Trump’s Social Security Tax Promises Weren’t Fulfilled in Spending Bill

2 Jul at 10:20 am

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Trump’s Social Security Tax Promises Weren’t Fulfilled in Spending Bill/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ President Trump claims the GOP’s mega tax bill eliminates taxes on Social Security benefits, but that’s false. Instead, both House and Senate versions offer only temporary tax deductions for seniors. Experts warn Trump’s exaggerations could confuse millions of retirees about their tax bills.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable at “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump repeatedly claims GOP bill wipes out Social Security taxes.
Reality: Both bills offer only temporary deductions, not elimination.
Many seniors—especially low-income or early retirees—would see no benefit.
Experts say eliminating taxes entirely would cost $1.5 trillion.
The tax bill could add $3.3 trillion to the deficit.
White House says most seniors would see some relief.
Confusion and political backlash loom as details emerge.

Deep Look

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has repeatedly told voters that the sweeping Republican tax and spending bill moving through Congress would wipe out taxes on Social Security benefits.

That’s not true.

Instead, both the House and Senate versions of the legislation would merely provide a temporary tax deduction for seniors — far short of eliminating taxes on Social Security income entirely.

Here’s a closer look at what Trump has been saying, and what the proposed legislation would actually do.

What Trump Has Said

Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. He’s continued that claim as the GOP’s massive legislative package has progressed through Congress.

On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump recently said the legislation includes “no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.”

The Reality: A Temporary Tax Deduction

Rather than eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, both the House and Senate proposals offer a temporary tax deduction for people 65 and older — a deduction that applies to all income, not specifically Social Security.

And it’s not universal:

Seniors who already pay no tax on their Social Security benefits, because their incomes are too low, would not benefit.
Seniors who claim benefits before age 65 would miss out entirely.
Higher-income seniors could also see reduced or no benefits from the deduction due to income thresholds.

The Senate version, passed Tuesday, proposes a temporary $6,000 deduction for those over 65. The House version calls for a smaller, $4,000 deduction.

Under the Senate bill, seniors with adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 or less ($150,000 for couples filing jointly) would avoid taxes on Social Security benefits entirely. However, the deduction phases out at higher income levels and would only be in place from 2025 through 2029.

White House Promotes Benefits

The White House on Tuesday highlighted new analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers, claiming that under the Senate bill, “88% of all seniors who receive Social Security — will pay NO TAX on their Social Security benefits.”

The administration estimates the $6,000 deduction would benefit nearly 34 million seniors, delivering an average increase in after-tax income of about $670 per recipient.

But experts caution that Trump’s blanket claim that the bill wipes out Social Security taxes is misleading.

“While the deduction does provide some relief for seniors, it’s far from completely repealing the tax on their benefits,” said Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the Tax Foundation. “It could confuse and anger seniors who might expect their Social Security benefits to be entirely tax-free.”

The Bigger Price Tag

Eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits altogether would come at a steep cost.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model projects that scrapping those taxes entirely would reduce federal revenues by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, increase federal debt by 7% by 2054, and move up the projected insolvency of the Social Security Trust Fund from 2034 to 2032.

Debates over taxes on Social Security are only one piece of the broader GOP tax and spending bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would add nearly $3.3 trillion to federal deficits between 2025 and 2034.

Trump has said revenue from his sweeping new tariff plan would offset the tax cuts. However, the CBO recently estimated that while those tariffs could reduce deficits by $2.8 trillion over a decade, they would also shrink the economy, drive up inflation, and erode household purchasing power.

Trump’s repeated promise of “no tax on Social Security” remains far from reality — and the true fiscal impacts of the GOP mega-bill remain a source of fierce debate on Capitol Hill.