By Desert Bill:
Trump has committed to eliminating Social Security Taxes as part of his “One Big Beautiful Bill” now passed. This is a “big one” for the Senior community.
See Newly Passed – OBBB
I distributed my report below in April. Back then the House Republicans offered Senior Deductions of $4000 for singles and $8000 for couples. I have modified the report to use up to date OBBB deductions now passed in RED !!!!
No Tax on Social Security: Senate Draft Bill The One Big Beautiful Bill provides a new bonus deduction of $6,000 for single seniors age 65 and older ($12,000 for married seniors) beginning in 2025.
At final passage:
Overview
• The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) delivers on President Trump’s promise of No Tax on Social Security.
• The bill includes the largest tax break in American history for our nation’s seniors: 88% of seniors receiving Social Security benefits will pay no tax on their benefits under the OBBB as a result of their total deductions exceeding their taxable Social Security benefits.
• The deductions ensure that seniors who earned their Social Security through years of hard work get more money back in their pockets.
This amounts to the largest tax break in American history for our nation’s seniors. The new deduction is on top of the standard deduction and the current-law additional deduction for seniors. The bill also increases and permanently extends the standard deduction and many other features of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were otherwise scheduled to expire after this year, resulting in significant ongoing savings for most taxpayers. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill, 51.4 million seniors – 88% of all seniors receiving Social Security income – will pay no tax on their Social Security.
As I said back in April:
One Big Beautiful Bill “OBBB” Bottom Line for Seniors (over 65)
President Trump campaigned on “no tax on overtime”, “no tax on tips”, and “no tax on Social Security”.
Both Seniors filing “Single” and “Married Filing Jointly” will see their taxes reduced by between $500 and $1,900 by my calculations. This is significant. Two such examples are illustrated below.
I recommend that you thank your Republican Congressional representatives for passage of this “Bill” and President Trump who will sign it officially into law (July 4th, 2025).
OVERVIEW
How did Seniors do? Great in my estimation. It’s not precisely “no tax on Social Security” but provides most Seniors significant tax relief by increasing their Standard Deduction dramatically.
New Single Senior Bonus Deduction: An additional $4,000 (OBBB of $6,000) deduction is available for seniors aged 65 and older, applicable to both itemizers and non-itemizers, with a phase-out at a 4% rate for modified adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeding $75,000. It applies for tax years from 2025 to 2028.
New Married Filing Jointly Senior Bonus Deduction: An additional $4,000 (OBBB $6,000 each) or (OBBB total $12,000 per couple) deduction is available for seniors aged 65 and older, applicable to both itemizers and non-itemizers, with a phase-out at a 4% rate for modified adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeding $150,000. It applies for tax years from 2025 to 2028.
Because Bill Clinton devised a scheme in his “The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993” that makes it virtually impossible to modify the Social Security Law without getting 60 votes in the Senate now. Trust me that’s not going to happen !!! Best we can hope for until we get some more reinforcements in both the House and Senate (in 2026) is Standard Deduction relief which the “One Big Beautiful Bill” has !!!
As you will see Clinton devised an “Alice in Wonderland” Bill in 1993 that is difficult to undo. The means of calculating “taxable Social Security” is a veritable “Puzzle Palace”.
HOW IT IMPACTS SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS STARTING IN 2025
(with before and after examples for the new Standard Deduction)
Provisional or Combined Income Calculation: (thank you “Slick Willie”)
All Social Security recipients, or their designated tax professionals, need to calculate “Provisional Income” to determine the amount of Social Security income that is taxable.
I have provided hypothetical financial information for two income examples. One for a Single Filer and the other for a Married Filing Jointly couple. I will ultimately indicate how the “One Big Beautiful Bill” will benefit taxpayers for tax year 2025 for both cases.
Example 1: Single Filer, George Jones has:
A. Social Security Income: $40,000
B. Pension Income: $25,000
C. Traditional IRA Distribution: $15,000
George’s Provisional Income: $40,000/2 + 25,000 + $15,000 or $60,000
Now we can determine the amount of George’s Social Security that is Taxable.
The following Table 1. gives the method of determining George’s Social Security that is Taxable. By the way, this table has never been adjusted for inflation since 1993 … thanks Bill Clinton … the reason in 2025 that over 50% of the Social Security population pays taxes. 
Table 1.
NOTE: The MAXIMUM percentage of Social Security that can be taxed at your highest marginal tax rate is: 85%.
Social Security Taxed = (Bottom $25,000) = $0 + ($34,000 – $25,000) * 0.5 = $4,500 + ($60,000 – $34,000) * 0.85 = $22,150
OR = $26,600 is Taxed at Filer’s Marginal Tax Rate
George’s AGI is: $26,600 + $25,000 + $15,000 = $66,600
Example 2: Married Filing Jointly Couple, Bob and Sally Sample have:
A. Total Social Security Income $65,000
B. Pension Income: $30,000
C. Traditional IRA Distribution: $30,000
Bob & Sally’s Provisional Income: $65,000/2 + $30,000 + $30,000 or $92,500
Now we can determine the amount of Bob & Sally’s Social Security that is Taxable.
Again, following Table 1. gives the method of determining Bob & Sally’s Social Security that is Taxable. By the way, this table has never been adjusted for inflation since 1993 … thanks Bill Clinton … the reason in 2025 that over 50% of the Social Security population pays taxes.
Table 1.
NOTE: The MAXIMUM percentage of Social Security that can be taxed at your highest marginal tax rate is: 85%.
Social Security Taxed = (Bottom $32,000) = $0 + ($44,000 – $32,000) * 0.5 = $6,000 + ($92,500 – $44,000) * 0.85 = $48,500
OR = $54,500 Taxed at Filer’s Marginal Tax Rate
Bob & Sally’s AGI is: $54,500 + $30,000 + $30,000 = $114,500
Summary of Social Security Changes in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and previous Bills
What it Means for Typical Social Security Single and Married Seniors (over 65 years)
Note: I used “Tax Foundation” 2025 data to calculate Social Security from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” to determine savings for Single and Married examples illustrated herein. Your results will be unique to your income data specifics.
2025 Federal Income Tax Brackets and Rates for Single Filers, Married Couples Filing Jointly are found in the following link: https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/2025-tax-brackets/
The new “One Big Beautiful Bill Standard Deduction data” is available in U.S. Bill H.R. 82.
Single Filer 2025 Tax Paid in Example 1., George Jones, are as follows:
Tax Paid before OBBB: $5,826.00
Tax paid with OBBB: $4,873.50
SAVINGS: $952.50
Married Filing Jointly 2025 Tax Paid in Example2., Bob and Sally Sample, are as follows:
Tax Paid before OBBB: $9,279.00
Tax paid with OBBB: $7,599.00
SAVINGS: $1,680.00