What the senior bonus deduction is
Section 70113 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 4, 2025, created a new bonus deduction for older taxpayers. For tax years 2025 through 2028, anyone age 65 or older can deduct an extra $6,000 per person: $6,000 for a single filer, $12,000 for a married couple filing jointly where both spouses qualify. It works whether you take the standard deduction or itemize, and it stacks on top of the existing extra standard deduction for seniors.
Who qualifies
- You are age 65 or older by the end of the tax year (December 31).
- You have a valid Social Security number.
- If married, you file a joint return. Married filing separately does not qualify.
- Qualifying has nothing to do with claiming Social Security benefits: you can take the deduction whether or not you receive benefits.
The phase-out math
The deduction shrinks for higher incomes. It is reduced by 6 cents for every dollar of MAGI above $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for joint filers. Put another way, you lose $60 of deduction for every $1,000 over the threshold.
- Single: full $6,000 below $75,000 MAGI, fully gone at $175,000.
- Joint (one spouse 65+): full $6,000 below $150,000 MAGI, fully gone at $250,000.
- Joint (both spouses 65+): full $12,000 below $150,000 MAGI, fully gone at $250,000.
Worked example
Carol is single, 68, with a 2026 MAGI of $95,000.
- $95,000 is $20,000 over the $75,000 threshold.
- Phase-out reduction: 6% of $20,000 = $1,200.
- Her deduction: $6,000 - $1,200 = $4,800.
- In the 22% bracket, that saves her $1,056 of federal tax.
How it stacks with the 2026 standard deduction
For 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 for single filers and $32,200 for joint filers, and the pre-existing extra standard deduction for taxpayers 65 and older still applies on top. The $6,000 bonus is a third layer: a 68-year-old single filer taking the standard deduction can shield $16,100 + $2,000 + $6,000 = $24,100 of income before owing federal tax (before the phase-out).
This is not "no tax on Social Security"
The campaign promise was to stop taxing Social Security benefits. Congress did not do that: benefits are taxed exactly as before. What passed instead is this separate deduction, which for many retirees has a similar effect on their total tax bill without changing how benefits themselves are treated.
More 2026 tax calculators
The same 2025 tax law (OBBBA) added three more provisions with their own calculators: the No Tax on Tips Calculator 2026, letting tipped workers deduct up to $25,000 of tip income, the Gambling Losses Tax Calculator 2026, covering the new 90% cap on gambling loss deductions, and the Sports Betting Tax Calculator 2026, estimating state-by-state tax on sports betting winnings.
This calculator is an estimate, not tax advice. The deduction is available for 2025 through 2028 only, and MAGI rules are technical; confirm your situation with a tax professional.