7 min read March 01, 2023
Filing your 2022 taxes: what to remember

Some of last year’s tax credits are dropping to pre-pandemic levels, which may impact your 2022 taxes. Read on for 10 updates to keep in mind when filing.

Photo of woman sitting in her kitchen, filing her taxes on her laptop.

A lot can change in a year—that’s why it’s important to review your financial situation every tax season.

That’s especially true during times of inflation and significant legislative change, such as pandemic assistance coming and going.

Read on for an overview of what’s new, what’s changed, and what you can do to save on your 2022 taxes. You may want to consult a CPA or tax professional for personalized advice.1

Deadline for filing 2022 taxes: April 18, 2023
Deadline to contribute to your IRA for tax year 2022: April 18, 2023

1. Federal tax brackets for tax year 2022

Know where you fall in the 2022 federal tax bracket, especially if you’ve had a change in salary in the last year.

Income tax rates2 Single Married filing jointly
10% $0 to $10,275 $0 to $20,550
12% $10,276 to $41,775 $20,551 to $83,550
22% $41,776 to $89,075 $83,551 to $178,150
24% $89,076 to $170,050 $178,151 to $340,100
32% $170,051 to $215,950 $340,101 to $431,900
35% $215,951 to $539,900 $431,901 to $647,850
37% $539,901+ $647,851+
Thumbnail of 2023 tax guide.

Planning ahead for next year’s taxes? Get our 2023 tax guide (PDF).

2. Standard 2022 tax deductions

These amounts have increased for inflation to $12,950 for single filers, $19,400 for head-of-household filers, and $25,900 for married couples filing jointly.

2022 standard deductions2

Single filer

$12,950

single filers

Heads of household icon

$19,400

heads of household

Married couple icon

$25,900

married couples


Learn more about credits and deductions for individuals.

3. Child tax credits

In tax year 2021, the child tax credit was temporarily increased and distributed monthly. This time around, it’s back to pre-pandemic levels, maxing out at $2,000.3 The Child and Dependent Care Credit is also back down, maxing out at $2,100.

Keep in mind, restrictions apply; get all the details on eligibility.

4. Changes in this year’s tax withholdings

The IRS recommends checking your tax withholding every year or when a big life event happens. If you got a second job, changed jobs, or your spouse changed jobs this year, you may want to reevaluate your withholdings, which can impact your tax refund or taxes due. And after you’ve reviewed your withholdings, it may help to reevaluate your retirement contributions.

5. Elimination of personal exemptions

Just a reminder: This exemption was eliminated in the 2017 tax reform bill in favor of increasing the standard deduction. (See No. 2 above.)

6. State and local tax deduction limitations

If you itemize deductions, you can take a $10,000 maximum deduction—$5,000 if married filing separately (MFS)—on any combination of state and local income, real estate, and personal property taxes. Alternatively, you may elect to substitute state and local sales taxes for income taxes, but you can’t use both.4

7. Mortgage interest deduction limit

The 2017 tax bill set a cap on the total amount of mortgage debt for which you can deduct mortgage interest paid: up to $750,000 ($375,000 if MFS) if you take out a new loan for a first or second home between December 15, 2017, and December 31, 2025. If the tax act isn’t extended, the cap will revert to total mortgage debt of $1,000,000 ($500,000 if MFS).

If you already have a mortgage, your debt is grandfathered, and you can refinance without losing the $1,000,000 cap, if you don’t increase the debt by refinancing. However, if you have a grandfathered mortgage and acquire a second home, the new cap will apply to limit the second home mortgage to the $750,000, less the grandfathered mortgage up to $750,000.

New mortgage interest deduction cap

Grandfathered mortgage

Plus sign

second home and/or purchase of a new home


$750,000


Interest from home equity loans is no longer deductible, regardless of when you took out the loan.

8. Exclusion for sale of your primary home

If you decide to sell your primary residence, and you’ve lived there for two of the last five years, single filers can still exclude up to $250,000 (married couples up to $500,000) from capital gains taxes—a tax levied on profits you make when you sell for a price higher than what you originally paid, plus the cost of upgrades other than simple maintenance and repairs.5

9. Alternative minimum tax (AMT)

For tax year 2022, AMT increased to $75,900 for single or head of household filers (beginning to phase out at $539,900), and $118,100 for married filing jointly or widow(er)s (beginning to phase out at $1,079,900).2

10. Estate tax exemption

In 2022, the amount of money exempt from the estate tax increased to just over $12 million.2

Since only 0.2% of all estates are large enough to be hit by estate taxes, this only applies to a small number of people.

Next steps

Could you put more away in your retirement account to help reduce your taxable income? Log in to your account and adjust your contributions. First time logging in? Get started by creating an account.

1 Change will likely sunset after 2025 and revert to its 2017 numbers, adjusted for inflation. These rates are imposed on taxable income, meaning income remaining after applicable exclusions, deductions and exemptions are claimed. Note that each rate applies only to income falling within that bracket. For additional information and other filing status’ and brackets go to irs.gov.
2 IRS.gov, IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2022
3 IRS.gov, Get ready for taxes
4 IRS.gov, Deductible taxes
5 IRS.gov, Sale of your home

Be sure to also confirm your State filing and payment deadlines as they may not align with the extended federal filing deadline. Review IRS.gov for all filing status’.

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