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The Daily Insight

What is the passthrough deduction?

Author

Ava Robinson

Published Feb 12, 2026

The pass-through deduction is a personal deduction you may take on your Form 1040 whether or not you itemize. It is not an “above the line” deduction on the first page of Form 1040 that reduces your adjusted gross income (AGI). Moreover, the deduction only reduces income taxes, not Social Security or Medicare taxes.

What does it mean to qualify for deductions?

Simply put, tax deductions reduce how much you pay in taxes by lowering your taxable income. When you hear the word deduction, just think subtraction. That means you could “write off” the money you gave to charity last year and reduce your taxable income by the amount you gave.

What is the deduction for pass through income?

Basic Calculation. If your taxable income* is under a certain threshold amount, the deduction is 20% of the pass-through income from your business(es), but it cannot be greater than 20% of your taxable income excluding net capital gains.

What do you need to know about the pass through income?

The QBI of the business rises to $700,000. The first partner couple now has a taxable income of $250K. The second partner couple now has an income of $550K. The first partner’s allocable share of QBI is $350K. 20% of $350K is $70K. However, the deduction is limited to 20% of their taxable income, or $50K.

Is there a pass through business tax deduction?

For tax years 2018-2025, there is a deduction for pass-through business income (i.e., income from sole proprietorships, partnerships, S-corporations, or LLCs taxed as any of the above). What follows is my best attempt to explain the deduction clearly.

How to calculate the QBI deduction for Mary Garter?

Her taxable income is more than $415,000. The business paid $30,000 in wages and has $50,000 in qualified property. Because Mary’s taxable income is more than $326,600, she can’t automatically claim the 20% deduction. She has to calculate her limitation. She performs both wage tests to find the greatest deduction.