Technologies
Extending the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts? Here’s Who Might and Might Not Benefit
Republicans in both chambers of Congress have passed plans to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which continue to face fierce criticism for favoring the wealthy.
It’s not just the tariffs. President Donald Trump’s economic plans also call for an extension of his 2017 tax overhaul before it expires. These changes — commonly known as the “Trump tax cuts” — lowered tax rates and increased the value of certain tax incentives but also have been a political lightning rod over the years because of their benefits for corporations and the wealthy. It’s the sort of heated discourse that can leave the basic facts of the bill a bit murky.
That 2017 tax plan, officially known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was one of the signature legislative accomplishments of Trump’s first term, and passing an extension has been a priority for the president since he entered his second term. While extending the cuts carries a big estimated price tag, Trump administration officials have suggested that newly imposed tariffs could raise enough money to cover the cost of extending the tax cuts, an important consideration in the budget reconciliation process. But the clock is ticking: Many of its provisions are set to expire by the end of 2025 without action from Congress.
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That action is getting underway. As of April 10, the House and Senate have passed separate versions of a plan that would extend Trump’s tax cuts and slash more government spending to pay for them. The situation remains contentious, as shown by the slim margins by which the bills passed: 216-212 in the House, and 51-48 in the Senate. With two bills passed, they will now be merged in a process known as “reconciliation,” which can help Republicans bypass the 60-vote limit usually needed to overcome a filibuster. While the GOP has characterized extending the tax cuts as a bid for stability that will benefit everyone, Democrats have long countered that the benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are overly weighted toward the wealthiest taxpayers.
For all the details about why there might be some truth to both statements, keep reading, and stick around to the end to find out how much it might cost. For more, find out if Trump could actually abolish the Department of Education.
What would extending the Trump tax cuts mean?
While the phrase “Trump tax cuts” has become a common media shorthand for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the current conversation around it might suggest that new cuts could be on the way. Although Trump has floated ideas for additional cuts, it’s important to note that extending the 2017 provisions would for the most part keep tax rates and programs at the levels they’ve been at since then.
So while it may be a better option than having the provisions expire — which would increase certain tax rates and decrease certain credits — extending the tax cuts most likely won’t change how you’ve been taxed the past eight years. However, some estimates have predicted that extending the cuts would boost income in 2026, with the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in particular predicting a 2.9% rise on average, based on a combination of other economic predictions combined with tax rates staying where they are.
What would change if the Trump tax cuts expire?
Republicans contend that the tax cuts helped a wide swath of Americans, and the Tax Foundation predicted that 60% of tax filers would see higher rates in 2026 without an extension.
A big part of that has to do with tax bracket changes. The 2017 provisions lowered the income tax rates across the seven brackets, aside from the first (10%) and the sixth (35%). If the current law expires, those rates would go up 1% to 3%.
Income limits for each bracket would also revert to pre-2017 levels. Lending credence to the Democrats’ counterarguments, these shifts under the Trump tax cuts appeared to be more beneficial to individuals and couples at higher income levels than to those making closer to the average US income.
If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty numbers, you can check out the Tax Foundation’s full breakdown. Another point in Democrats’ favor? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also cut corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, and unlike many of its other provisions, this one was permanent and won’t expire in 2026.
The cuts also capped the total amount that taxpayers can deduct based on “state and local property, income, and sales tax,” otherwise known as SALT, at $10,000. There was previously no limit, and as Lisa Greene-Lewis, a tax prep expert and analyst for TurboTax, told CNET in an email correspondence, this is a policy that could be detrimental to certain taxpayers if the TCJA is extended.
“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,” Greene-Lewis explained. “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.”
Greene-Lewis also noted that there is talk about removing the SALT cap from the plan to extend the TCJA.
What would happen to the standard deduction?
This is another area in which a lot of people would be hit hard. The standard deduction lets taxpayers lower their taxable income, as long as they forgo itemizing any deductions.
For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction is $15,000 for individual filers, and $30,000 for joint filers. If the tax cuts expire, these numbers will drop by nearly half, down to $8,350 for individuals and $16,700 for joint filers.
What would happen to the child tax credit?
The child tax credit is one of the most popular credits out there. Its current levels — $2,000 per qualifying child, which phases out starting at a gross income of $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers — were actually set by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
If an extension or new bill isn’t passed, next year the child tax credit would revert to its old levels: $1,000 per child, which starts phasing out at $75,000 for single filers and $110,000 for joint filers.
Do the Trump tax cuts really favor the wealthy?
As mentioned above, higher-income individuals and couples made out notably better with the changes the Trump tax cuts made to tax brackets. Overall, numerous estimates have predicted that the wealthiest Americans would experience a greater proportion of the benefits, with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center specifically estimating that households making more than $450,000 a year would reap around 45% of the tax cut benefits.
How much would extending the tax cuts cost?
Tax cuts more favorable to the wealthy are a big part of why some analysts say extension of the Trump tax cuts would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. An early estimate from the Tax Policy Center in 2018 found that extending the provisions through 2038 would add $3.8 trillion to the US deficit. A 2024 estimate from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicted that it would add $3.9 trillion to $4.7 trillion to the deficit through 2035, depending on which provisions were included.
The blueprint passed by the House last week included about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, to be supported by $1.5 trillion in further government spending cuts. The rest would either go to the deficit or have to be made up for with additional cuts, adding fuel to the concerns that Republicans intend to substantially cut funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to pay for their tax plans.
For more, find out if IRS layoffs will hurt your tax return.
Technologies
Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity
President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.
On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.
In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.
He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”
Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.
Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.
Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.
BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.
“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.
Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.
The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.
The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.
Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.
A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.
Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.
Technologies
Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike
Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.
Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.
Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.
The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.
Technologies
Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran
Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.
Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.
In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.
Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.
Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”
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