5a — State and Local Income or Sales Tax Updated for tax year 2025

What this line means

The amount of state and local income taxes you paid during the year, OR state and local sales taxes — whichever gives you the larger deduction. You choose one or the other, not both. State income tax includes withholding from your W-2, estimated payments you made, and any balance due you paid for a prior year. This amount is subject to the $40,000 SALT cap ($20,000 MFS) on line 5e for 2025.

Does this apply to you?

• You live in a state with income tax and had state/local taxes withheld from your pay or made estimated payments
• You live in a state with no income tax (Florida, Texas, etc.) and elect to deduct sales taxes instead
• You made a large purchase like a car or boat and the sales tax deduction gives a bigger benefit than state income tax

Easy to overlook

Residents of no-income-tax states should deduct sales tax If you live in Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Tennessee, or New Hampshire, you have no state income tax to deduct. But you can deduct state and local sales taxes instead. The IRS provides tables based on your income and state, plus you add actual sales tax on major purchases (vehicles, boats, building materials). ¹ [SOURCE: IRS Schedule A instructions — Line 5a]

Prior-year state tax payments made this year count If you owed state income tax on last year’s return and paid it this year, that payment is deductible on this year’s Schedule A. State estimated tax payments made during the year also count, even if they are for next year’s liability. The deduction is based on when you paid, not what year the tax is for. ² [SOURCE: General filing pattern — income tax vs sales tax election]

Watch out for this

Deducting both state income tax and state sales tax. You must choose one. The IRS instructions make this clear, but filers who paid large state income taxes and also bought a car sometimes try to claim both. Check the box for whichever method gives the higher deduction and use only that amount.

Related lines on your return

• Line 5b — Schedule A — State and local personal property taxes (separate from income/sales tax)
• Line 5e — Schedule A — SALT deduction after the $40,000 cap
• Line 17 — Schedule A — Total itemized deductions