state and local tax component under section 164 for calendar year 2026. It works before the separate section 68 overall itemized-deduction limitation, alternative minimum tax and other return-level rules. It does not decide whether to itemize and does not estimate tax savings. Enter only qualifying taxes actually paid.