On the income tax return (planilla, Form 482) you file with the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda"), your tax is not figured on everything you earned. First you subtract certain amounts the law allows: exemptions (fixed amounts for you, your spouse, your dependents and, if it applies, for being a veteran) and allowable deductions (specific expenses you can document, such as mortgage interest or medical expenses). What's left is your net taxable income, to which the tax rate table applies. If a term is unfamiliar, look it up in the glossary.
The amounts on this page are for tax year 2025 (returns filed in 2026), based on Hacienda's instruction booklet and the Código de Rentas Internas de Puerto Rico de 2011 (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico of 2011).
Is there a standard deduction?
Not like the federal one. The 2025 Puerto Rico return has no fixed amount you can subtract instead of itemizing your expenses. What works in a similar way is the personal exemption, which every taxpayer can claim without documentation. Deductions, on the other hand, are itemized on Anejo A Individuo (Schedule A Individual), and you must be able to prove them.
Exemptions
Personal exemption
According to the 2025 booklet:
- Individual taxpayer: $3,500
- Married person living with their spouse and filing jointly: $7,000
- Married filing separately: $3,500
Dependent exemption
You can claim $2,500 for each dependent. If the dependent is claimed under shared custody, or if you are married filing separately, each person claims $1,250.
The Code defines a dependent as a person who received more than half of their support from you and who is:
- under 21 at the end of the year;
- your father or your mother;
- a person 65 or older;
- a person 21 or older who is blind or unable to support themselves because of a physical or mental disability; or
- a university student under 26 who has completed at least one semester as a regular student.
In addition, the dependent's gross income must be less than $2,500, unless they are your child and a regular student, who can earn up to $7,500. Your spouse is never your dependent. You must report the Social Security number of each dependent age one or older on Anejo A1 Individuo (Schedule A1 Individual); otherwise the exemption may be denied.
For separated or divorced parents, the parent with custody claims the exemption, unless they release it in writing to the other parent with Anejo CH Individuo (Schedule CH Individual). With shared custody ordered by a court, the exemption is split in half.
Additional exemption for veterans
If you are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, you can claim an additional $1,500. If both spouses are veterans and file jointly, it is $3,000. Keep your DD-214 form.
The 2025 tax relief payment (Resolución Conjunta 6-2026, Joint Resolution 6-2026) included an additional $2,500 deduction for each dependent under 18, but only to figure that separate payment. It didn't change the dependent exemption on the return, which is still $2,500. The 2026 reform proposal to raise it to $5,000 had not become law, according to the official sources reviewed.
Allowable deductions (Anejo A Individuo)
Mortgage interest
You can deduct the interest on a mortgage to buy, build, improve or refinance a qualified residence: your principal residence (in or outside Puerto Rico) and one other residence in Puerto Rico that you use as such. The limit, under Section 1033.15(a)(1) of the Code:
- A maximum of $35,000 a year, and
- not more than the greater of 30% of your adjusted gross income for the year, or 30% of that of any of the three prior years. For this calculation, adjusted gross income is increased by your excluded and exempt income and by any child support you receive.
Those limits don't apply if you or your spouse (on a joint return) are 65 or older at the end of the year (also see pensions and retirees). Don't confuse this deduction with the CRIM (Municipal Revenue Collection Center) primary residence exemption, which applies to property tax. Your proof is the Declaración Informativa de Intereses Hipotecarios (mortgage interest informative return, Form 480.7A), or Form 1098 if the mortgage is from outside Puerto Rico.
Medical expenses
You can deduct medical expenses not covered by insurance to the extent they exceed 6% of your adjusted gross income. This includes services from doctors, dentists and hospitals (in and outside Puerto Rico), health or accident insurance premiums, prescription drugs dispensed by a pharmacist licensed in Puerto Rico and assistive technology equipment for people with disabilities.
Luis has adjusted gross income of $50,000 and paid $4,200 in unreimbursed medical expenses. 6% of his income is $3,000. His deduction is $4,200 − $3,000 = $1,200.
Donations
Donations to nonprofit organizations approved by Hacienda, churches, the government and accredited universities in Puerto Rico are deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. You can check whether an organization is approved on the main page of SURI (Hacienda's online system), under the search services. Contributions to specific individuals are not deductible. Some donations, such as conservation easements and gifts to museums, have their own rules, and since 2025 donations to the Corporación de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico (the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra Corporation) have a special 100% deduction.
IRA contributions
For 2025, the maximum deduction for contributions to a qualified Individual Retirement Account (IRA) in Puerto Rico rose to $7,000 per person (previously $5,000), or your wage or professional income if less. A married couple filing jointly can contribute up to $14,000, but no more than $7,000 per spouse. If you participate in a qualified pension plan or are a federal employee, your combined contributions to the plan and the IRA can't exceed $22,000.
The deduction isn't allowed if you are 75 or older at the end of the year, or if your income is from a pension or annuity. You can contribute up to the return's due date, including the extension.
Educational contribution accounts and Cuentas Mi Futuro
You can deduct up to $1,000 per beneficiary (previously $500) for cash contributions to an educational contribution account or Cuenta Mi Futuro ("My Future" account) for your children or close relatives. It doesn't apply for the year in which the beneficiary turned 26.
Student loans
You can deduct the interest on university-level student loans for you, your spouse or your dependents. There is also a special deduction of 25% of principal payments (50% for graduate loans), up to $5,000 a year for a maximum of 10 years, for certain professionals who work in public service and meet the requirements of the federal loan forgiveness program (Act 24-2015).
Disaster losses
You can deduct uncompensated losses to your principal residence caused by a hurricane, earthquake, flood, fire or other casualty. You can also deduct up to $5,000 for losses of household personal property (such as your car or appliances) if the area was declared a disaster zone by the Governor; $2,500 if you file separately.
How they apply: an example
Ana and Roberto file jointly, have one child and adjusted gross income of $70,000. They paid $9,000 in mortgage interest (less than the 30% limit, which would be $21,000) and contributed $3,000 to their IRAs. Their deductions total $12,000. Their exemptions: $7,000 personal plus $2,500 for their child. Net taxable income: $70,000 − $12,000 − $9,500 = $48,500.
With that figure you can estimate the tax in the income tax calculator.
Records and the optional computation
Records. You don't send receipts with the return, except in some cases such as certain donations. But you must keep them for at least six years. If Hacienda asks for them in an audit and you don't have them, it can adjust your return and charge interest and surcharges.
Optional computation for married couples. Married couples who live together and file jointly can choose the optional computation (Anejo CO Individuo, Schedule CO Individual), which figures each spouse's tax separately. Some deductions are split 50% between the spouses, and others, such as the IRA, are assigned to the spouse who made them. It can pay off when both spouses have income.
For withholding from your wages, you can report your deductions to your employer on Form 499 R-4.1. We explain it in withholding and forms.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim my parents as dependents?
Yes, if you provided more than half of their support during the year and their gross income is less than $2,500. Exempt income, such as federal Social Security, doesn't count toward that gross income limit, but you must be able to show that you provided more than half of their support.
Is the mortgage interest on my house in Florida deductible?
If that is your principal residence, yes, it can be a qualified residence under the Code. A second residence only qualifies if it is in Puerto Rico. If you are a Puerto Rico resident with your principal home here, the Florida house doesn't qualify as a second residence.
Is the health insurance my employer deducts from my pay a deductible medical expense?
Health or accident insurance premiums are medical expenses for this deduction, but your total medical expenses count only to the extent they exceed 6% of your adjusted gross income. If your situation includes premiums paid through an employer plan, confirm with your tax professional what portion you paid. If you are self-employed and deduct the insurance as a business expense, you can't claim it again as a medical expense.
Where do I claim the child tax credit?
The Child Tax Credit is federal, not a Hacienda credit; you claim it with the IRS. See the child tax credit. On the Hacienda return, your children count toward the dependent exemption and can increase your Crédito por Trabajo (work credit).
Sources
- Departamento de Hacienda, "Folleto de Instrucciones, Planilla de Contribución sobre Ingresos de Individuos 2025" (rev. 27 de febrero de 2026). hacienda.pr.gov
- Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, "Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended", compilación rev. 18 de junio de 2026, Secciones 1033.15 y 1033.18. bvirtualogp.pr.gov
- Departamento de Hacienda, "Guía sobre el Cheque de Alivio Contributivo para los Trabajadores y la Clase Media del Año Contributivo 2025" (rev. 20 de mayo de 2026). hacienda.pr.gov
787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.
