2 payments would erase earnings taxes for a lot of Americans. Here’s what to know. | USAEMALL.com

Two Democratic lawmakers are proposing tax overhauls that would eliminate federal income taxes for millions of Americans.

The two bills — one backed by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and the other from Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland — are rolling out as Republicans tout the impact of the tax cuts enacted under the “big, beautiful bill.” Those new tax breaks, which include a $6,000 deduction for senior citizens and no taxes on tips and overtime, are projected to lift the average tax refund by about $1,000 this year.

Under Booker’s and Van Hollen’s proposals, millions of low- and middle-income households could shield much of their income, ranging from $75,000 to $92,000 for married couples, from federal taxes.

Some policy experts have criticized the “big, beautiful bill,” which President Trump signed into law last year, for primarily helping high-income households, while also cutting spending on programs that help low-income Americans, such as Medicaid and food stamps.

“We should finally have a tax code that doesn’t just benefit the very wealthy like the Trump tax plan, but provides some relief to Americans who are working very hard to just make ends meet with the paycheck they’ve got,” Van Hollen said at a press conference on Thursday to announce his proposal. 

Republicans say the “big, beautiful bill” helps working families by adding new tax breaks and making permanent some cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“Just in the past week, traveling through Southeast Missouri, I heard directly from a young lady who’s a waitress who had a record refund of nearly $12,000 because of all the different provisions” in the new law, said Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, at a March 4 congressional hearing. “This makes a difference for people who are just living from paycheck to paycheck, trying to put food on their table, clothes on their backs and gasoline on their cars.”

Separately, in 2025 President Trump floated the idea of using tariff revenue to reduce, or even eliminate, individual federal income taxes, although his administration has not provided details.

Here’s what to know about the Booker and Van Hollen bills.

Shielding more income from taxes

Both measures would shield more of people’s earnings from federal income taxes, with Van Hollen proposing a cost-of-living exemption and Booker raising the standard deduction.

About 9 in 10 households use the standard deduction, which taxpayers can use to reduce their taxable income. For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction is:

• $16,100 for single taxpayers
• $32,200 for married couples filing jointly
• $24,150 for heads of households

For instance, a married couple with $60,000 in combined income would use the standard deduction to lower their taxable income to $27,000.

Under Van Hollen’s proposal, Americans would get a cost-of-living exemption of at least $46,000, while Booker would more than double the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples.

Van Hollen’s plan: A cost-of-living tax break 

Van Hollen’s bill, called the Working Americans’ Tax Cut Act, is tied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage research. Because MIT calculates that a single worker needs annual income of at least $46,000 just to afford the basics, the plan would introduce a cost-of-living exemption at that level. 

Married couples could qualify for a cost-of-living exemption of up to $92,000, according to a fact sheet released by the senator.

Incomes under those thresholds wouldn’t be taxed by the IRS, effectively shielding many more low- and middle-income families from taxes. About 130 million people would get a tax cut under the plan, according to Van Hollen’s office. 

Still, the exemption isn’t exactly a deduction, which is available to taxpayers at all income levels. Van Hollen’s cost-of-living exemption would include an income phaseout that would kick in above $80,500 in annual earnings for a single worker.

Under the plan, middle-income households earning from $27,000 to about $153,000 would get an average tax break of roughly $1,000 to $1,300, according to a March 12 research report from the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. 

Booker’s plan: A bigger standard deduction

Booker’s bill, called the “Keep Your Pay” act, would increase the standard deduction to $75,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Because the standard deduction is available to all taxpayers, it would also benefit higher-earning households. For instance, a married couple with a combined income of $300,000 and no children would save about $10,000 a year in federal income taxes under Booker’s proposal, according to a calculator on his website.

“No income tax on the first $75,000 families earn would be a game changer for working people,” Booker said in a statement. “This tax cut would immediately put more money in your pocket every month to deal with the high price of everyday expenses, an unexpected emergency or to plan for the future.”

Who would benefit? 

Most federal income taxes are paid by the country’s highest earners. The bottom 50% of America’s households — those earning less than $50,400 a year — pay about 3% of all income taxes, while the top half accounts for 97% of U.S. tax revenue, according to data from the Tax Foundation.

“Affordability is always an issue for Americans. The cost of health care is high, housing is expensive and Trump has put these tariffs on that have increased costs across a range of goods,”  Chuck Marr, vice president for federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told CBS News.

He added, “It’s natural for policymakers to think about how they can respond to that.” 

But, he added, neither Booker’s nor Van Hollen’s plan would help people get a larger tax break if their income is already below the current standard deduction. 

“These are poorly targeted,” Marr said, adding that offering tax credits is often more effective in helping low-income families, rather than boosting deductions. 

The poorest 20% of households wouldn’t benefit from Van Hollen’s plan because their federal tax liability is already zero, ITEP noted. The biggest beneficiaries would be those in the middle 60% of households, the think tank added.

How would the tax cuts be paid for?

Booker’s proposal would pay for the tax cuts by closing loopholes and raising the corporate tax rate, while Van Hollen’s plan would add taxes for people earning more than $1 million.

Van Hollen’s plan would be budget-neutral over a decade, with its tax cuts paid for by the millionaire tax, according to a March 12 analysis from the Yale Budget Lab. Booker’s bill would cost $5.3 trillion over a decade, the nonpartisan research group said in a separate report.

To be sure, neither bill is likely to move forward, at least at the moment, with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress, Marr said. But he added that the proposals indicate policymakers are rethinking taxation, which could lead to changes down the road.

“This is healthy — these people are floating new ideas that will get litigated, and people will start to think about what is really important,” he said.