Per IRS Publication 17 Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals), page 92:

Higher Standard Deduction for Blindness

If you are blind on the last day of the year and you don't itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction.

Not totally blind. If you aren't totally blind, you must get a certified statement from an eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) that:

• You can't see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or
• Your field of vision is 20 degrees or less.

If your eye condition isn't likely to improve beyond these limits, the statement should include this fact. Keep the statement in your records.

If your vision can be corrected beyond these limits only by contact lenses that you can wear only briefly because of pain, infection, or ulcers, you can take the higher standard deduction for blindness if you otherwise qualify.

Spouse 65 or Older or Blind

You can take the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind and:

• You file a joint return, or
• You file a separate return and your spouse had no gross income and can't be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.

Death of a spouse. If your spouse died in 2022 before reaching age 65, you can't take a higher standard deduction because of your spouse. Even if your spouse was born before January 2, 1957, he or she isn't considered 65 or older at the end of 2022 unless he or she was 65 or older at the time of death.

A person is considered to reach age 65 on the day before their 65th birthday.

CAUTION! You can't claim the higher standard deduction for an individual other than yourself and your spouse.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the webpage or document at the time it is accessed.