When it comes to taxes, it’s much easier to take the standard deduction and get your return done quickly. But sometimes a little extra effort to itemize deductions could be worth it to lower your tax bill or boost your refund.

Deductions reduce the amount of your taxable income. So generally, the more you have, the lower your taxes.

A standard deduction reduces your taxable income by a set amount, depending on your income, age, filing status and other factors, whereas with itemized deductions, you can pick and choose from among hundreds if you qualify.

In the tax year 2020, 87.3% of Americans took the standard deduction, just shy of the 87.6% who did in 2019, IRS data shows. It’s unknown how many of those people could have fared better itemizing their deductions, but it is likely “some of those who took the easy way out probably shortchanged themselves,” according to Intuit TurboTax.

Are you ready for tax season? Everything you need to know to file in 2023.

When should you itemize?

The IRS says you should itemize deductions if their total tops your standard deduction, or if you must itemize deductions because you can't use the standard deduction.

Hints as to whether you may benefit from itemizing, without doing detailed calculations, could lie in whether you owned a home, had significant medical expenses, or made sizable donations.

• If you owned a home and your mortgage interest, points, and mortgage insurance premiums exceed your standard deduction, there's a good chance you would benefit from itemizing, Intuit TurboTax said. If you have a $300,000 mortgage at 4% interest, that’s already $12,000 of interest you can deduct.

• Unreimbursed, qualified medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income can be deductible if you itemize. For example, if your adjusted gross income is $50,000, expenses above $3,750 for the year are deductible. If your bills totaled $10,000, you could deduct $6,250 of qualified medical expenses, which include abortion, ambulances, contact lenses, chiropractor, crutches, eye exams, glasses, prescription drugs, hearing aids, home care, fertility treatments, lab fees, and long-term care.

• Charitable contributions can only be deducted if they're itemized. If you made many donations throughout the year, they could add up to thousands of dollars, making itemizing more beneficial.

Once I’ve decided to itemize, what can I deduct or take a credit for?

Some of the most overlooked itemized items include:

• State and local sales tax: you can deduct either state and local income taxes or up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) in state and local sales tax, whichever is larger. Usually, income tax is larger but in states without income tax, the decision is easier. You can either add up sales tax from your receipts for the year or use the IRS calculator to figure out what you can deduct.

• Child and dependent care credit: if you pay for someone to watch your kid 12 years and under, or a spouse or another dependent so you can work, you may be eligible for a credit of up to $3,000 for one person, or $6,000 for two or more people.