By Grant MercerLast updated Oct. 7, 2026Image: RDNE Stock project/Pexels
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Taxpayers 65 and older can deduct an extra $6,000 each1, or $12,000 for a married couple who both qualify, for tax years 2025 through 2028. It’s on top of the standard deduction, you get it whether or not you itemize, and it starts phasing out above $75,000 of income for single filers and $150,000 for couples.
That’s real money, but it’s only one of the tax breaks retirees can use, and most of the others are just as easy to miss.
Here’s how to make sure you get the new deduction, plus 14 more moves that cut a retiree’s tax bill:
Senior Deduction: Make sure you get the full $6,000
The new deduction phases out gradually once your modified adjusted gross income passes $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (joint). That means the size of your IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions and capital gains this year directly decides how much of it you keep.
A large IRA withdrawal or Roth conversion can quietly cost you part of the deduction. RetireShield’s Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner shows how the senior deduction interacts with your withdrawals, with calculators for provisional income, IRMAA tiers, RMDs and Roth bracket filling.
Get the Retirement Tax & Withdrawal Planner
A married couple who are both 65 or older can deduct an extra $12,000 under the new senior deduction, on top of the standard deduction, for tax years 2025 through 2028.
You don’t have to itemize to get the senior deduction. It comes on top of the standard deduction, so check that your tax software or preparer actually applied it.
Tax Debt: Settle an IRS balance before it grows
Owe the IRS? Penalties and interest pile up every month, and the IRS can take part of your Social Security check to collect.
Tax Network USA works with the IRS on your behalf to set up payment plans, request penalty relief, put collections on hold for hardship and, for some taxpayers, negotiate an offer in compromise. Ask for the total fee upfront and what happens if the IRS says no.
See if Tax Network USA can help with your IRS balance
Unfiled Returns: Get back years filed before the IRS files them for you
If you’ve skipped filing for a few years, the IRS can file a return for you, called a substitute for return, using only the income it knows about and none of your deductions. That usually means a much bigger bill than you actually owe.
Community Tax prepares unfiled back returns and then works out a payment plan or relief request with the IRS. Getting current is usually required before the IRS will agree to any relief.
See if Community Tax can help with your IRS balance
Missed Refunds: Claim tax withheld in a year you didn't file
Many retirees stop filing when their income drops, even though a pension or IRA withdrawal still had tax withheld. That refund is yours, but only if you file within three years of the original due date.
RetireShield’s IRS Refund Recovery Kit walks through claiming a missed refund, tracing one that never arrived using Form 3911, and decoding IRS notices.
Get the IRS Refund Recovery Kit
Required Withdrawals: Plan your RMD so it doesn't cost you the deduction
If you’re 73 or older, you have to take a required minimum distribution from traditional IRAs and most workplace plans by December 31 each year. Miss it and the IRS charges an excise tax on the shortfall.
A large withdrawal can also push your income past the point where the new $6,000 senior deduction starts phasing out. WiserAdvisor matches you with financial advisors in your area who can map out how much to take and from which account.
It costs nothing to get matched; ask any advisor exactly how they’re paid.
Get matched with a financial advisor through WiserAdvisor
Smaller RMDs: Move part of your IRA into a longevity annuity
A qualifying longevity annuity contract, or QLAC, lets you move part of a traditional IRA into an annuity that starts paying later, as late as age 85. The money inside it isn’t counted when your required minimum distributions are figured, so your RMDs and your taxable income are smaller in the meantime.
Blueprint Income lets you compare income annuity quotes from multiple insurers online. Annuities are hard to undo, so compare several quotes and ask what happens to the money if you die before payments start.
Compare income annuities with Blueprint Income
Property Taxes: File for the senior exemption before your county's deadline
Most states offer older homeowners a property tax break, from homestead exemptions and assessment freezes to deferrals and income-based credits. Very few counties apply them automatically, and a missed deadline can cost you a full year of savings.
RetireShield’s Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out every type of relief, how to apply, and a renewal calendar so you don’t miss the next deadline.
Get the Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit
Social Security Taxes: Model how much of your benefit gets taxed
Up to half of your Social Security becomes taxable once your "combined income" passes $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for couples, and up to 85% once it passes $34,000 or $44,000. Those thresholds have never been adjusted for inflation.
The order you draw from your accounts decides how much of your benefit stays tax-free. Boldin is retirement planning software that lets you model withdrawals, Roth conversions and Social Security taxes year by year.
You can also have tax withheld from your Social Security check with Form W-4V to avoid a bill in April.
Try Boldin's retirement planner
Medicare Surcharges: Keep your income under the IRMAA tiers
Medicare’s income surcharges, called IRMAA, are based on your tax return from two years ago. A single large IRA withdrawal or Roth conversion this year can raise your Part B and Part D premiums two years later.
If your income has already dropped because you retired or lost a spouse, you can appeal with Form SSA-44. To stay under the tiers going forward, you need a plan for your withdrawals.
SmartAsset’s free matching tool connects you with financial advisors in your area. Ask any advisor exactly how they’re paid.
Find a financial advisor with SmartAsset
IRS Penalties: Ask for penalty relief on an old balance
Penalties and interest can add a large share on top of the tax you originally owed. The IRS will remove some penalties for people with a clean history or a reasonable cause, like a serious illness or a death in the family, but it rarely does so unless someone asks.
Optima Tax Relief requests penalty abatement and sets up payment plans and settlement requests with the IRS for people who qualify. Ask for the total fee before you sign.
See if Optima Tax Relief can help with your IRS balance
Tax-Free Legacy: Leave your family money the IRS can't touch
Life insurance death benefits generally pass to your beneficiaries free of federal income tax, which makes a policy one of the simplest ways to leave money to your family without a tax bill attached.
Ethos sells life insurance online for people up to age 85, and many applicants can get covered without a medical exam. You can check rates in a few minutes.
Check life insurance rates with Ethos
Roth Conversions: Get advice before you convert
Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year can lower lifetime taxes and shrink future RMDs. But it raises this year’s income, which can cost you part of the senior deduction and trigger Medicare surcharges two years later.
An advisor can run the numbers across several years before you pull the trigger. Datalign Advisory matches you with financial advisors in your area. Ask any advisor exactly how they’re paid.
Get matched with a financial advisor near you
Gold IRAs: Move part of your IRA into metals without a tax bill
A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer moves IRA money into a precious metals IRA without creating taxable income. Taking the money out yourself first can trigger taxes and penalties if it isn’t redeposited within 60 days.
Lear Capital sets up precious metals IRAs and handles the direct transfer from your current custodian. Metals prices fall as well as rise, dealers charge a markup over the spot price, and these accounts carry custodian and storage fees, so get the total cost in writing before you move anything.
Learn about precious metals IRAs from Lear Capital
Investments carry risk. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. We may be compensated if you sign up through this link.
Tax-Deferred Growth: Let part of your savings grow without a yearly tax bill
Interest earned in a bank CD is taxed every year, even if you don’t touch it. A deferred annuity lets earnings grow tax-deferred until you withdraw them, which can keep this year’s income lower.
Annuity.org explains how fixed and deferred annuities work and can connect you with a licensed professional. Withdrawals before 59 and a half carry a penalty, and many annuities charge surrender fees if you cash out early.
Learn how deferred annuities work at Annuity.org
IRS Impostors: Hang up and remove your number from scam lists
The IRS usually contacts people first by mail, not by phone, text or email, and it never demands payment by gift card, wire transfer or cryptocurrency. Impostors use data broker lists to make their calls sound official.
Incogni sends removal requests to data brokers and people-search sites on your behalf and keeps re-sending them. Less of your information on those lists can mean fewer scam calls, texts and emails.
See how Incogni removes your info from data broker lists
If you owe the IRS right now, start with that, since penalties and interest grow every month. Otherwise, work down the list and bring it to whoever prepares your return.
For tax deadlines and changes like these in your inbox each weekday, sign up for the free Retirement Money Brief.
