Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced legislation Wednesday to write into law one of President Donald Trump’s key campaign pledges, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal.
Tuberville and Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act to stop the unjust double tax on Social Security benefits.
“Seniors work the majority of their adult lives so that they can spend their retirement comfortably,” Tuberville said in a statement to Breitbart News ahead of the bill’s introduction. “In a day and age where the cost of living has skyrocketed, our seniors should not experience a second tax on their Social Security, when they’ve already paid income tax on their paychecks.”
The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the inclusion of tier I railroad retirement benefits and Social Security benefits in an individual’s gross income. As Tuberville’s legislation takes effect, seniors’ tax liability will be significantly reduced and the “double tax” on seniors’ federally earned benefits will end.
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“Although seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions via the payroll tax, they are still required to list these benefits as taxable income on their tax returns,” Massie said in a statement. “This is simply a way for Congress to obtain more revenue for the federal government at the expense of seniors who have already paid into Social Security. My bill would exempt Social Security retirement benefits from taxation and boost the retirement income of millions of older Americans.”
Trump proposed ending the Social Security tax on retirees in July. Breitbart News economics editor John Carney wrote after Trump’s announcement, “The taxation of Social Security benefits has long needed an overhaul, but the recent explosion of inflation has highlighted the problems with the current system. And for the first time in living memory, we have a proposed Social Security reform that will actually help seniors pay their bills.”
Carney noted “Social Security benefits were not taxed for the first fifty years,” which the the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan public policy institute serving Congress, reenforced.
“Before 1984, Social Security benefits were exempt from the federal income tax,” CRS says. “Congress then enacted legislation to tax a portion of those benefits, with the share gradually increasing as a person’s income rose above a specified income threshold.”
Trump has long been a defender of protecting Social Security and Medicare, as he told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview at Mar-a-Lago in March 2024.
“I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” he told Alex Marlow and Matt Boyle of Breitbart News. “We’ll have to [find cuts] elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.”
Tuberville’s bill follows his recent announcement that he will serve on the Senate Committee on Aging in the 119th Congress.
“As Alabama’s voice on the Senate Aging Committee, I’ll continue to fight for our seniors to enjoy their hard-earned Social Security benefits,” he said.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
