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President Trump’s Tax Proposals:  Overtime Tax, Taxes on Tips, and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Extension and More

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If you’ve been keeping an eye on the news, you might have heard about President Trump’s latest tax proposals. You may be wondering, “Are tips and overtime now tax free?”, “Are the IRS layoffs impacting tax season?”, “What new tax laws will pass?”, “Will there be a government shutdown?” and “Should I file my taxes now or wait?” 

Here’s what you need to know:

  • No tax law changes have passed related to the Trump Administration’s proposals, so there is no impact to your 2024 taxes that you file this year. 
  • IRS layoffs do not impact their ability to process tax returns and deliver refunds on schedule.  
  • On Friday, March 14, 2025, a government shutdown was averted, following the passage of a six-month funding bill. 
  • IRS latest filing statistics for week ending March 7, 2025 reports that refunds are up 5.7% over last year with an average refund amount of $3,324.
  • You can file your 2024 taxes (the taxes you are filing in 2025) with TurboTax now. TurboTax stays on top of all tax changes and will help you file your taxes with 100% accuracy guaranteed – whether you want to file yourself or have a tax expert prepare and file your taxes for you.

Want more details? Keep reading…

With a new congress convening earlier this year, multiple tax proposals emerged, many of which are related to the expiration of provisions passed by the previous Trump administration under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are in effect from 2018 through 2025.

While we don’t yet know if any tax law changes will occur, President Trump has expressed a desire to further extend provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which expire after 2025 and don’t impact your 2024 taxes. There are also some new provisions that President Trump is advocating for as follows:

  • Make the individual and estate tax cuts of the TCJA permanent (potentially without reinstating the cap on itemized deductions for state and local taxes)
  • Exempt tip income from taxation
  • Exempt Social Security benefits from taxation
  • Exempt overtime pay from taxation for certain workers
  • Create a deduction for auto loan interest for certain vehicles
  • Create a tax credit for family caregivers
  • Child Tax Credit expansion
  • Lower individual tax rates
  • Lower the corporate income tax rate 
  • Elimination of estate tax

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key Trump tax proposals and what they would mean for you and your taxes:

Permanent Extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (without reinstating the cap state and local taxes): This would permanently extend the tax benefits from the 2017 act. The TCJA lowered individual tax rates, nearly doubled the standard deduction, and expanded the Child Tax Credit. However, it also capped the total state and local property, income, and sales tax (SALT) that can be deducted at $10,000. It also capped the amount of mortgage indebtedness on new home purchases on which mortgage interest can be based at $750,000 (down from the previous $1,000,000), eliminated personal exemptions, and certain itemized deductions. There is talk of a permanent extension, but potentially without the cap on state and local property, income, and sales tax. Filers living in states with high state and property taxes are capped at a $10,000 deduction for total state and local property, income and sales tax – even when many of them may pay way beyond that amount. If this part of the provision went back to the way it was prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) without caps, filers in states with high state and property taxes would be able to deduct the full amounts paid.

Exempt tip income from taxation:  For tax year 2024 (the taxes you’re filing in 2025) all cash and non-cash tips are income subject to federal taxes, social security, and Medicare taxes and must be reported to the employer. Tips less than $20 in a month are not required to be reported. Employees who receive tips have the responsibility to keep daily records, report their tips to their employer, and report tips on their taxes. Employers also have some responsibilities like collecting taxes on tips, filing forms, paying and depositing taxes, maintaining tip reports, withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes, and paying the employer share of Social Security and Medicare Tax. “No tax on tips” is a proposal right now, and not the law; but, a “no tax on tips” policy would mean service and hospitality workers’ tip income would not be taxed, and employers would not be required to pay an employer portion of social security and Medicare tax on tip income.

Exempt Social Security benefits from taxation: In tax year 2024 (the taxes you’re filing in 2025) not everyone is required to pay taxes on social security income. In general, social security income is not taxed, however other streams of income like retirement income can make a portion of social security income taxable. If your adjusted gross income plus nontaxable interest plus 1/2 of social security benefits – known as combined income – is a certain income threshold then, 50% – 85% of your social security benefits may be taxable. A no tax on social security provision is not a tax law for 2024 taxes (the ones you file in 2025), but if social security was not taxed, then it would not need to be included in a retirees’ additional streams of income like retirement or side gig income to figure out their taxes. 

Exempt overtime pay from taxation for certain workers: Firefighters and police officers often make a substantial amount of additional income working overtime. There is talk of a proposal to exempt taxes on overtime pay for certain workers. No taxes on overtime could lower taxable income and taxes since the overtime income would not be included as taxable income.

Deduction for auto loan interest for certain vehicles: The auto loan interest deduction and other personal loan interest deductions were once available in the ‘80s. While we don’t know the specifics of how the auto loan interest deduction would work, in the past, taxpayers needed to be able to claim itemized deductions in order to deduct auto loan interest. Since 90% of tax filers now claim the standard deduction, about 10% of filers would be able to claim it, unless there is a special deduction put into place that allows you to deduct auto loan interest without itemizing or unless you are a business owner who can deduct your car expenses as a business expense. 

Tax credit for family caregivers: If you were taking care of a family member like an elderly parent, this proposed credit, if passed, would provide up to a $5,000 nonrefundable federal tax credit for eligible working family caregivers, that would cover some of their qualified expenses.

Expansion of the Child Tax Credit: For tax year 2024 (the taxes you file in 2025), the Child Tax Credit is up to $2,000 per dependent child under the age of 17. The expanded Child Tax Credit proposal is for a credit up to $5,000 per eligible dependent.

Lower Individual Income Tax Rate: Trump is proposing to lower the top individual income tax rate from 37% to 33%. This could mean people could make more money in the highest income tax bracket and be taxed less. For tax year 2024, the tax rate of 37% still applies for the top income bracket.

Lower the corporate income tax rate: Lower corporate income tax rates could mean corporations have more money to reinvest and expand their businesses.

Elimination of the Estate Tax: Also known as the “death tax”, would be eliminated, which could have significant implications for large estates.

When Will These Changes Take Effect?
The Trump Administration’s tax proposals have not passed and do not impact your 2024 taxes that you file this year. If and when tax laws change, TurboTax will be up to date with the latest tax laws when the IRS issues guidance. TurboTax has you covered and has the tools, products, and expertise to help you easily and accurately file your taxes and save money, whether you want to do your taxes yourself, get help along the way, or fully hand your taxes over. You can hand your taxes off to a TurboTax Live Full Service tax expert who can do your taxes from start to finish virtually or in person.

You may be holding off on filing your 2024 taxes after hearing about all of the various tax proposals and uncertainty around if and when they will pass. There is no reason to delay filing since these are only tax proposals and do not impact your 2024 taxes. With the average refund being over $3,000 don’t delay. TurboTax can help you easily and accurately file your taxes whether you want to do your taxes yourself, want help along the way, or you want to fully hand them over to a TurboTax Live expert so you can get closer to your tax refund.

Check back with the TurboTax blog for the most up to date information on tax law changes. 

66 responses to “President Trump’s Tax Proposals:  Overtime Tax, Taxes on Tips, and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Extension and More”

  1. Tax cuts on tips and overtime are crumbs on the banquet table of the super wealthy to distract from the HUGE cuts for those in the highest current tax bracket that will cost the rest of us TRILLIONS in tax revenues to run the government and will therefore add to our bloating national debt. We need a more progressive income tax system to tax those super wealthy who have already accumulated so much that they can buy the politicians they want. A democracy cannot function when there is such a huge disparity between the rich and the poor.

  2. No tax on tips No tax on overtime These are carrots dangling to the Lower income group and will never happen No tax on Social Security Half the people in this country pay no Federal taxes at all All these proposals are carrots for the gullible Just to gain votes

    • Hey Joe,
      Where you been?
      All politicians from all Parties have been doing this, like, forever.
      So, if this means that I can Stop paying 20% or more of my SS income back to whence it came,
      Then I will take a bite of that carrot.
      Maybe this should be voluntary. That way, folks like you can ease your conscience by doing the right thing and let the government give the $$ to folks who need it more than you.

  3. Thank you for a clear and unbiased explanation of the proposed tax changes for 2025. Hoping these will benefit seniors like me.

  4. The other parts are just distractions. They’re going to use the lowered taxes on corporations and the ultra rich to milk the country dry. Shame on you for trying to act like lower taxes on giant corporations is most likely to benefit people.

    • You really have no clue as to who creates job, builds and funds thousands of non profit organizations. Donates more money than any other group and by the way pays more taxes as a group than we ever do. I think anything Trump can do to encourage them to spend more money is a great idea. Think about it.

      • You’ve been drinking the “trickle-down” koolaid haven’t you? I wish it were true. I bought into it for many years. Unfortunately, the numbers aren’t there. Trickle-down . . . the premise that the big corporations that benefit the most will reinvest those tax savings into the economy is a myth. Corporations feed those tax savings back to their top executives and share holders. If you’re not in that club . . . you will receive no benefit. But you will get to help shoulder the tax burden gap left behind.

      • Absolutely not! Trickle down never works. Never. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer when the most wealthy get the tax breaks.

    • You’re absolutely correct, the bulk of these don’t help anyone other than rich people.

      “Lower corporate income tax rates could mean corporations have more money to reinvest and expand their businesses.”

      Well, they ‘could’ do a lot of things with that money, like raise worker wages or hire more workers, but it’s more likely they would just increase dividends for their shareholders (rich people) and continue to lay off workers (the working class).

  5. Intuit simply reported the facts of possible 2025 changes to tax regulations. The company, its management, and the author of the article should be complimented and praised for reporting the news without editorial comments. Readers of the article can supply their own commentary.

  6. “Trump is proposing to lower the top individual income tax rate from 37% to 33%. ”
    This means nothing to most of us since we are not in top individual income tax rate. It would be far more helpful to address the tax change for all brackets.

  7. This reads as a puff piece for the Trump administration. So, lower corporate rates could mean they reinvest in their businesses. Is that what happened last time with the tax cuts? No mention of the stock buybacks corporations did with all that extra money.

    Why even bring up the tax cuts on tips, overtime or social security? Why not just say “There are other proposals that may lower your income, but we will cover that when they happen”. There is no room in the current budget proposal to accommodate those extra tax deductions. It is, and was, an empty campaign promise.

  8. Just so you know , military does not get overtime pay, ever. Military is all salary so ing you work 50 hours a week or 100 you get same paycheck in military. Often, people think military also is “tax free” not true, military pays state , federal , security and medical tax . The only exceptions are if you are in a combat zone then a limited amount of base pay is tax exempt per month.

  9. None of those proposals will ever even be brought to the floor with a republican-lead congress – unless, of course, it benefits billionaires or corporations lol

  10. Lisa, no matter how much lipstick gets put on the Trump tax changes, they still help rich people at the expense of the rest of us, and it’s annoying to read this article which just glosses over how BAD his tax wish list is.

  11. why do you waste my time with dumb ass stuff that trump says? Most of what he says is either a lie or a con job.

  12. Thank you for this information I would like to leave a comment to be forwarded to your superiors. I’ve used turbo tax for years but this year was a disappointment to me. Why did turbo tax go up so significantly to file our taxes. I will look to other sources to save money at the onset. Very disappointed in this ridiculous increase. Brenda Dent

  13. Thanks Lisa,

    This is a very informative article! These type of articles are very helpful to busy people. It’s nice to get a good and honest overview, especially in an age of so many changes! I have used Turbo Tax for years and depend on the dedicated professionals to provide a good computer software application. AI and software applications do not replace well written articles. Thank you so much for your hard work and dedication.

  14. This well-written explanation of proposed changes in U.S. tax laws is immensely helpful to a senior person. Thank you to Lisa and TurboTax.

  15. The big worry is Social Security. DOGE’s random layoffs appear to try to have it collapse under the pressure of not enough staff and the baby boom. The Oligarchs don’t want the limit raised on how much a person pays into SS each year and young people already believe it wont be available to them, so why invest in it for their grandparents. HHS tries to dissuade us from taking vaccines and to further medical research: they want the baby boom g to die quicker.

  16. TL-DR: Trump hasn’t yet delivered any of the tax reductions he promised, and we needed a 10k word article to point that out.

  17. That article was pure propaganda and gaslighting. No, cutting corporate tax means taxing the poor more. We are not all stupid.

  18. Good summary. This helps come to the conclusion to oppose the Trump tax plan. With the exception of the family caregiver credit and the exemption on tip taxes, these overwhelmingly benefit high earners, with nothing or little for others.

  19. In the midst of high inflation and rising medical and living costs, retireess are being hurt by mandating Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) be taken from Traditional IRAs.401(k)s. RMDs should be stopped permanently to eliminate unfair taxation and preserve assets for future catastrophic and high medical and living costs. You should only have to withdraw what you need today!

  20. No Tax on Soc Security is the dumbest phony idea of all. I’m 77 been on it for 13 yrs & happy to pay 85% deal. I was an AARP volunteer Tax Prep, and do taxes for LOW INCOME seniors. One nice older lady had $25k SS plus $15k Pension & Int. The SS taxable was $1250 plus the $15k or $16250 AGI, but the Standard Deduction is $16500. NO TAX DUE. Seniors get nothing. We get $71k and would save $13,200. High End earner retirees who get $4018 monthly would net $30k. It’s a SHAM for the rich, But Seniors Will Love the idea. and that’s dumb.

  21. In am confused. Instead of describing the proposed Trump tax cuts, you seem to be promoting them. I thought Turbo Tax was a non-partisan organization. You may lose a lot of customers if you become a mouthpiece for the current administration.

  22. This was very informative and I appreciate the information. It is comforting to know that Turbo Tax is keeping us informed and up to date.

  23. BEST EXPLANATION I HAVE HEARD ON TAX PROPOSALS. I have yet to find an explanation th at is as well defined as Lisa’s. Well done.

  24. This entire article sounds like a glowing recommendation for all things Trump, and it makes me want to never use your products again.

  25. This article is a nice summary, though it does not mention the impact on the National deficit, which is problematic, or the quid pro quo.

  26. This is the most comprehensive report I have read regarding recent tax law proposals. Thank you for a concise unbiased presentation of the facts.

  27. Trump gave tax cuts, ya. but retired pension and SSI and same amount year over year. my tax rate went from 18% to a jumping 25%. some tax break!?!

  28. This is a lot of BS for the fact that the bottom 90% of the country if gonna have higher taxes. You can try and spin it to sound like people will be better off but only the rich are benefiting from these changes.

  29. This is great! I’ve never seen a TurboTax article as such before. Not sure how I got on the mailing list. Keep em coming.

  30. Lisa,

    You left a couple of clarifying items out –

    “Lower the corporate income tax rate: Lower corporate income tax rates could mean corporations have more money to reinvest and expand their businesses.” You failed to include what usually happens….”or pay their CEOs more while keeping general worker salaries the same”

    Elimination of the Estate Tax: Also known as the “death tax”, would be eliminated, which could have significant implications for large estates. – Why be shy?? Why not state the amount – “which applies to estates worth over $13,990,000”

    I’m sure that no one who would qualify for these benefits uses Turbo Tax for their individual returns, but it may be helpful information to include.

  31. I don’t usually read Turbotax FYIs but this was very helpful. I also found it extremely clear and targetted at current at well as future concerns. Very well written Lisa.

  32. Thanks very much for clear and concise description of these many proposals! Important to share that these are potential future regs NOT affecting current filing! KUDOS!

  33. Well done TurboTax….this article is clear, concise, well written and understandable. Lisa Greene-Lewis deserves a raise for making complex tax issues easy to understand. Hats off to TurboTax for hiring her….

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