'Big beautiful' Senate bill touts tax help for seniors on Social Security. How it would work

President Donald Trump has said seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security benefits

Republicans' "big beautiful" bill includes a vision to help offset those levies

Here's how the new deduction, called a "senior bonus" in the legislative text, would work

Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSome Americans ages 65 and over may be poised to see additional tax relief if Republicans' "big beautiful" bill becomes law

Now that the Senate and House have both passed their versions of the tax and spending bill, it is up to both chambers to decide how large that new temporary deduction — called a senior "bonus" in the legislative text — will be

The new additional temporary deduction would be in effect from 2025 through 2028, according to the posals

It would be available to taxpayers regardless of whether they claim the standard deduction or itemize their returns

Based on both bills, the deduction would fully phase out for single filers with $175,000 in income and joint filers with $250,000, according to the Tax Foundation

Notably, while the White House says the legislative package "slashes taxes on Social Security," it does not end the taxation of Social Security benefits. 'Senior bonus' vs

Grant Baldwin | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump touted plans to end the taxation of Social Security benefits on the campaign trail

However, Republicans are pursuing their tax bill through reconciliation, and a Senate rule hibits changes to Social Security in that cess

The two posed changes — the senior "bonus" versus eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits — would have different effects based on beneficiaries' incomes

Eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits would benefit people with higher incomes

In contrast, the senior bonus in the "big beautiful" legislation targets taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes below $75,000 if they are single and $150,000 if married. "It's better because it helps the people who need the help more," Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, recently told CNBC

Lower-middle to middle-income taxpayers would benefit the most from the additional senior deduction, according to the Tax Foundation. 'Big beautiful' bill may impact Social Security solvencyA person holds a sign reading ' Our Social Security' in support of fair taxation near the U

Capitol in Washington, D

Tax justice advocates att a rally to speak out against President Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy, and to urge members of Congress to intervene

The purpose of the Social Security reforms passed then was to shore up a funding shortfall the gram faced

Today, Social Security similarly faces imminent funding woes

The trust fund used to help pay benefits to retired workers and their families — the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, OASI, trust fund — can pay scheduled benefits until 2033, according to the jections from Social Security's trustees

The senior "bonus" in the Senate bill may reduce the number of seniors who pay taxes on their benefits, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

For those who still owe taxes on benefits, it could help reduce the marginal rate at which those benefits are taxed, according to the non-partisan organization

The expanded senior deduction, along with other changes in the "big beautiful" bill including the extension and expansion of the 2017 tax cuts, would cost apximately $30 billion per year, the CRFB estimates

That would accelerate the depletion date for Social Security's OASI trust fund to late 2032 from early 2033, according to the estimate

The insolvency date for Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund, which is used to fund Part A, would also be accelerated from 2036 to 2030, according to the CRFB.