How common is it to take the itemized deductions? In 2009 about 33% of tax filers claimed itemized deductions and the other 66% took the standard deduction.
'09 is the most recent year that IRS has the full data. I looked it up on IRS taxstats and specifically the 2009 figures for publication 1304 table 1.2
The rate that filers itemize deductions is going to be lower for lower income individuals as they are less likely to have high expenses. Higher income people are more likely to itemize since they have a lot more expenses.
I broke down the trend to show how itemized vs standard deduction looks when you consider different income levels and here's a graphic:
Note, to make the graphic more clear I didn't include the approximately 2.5 million tax filers who had negative income levels.
Thats a pretty clear trend. Of course there are always notable exceptions, but by and large the low income people take standard deductions and highest income earners file itemized deductions.
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