Schedule A has been a one-page form for as long as most preparers can remember. For 2026 it grows to two pages, and the extra room is not decoration. New rules on charitable giving, a returning deduction, and a fresh limitation for high earners all needed somewhere to live. If you have clients who itemize, the form they file for 2026 works differently than the one they filed last year.
This is still a draft, so treat the exact line numbers as provisional until the final form arrives. The changes themselves, though, are locked into law. Here is what is new on Schedule A and how each piece affects an itemizing client.
The tangible reason is that itemized deductions picked up new mechanics for 2026. A charitable deduction now runs through a floor calculation instead of a straight write-off. A deduction that expired came back. And high-income filers face a new cap on the value of their itemized deductions. Each of those needs its own lines and worksheets, and the old single page ran out of space.
The draft 2026 Schedule A reflects all of it, which is why the form expanded. None of this changes who should itemize in the first place, but it changes the math once they do.
This is the headline change, and it is a real shift for donors who itemize. Starting in 2026, charitable contributions are only deductible to the extent they exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income. The first slice of giving, up to that 0.5%, no longer counts.
An example makes it concrete. A client with $400,000 of AGI has a floor of $2,000. If they give $20,000 to charity, the first $2,000 is not deductible, and only the remaining $18,000 flows through, subject to the usual percentage-of-AGI limits. On the draft form, charitable deductions now run through a worksheet that applies this floor rather than dropping straight onto a line.
The quiet effect is that smaller charitable gifts from itemizers may produce no deduction at all if they fall under the floor. For clients who give modestly and itemize mainly for other reasons, that is worth a conversation.
Here is a friendlier change. The deduction for mortgage insurance premiums, which had lapsed, is back on Schedule A, appearing on line 8d in the draft.
For clients who pay private mortgage insurance, this restores a write-off they may have lost in recent years. It is the kind of line that is easy to overlook precisely because it was gone for a while, so it is worth checking whether clients with PMI are capturing it again.
The draft also builds in a new cap on the tax benefit of itemized deductions for the highest earners. Line 18 sends filers above a threshold, printed on the draft at $384,350, to a worksheet that limits their itemized deductions.
This works alongside a related rule that caps the value of itemized deductions for top-bracket taxpayers at the equivalent of a 35% rate rather than their full 37% marginal rate. The result is that a dollar of itemized deduction is worth a little less at the very top than it used to be. Most clients never reach this threshold, but for those who do, the worksheet changes the outcome and needs to be run correctly.
There is one more 2026 change that reshapes Schedule A, and it pushes in the opposite direction from the charitable floor. The state and local tax deduction cap rose from $10,000 to $40,400 for 2026, with the benefit phasing down for very high earners and the cap set to revert to $10,000 in 2030.
That larger SALT deduction means more taxpayers will clear the standard deduction and itemize again, since state income tax and property tax alone can now contribute far more to the total. So 2026 is a year of mixed signals on Schedule A: the bigger SALT cap pulls more people toward itemizing, while the new charitable floor and the high-income limitation quietly shrink the payoff for some. The only way to know which way a given client lands is to run the numbers both ways rather than assume last year's answer still holds.
Schedule A does not stand alone. The main return changed too, and the draft 2026 Form 1040 now carries a separate line for the charitable deduction that non-itemizers take. That is the key contrast to keep straight: the 0.5% floor and this redesigned Schedule A apply to people who itemize, while non-itemizers use a different, simpler above-the-line deduction on the main form.
For clients over 70 and a half, there is often a better route than either. Giving directly from an IRA through a qualified charitable distribution keeps the gift out of income entirely and sidesteps the new floor, which can beat itemizing the same donation.
The redesign rewards a little prep before season. A few steps keep it clean.
Re-run the itemize-versus-standard decision for clients whose charitable giving is a big part of why they itemize, since the floor can erode that benefit. Flag clients with PMI so they capture the returning deduction. Identify high-AGI clients who will hit the new limitation worksheet. And confirm your software has built the charitable-floor worksheet and the line 18 limitation, because these are calculations, not simple entries.
Since the form is a draft, verify the final line numbers before filing. The rules will hold, but the layout can still shift.
Walking clients through a form that grew a whole page is exactly the kind of detail work that separates a smooth season from a messy one. Madras Accountancy supports US CPA firms through changes like these, building the new worksheets into review so every itemized return comes out right.
What changed on the 2026 Schedule A? The draft grows to two pages and adds a 0.5% AGI floor on charitable deductions, brings back the mortgage insurance premium deduction on line 8d, and adds a line 18 limitation worksheet for high-income filers.
What is the 0.5% charitable floor? Starting in 2026, itemizers can only deduct charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of their adjusted gross income. The first 0.5% of AGI in giving is not deductible, so smaller gifts may produce no itemized deduction.
How does the 0.5% floor work with an example? A taxpayer with $400,000 AGI has a $2,000 floor. If they donate $20,000, the first $2,000 is nondeductible and only $18,000 is potentially deductible, subject to the usual percentage-of-AGI limits.
Did the mortgage insurance premium deduction come back? Yes. The draft 2026 Schedule A restores the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums on line 8d, so clients who pay private mortgage insurance may be able to deduct it again.
What is the line 18 limitation on Schedule A? The draft sends filers with income above a threshold, shown as $384,350, to a worksheet that limits their itemized deductions. It pairs with a rule capping the value of itemized deductions for top-bracket taxpayers at a 35% rate.
Does the 0.5% floor affect people who take the standard deduction? No. The floor and the redesigned Schedule A apply only to itemizers. Non-itemizers use a separate above-the-line charitable deduction on the main Form 1040 instead.
Is the 2026 Schedule A final? No. It is an IRS draft, so line numbers and layout can change before the final release. The underlying rules are set in law, but confirm specifics against the final form before filing.
How can donors avoid the new charitable floor? Taxpayers age 70 and a half or older can give directly from an IRA through a qualified charitable distribution, which keeps the gift out of taxable income entirely and is not subject to the 0.5% itemized floor.
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