Trump promised 'no tax on Social Security' — but his megabill is a 'far cry' from that

In 2024, Donald Trump campaigned on eliminating taxes for tipped wages and Social Security benefits. And Trump's messaging on the economy, polls showed, was the thing that ultimately did the most to put him past the finish line. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris campaigned on the economy as well, but in the end, Trump defeated her with a narrow victory of roughly 1.5 percent in the national popular vote.

According to Wall Street Journal reporters Ashlea Ebeling and Richard Rubin, however, Trump's "big, beautiful bill" — which was narrowly passed along partisan lines, 215-214, in the U.S. House of Representatives and went to the U.S. Senate for consideration — is at odds with his 2024 campaign promise on Social Security taxes.

In a WSJ article published on May 29, Ebeling and Rubin report, "The legislation passed by the House last week would give seniors a temporary extra deduction of $4000, which would lower taxes for many of the people Trump was targeting with his pitch. But this alternative to 'no tax on Social Security' would leave many people still paying income taxes on Social Security benefits."

READ MORE: 'Couldn't care less if he's upset': Critical number of GOP senators now oppose Trump bill

Tom O’Saben, director of government relations for the National Association of Tax Professionals, told the WSJ that Trump's "big, beautiful bill" is "a far cry from making Social Security tax-free."

According to Ebeling and Rubin, "Lawmakers didn't end income taxes on Social Security altogether for two main reasons. This version significantly limits the revenue loss, clocking in at about $18 billion a year instead of about $100 billion for a full exemption; that larger version could have made it hard to fit inside the bill's fiscal constraints. What’s more, under the fast-track legislative procedure that Republicans are using to pass the bill, lawmakers aren't allowed to touch the Social Security trust funds, which is where some income taxes on benefits go."

The bill, they add, includes "a bonus $4000 deduction for taxpayers 65 and older, good for tax years 2025 through 2028."

"For most people whose only source of income is Social Security," Ebeling and Rubin note, "their federal income tax liability is zero. So the bonus deduction wouldn't help."

READ MORE: The Manosphere needs 'fathers': Columnist pans Dems' $20M outreach to men

Read the full Wall Street Journal at this link (subscription required).