President Donald Trump signed the Republican megabill dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill” into law on the Fourth of July in a White House signing ceremony complete with a flyover from military planes.
The bill delivers on several campaign promises, including higher spending on immigration enforcement and tax breaks on tips and overtime.
He has also long vowed to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, and the White House has said the bill fulfills that promise. The Social Security Administration also sent out an unusually political email applauding the House’s passage of the bill on July 3.
But what does the nearly 900-page bill actually say about Social Security benefit taxes?
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Is ‘no tax on Social Security’ part of the bill Trump signed?
No, the bill does not eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.
Doing so wouldn’t have been possible because of congressional restrictions on what kinds of things can be included in a budget reconciliation like this bill, CBS MoneyWatch reported.
However, the bill includes a tax break for seniors, which Republicans have promoted alongside other campaign promises like no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
‘Big Beautiful Bill’ includes a tax deduction for seniors 65 and older
The bill passed creates a $6,000 federal income tax deduction for Americans 65 and older. (That amount has increased from the House’s previously passed version of the bill, which slated a $4,000 deduction.)
As Social Security can be a big part of seniors’ income, that deduction could make part of those benefits tax-exempt. But the break won’t be universal to all beneficiaries. For example, some beneficiaries are younger than 65 or already earn too little to pay income taxes at all. Also, the deduction dwindles for individuals earning more than $75,000 ($150,000 if filing jointly).
A June analysis of the bill by Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers estimated 88% of seniors will not pay taxes on their benefits under the new law.
“It’s been marketed as tax relief for seniors, but a lot of seniors are going to be surprised when they find out it doesn’t apply to them,” Garrett Watson, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a center-right think tank, previously told USA TODAY. “I’m getting asked all the time by folks what this actually means for their tax situation.”
When does the deduction for seniors go into effect?
The deduction is in effect for the 2025 tax year. However, it is a limited benefit that is only in effect through the end of 2028, just before Trump is slated to leave office.
Contributing: Ben Adler and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump claims no more tax on Social Security. The bill doesn’t say that
