Until enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, officially P.L. 119-21, the availability of a below-the-line deduction that was not the standard deduction or an itemized deduction was a rare event.

So in a nutshell, above-the-line deductions will always lower your taxes, but below-the-line ones may not, if they don't exceed your standard deduction amount. Those who are self-employed will ...

This was not the only change, however. Rather than the deduction being above-the-line like in 2020, for the 2021 tax filing year, it is the equivalent of a below-the-line deduction.