"A single person earning $30,000 gross will, after taking the standard deduction owe $2,946 in federal income tax. Generally, itemizing deductions is only helpful if you have a mortgage or can put together other deductions totaling over $4,850 for a single person." jeffp

It should be noted that Jeff started from $30,000 GROSS to end with that figure. I took my figures from the tax tables themselves- which is after deductions.

I'm glad Jeff mentioned itemizing versus standard deductions- we should all understand that itemizing is not a way to save money, per se, but a way to help bring some of your expenses under control.