CSS text-align-last Property

What You’ll Learn

The text-align-last property lets you align the final line of a text block differently from the rest of the paragraph — especially useful with justified text.

Introduction

The text-align-last property in CSS is used to set the alignment of the last line of a text block or the line right before a forced line break.

This property is particularly useful for adjusting the text alignment in justified text blocks or for creating specific text alignment effects at the end of paragraphs.

Definition and Usage

Apply text-align-last on the same block element where you set text-align. It only changes the final line; earlier lines keep the main alignment.

A common pattern is text-align: justify; with text-align-last: left; or right; so the paragraph looks even except for a cleaner closing line.

📝 Syntax

The syntax for the text-align-last property is simple and follows the standard CSS property-value format:

element {
  text-align-last: value;
}

Here, value can be one of several predefined values that determine the alignment of the last line.

Basic Example

p {
  text-align: justify;
  text-align-last: right;
}

Syntax Rules

• Use it on block containers such as p, div, and table cells.
• Pair it with text-align when you want different behavior on the final line.
• auto makes the last line follow the element’s text-align value.
• It also affects the line immediately before a forced break from <br>.

Related Properties

• text-align — aligns all lines in the block
• line-height — controls vertical spacing between lines
• hyphens — can improve justified paragraph appearance

🎯 Default Value

The default value of the text-align-last property is auto. This means the alignment of the last line follows the alignment of the text block as a whole.

💎 Property Values

When to Use text-align-last

text-align-last is most helpful when the final line needs different treatment:

• Justified articles — Prevent an awkward stretched last line by setting text-align-last: left.
• Formal layouts — Right-align the closing line of a justified paragraph for a editorial look.
• Poetry or quotes — Center only the final line while keeping earlier lines left-aligned.
• Forced breaks — Control alignment on the line before a <br> tag.

Examples Gallery

Start with the reference justify + right-last-line example, then try left-last for cleaner justified text, centered closings, and a quote layout.

<style>
  p {
    text-align: justify;
    text-align-last: right;
  }
</style>

<p>
  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...
</p>

.article {
  text-align: justify;
  text-align-last: left;
}

.closing-note {
  text-align: left;
  text-align-last: center;
}

blockquote {
  text-align: justify;
  text-align-last: right;
  font-style: italic;
  border-left: 4px solid #2563eb;
  padding-left: 1rem;
}

text-align-last in the family

text-align-last fine-tunes the final line after you set the main alignment with text-align. Use both together when you want justified paragraphs without an awkward closing line.

p {
  text-align: justify;
  text-align-last: left;
}

💡 Best Practices