If we have enough deductions to justify itemizing instead of taking the standard deduction.

I haven't had a need to itemize in several years.

That's not nearly as much of a perk as people make it out to be. It's good for a couple of years when you're mostly paying interest, but it's really not much.

Remember, a deduction is just removing the expense from your taxable income. It's not like we get that back from taxes...that'd be a credit.

So if I pay $5000 in interest over the course of the year, im not getting $5k back on my taxes. We just pretend my gross income is $5k less. And most the time, the standard deduction ends up being more anyway.

Most W2 workers take standard deduction. You aren't missing anything.