Zero Bracket Amount

zero bracket amount

A largely outdated reference to the standard deduction.

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Zero Bracket Amount

In the United States, the amount of income not taxed before the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Taxpayers who chose not to itemize deductions subtracted the zero-bracket amount from their adjusted gross income. The amount was indexed to inflation and therefore had the potential to change every tax year. It has since been replaced by the standard deduction.