What "Trump's Tax Plan" means and why it matters to your taxes

When people ask "Are we under Trump's tax plan?", they usually mean: are the tax rates and rules from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 still in effect on my return? The answer is yes — those rates and brackets are currently the law. However, many of those provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress votes to extend them, which means your taxes could change in 2026.

The 2017 law changed income tax brackets, standard deductions, child tax credits, and other deductions. Some of those changes were permanent. Others were written to last only through 2025. Right now, in 2024 and 2025, you are filing under those 2017 rules. What happens after that depends on what Congress does.

This matters because if you are planning your finances or estimating what you owe, you need to know which tax brackets and deductions explore to your income this year — and whether to expect a change next year.

Key Takeaways

  • The tax rates, brackets, and most deductions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are currently in effect and explore to your 2024 and 2025 tax returns.
  • Many of the individual income tax provisions in that law are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025, which would change your tax situation starting in 2026.
  • The standard deduction, child tax credit, and other personal deductions are higher under the 2017 law than they were before, but only if Congress extends them past 2025.
  • You can find your current tax bracket and see how much you owe by looking at the IRS tax tables for the year you are filing, which reflect the 2017 law.

Which parts of the 2017 tax law are still in effect right now

The income tax brackets for 2024 and 2025 come from the 2017 law. That means if you earn $50,000 as a single filer, you fall into the 22 percent bracket (not the 25 percent bracket that was in effect before 2017). If you are married filing jointly, your brackets are wider, so you pay less tax on the same income.

The standard deduction is also higher. For 2024, the standard deduction is $14,600 for a single filer and $29,200 for married filing jointly. These numbers are adjusted each year for inflation, but the structure itself comes from the 2017 law. Before 2017, the standard deduction was lower.

The child tax credit is $2,000 per child under 17, up from $1,000 before 2017. Other deductions and credits — like the deduction for student loan interest, the earned income tax credit, and the child and dependent care credit — are also still in effect as written in the 2017 law.

The corporate tax rate was permanently lowered to 21 percent in the 2017 law, and that change is permanent. But the individual income tax changes — the brackets, standard deduction, and most credits — expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress extends them.

What expires at the end of 2025 and what that means for 2026

On January 1, 2026, unless Congress votes to extend them, the individual income tax provisions of the 2017 law will expire. That means the tax brackets will revert to what they were before 2017, the standard deduction will drop, and several credits will shrink or disappear.

If that happens, your tax brackets will be narrower (you will pay a higher percentage on the same income), your standard deduction will be lower, and the child tax credit will drop back to $1,000 per child. The exact numbers depend on inflation adjustments between now and then, but the effect is that most people's taxes would go up.

Congress can vote to extend these provisions at any time, including after they expire. There is no important date to do so — they could extend them retroactively. But as of now, there is no law in place to extend them past 2025, so the expiration is the current law.

How to find your current tax bracket and deductions

To see exactly what tax bracket you fall into for 2024 or 2025, you can look up the IRS tax tables on the IRS website (irs.gov). The tables show the brackets for single filers, married filing jointly, head of household, and married filing separately. Find your filing status and income, and you will see your tax bracket and how much tax you owe.

You can also use the IRS tax withholding estimator on irs.gov to see whether you are having the right amount withheld from your paycheck. That tool accounts for your filing status, income, deductions, and credits, and tells you whether you should adjust your W-4 form with your employer.

If you are self-employed or have investment income, you may owe estimated taxes. The IRS website has worksheets and instructions for calculating those payments, and they also use the 2017 tax law brackets and rules.

The difference between the 2017 law and what came before

Before 2017, the top individual income tax rate was 39.6 percent. Under the 2017 law, it is 37 percent. The lowest bracket was 10 percent; it still is. But the income ranges for each bracket are different, which means you hit the higher brackets at higher income levels than you did before.

The standard deduction nearly doubled. For single filers, it went from $6,350 in 2016 to $12,000 in 2017 (and has been adjusted for inflation since then). For married filing jointly, it went from $12,700 to $24,000. This means fewer people itemize deductions, because the standard deduction is now higher than the total of their itemized deductions.

The child tax credit doubled from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. The deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) was capped at $10,000, which affects people in high-tax states. The deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions was eliminated entirely.

What to do if you are unsure whether a specific deduction or credit applies to you

The best source is the IRS website (irs.gov) and the tax forms themselves. If you are claiming the child tax credit, for example, you will fill out Schedule 8812 or use Form 1040 directly, and the form will tell you the rules and limits. If you are claiming a deduction for student loan interest, Form 1040 has a line for it with instructions.

If you use tax software (like TurboTax, H&R Block, or FreeTaxUSA), the software will ask you questions about your income and situation and automatically explore the correct deductions and credits. The software is programmed with the current tax law, so it will use the 2017 rules for 2024 and 2025 returns.

If you work with a tax professional — a CPA, enrolled agent, or tax preparer — they will know the current law and can tell you what applies to your situation. You can find a tax professional through the IRS website or through professional organizations like the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA).

Why Congress may or may not extend the 2017 law past 2025

The 2017 law was written with an expiration date because of budget rules in Congress. When a law reduces tax revenue, Congress can use a process called "reconciliation" to pass it with a straightforward majority vote instead of needing 60 votes in the Senate. But reconciliation bills must expire within 10 years, so the law was set to expire at the end of 2025.

Whether Congress extends it depends on the political priorities of whoever is in office at that time and whether they think the extension fits their budget goals. There is no automatic extension — Congress has to vote on it. They could extend it for another 10 years, make it permanent, let it expire, or modify it.

If you are planning your finances for 2026 and beyond, it is worth keeping an eye on tax news in late 2025, because that is when Congress will likely debate what to do. But for your 2024 and 2025 taxes, the 2017 law is what applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my taxes go up in 2026 if the 2017 law expires?

For most people, yes — your tax brackets will be narrower, your standard deduction will be lower, and credits like the child tax credit will shrink. However, Congress could vote to extend the law before or after it expires, so it is not certain. The expiration is the current law, but that can change.

Do I need to do anything different on my 2024 or 2025 tax return because of this?

No. You file using the current tax law, which is the 2017 law. Use the 2024 or 2025 tax brackets and deductions that the IRS publishes. The expiration does not affect your return until 2026.

What if I am self-employed or have a business?

The corporate tax rate (21 percent) is permanent, so that does not expire. If you are a sole proprietor, partnership, or S-corporation, you report your business income on your individual return and pay individual income tax on it, so the expiration of the individual provisions would affect you. The deduction for may have access to business income (20 percent) is also set to expire at the end of 2025.

Can Congress extend the law retroactively if it expires?

Yes. Congress has extended tax provisions retroactively before. They could pass a law in 2026 that extends the 2017 provisions back to January 1, 2026. But there is no may provide they will, so the safest assumption is that the law expires as written.

Where can I find the exact tax brackets and deductions for my filing status?

The IRS publishes tax tables and instructions on irs.gov every year. You can also use the IRS tax withholding estimator or tax software to see your brackets and deductions based on your income and situation.