How Will Trump’s Big Bill Affect Your Wallet?
By Ashley Wu, Christine Zhang, Ron Lieber and Tara Siegel Bernard
Congressional Republicans just passed President Trump’s sprawling domestic policy bill that extends and expands tax cuts, while slashing Medicaid, food benefits and clean energy initiatives to pay for them — but only partly. The bill favors the wealthy, and low-income Americans stand to lose the most.
What could the bill mean for your pocketbook? Answer these questions to learn more about the individual impacts of the wide-ranging legislation. (Your answers are not tracked by The Times.)
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0 of 33 questions answered
At the heart of the bill is a roughly $4 trillion tax cut that extends the cuts Republicans passed in 2017. Without this extension, most Americans would see a tax increase.
These tax cuts come at a cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill adds $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
Do you pay federal income taxes?
Do you take the standard tax deduction?
Are you 65 or older?
Do you live in a high-tax state like California or New York?
Are you a tipped worker?
Do you receive overtime pay?
Do you plan to buy a car?
Do you pay interest on a mortgage?
Have you experienced a big loss because of a storm, fire or other disasters?
Do you donate to charity?
Do you earn more than $500,000 a year?
Do you own a business?
Do you own or are you considering buying firearms?
Are you a whaling captain or a fisher living in Alaska?
Despite reducing or eliminating certain safety net programs, the Trump administration has been exploring several options to encourage Americans to have more children, including tax cuts and other investments.
Do you have a child younger than 17?
Are you planning to have a baby soon?
Do you intend to adopt a child?
Will you inherit wealth or business worth $15 million or more soon?
Health care and food assistance
To offset some of the tax cuts, the bill makes steep cuts to health care and food assistance benefits for low-income Americans.
Are you on Medicaid?
Do you use food stamps?
Do you have health insurance under Obamacare?
Do you have a health savings account, or want one?
The bill adds limits to student loan borrowing and makes changes to financial aid eligibility and uses.
Have you already taken or will soon take out federal loans for college?
Do you plan to borrow money for your child’s college education?
Do you hope to borrow money for graduate school?
Do you have a 529 savings account?
Are you filling out the FAFSA?
Do you plan to apply for a Pell Grant?
Do you or your children attend a university with a large endowment?
The bill rolls back tax credits for clean energy, a policy Mr. Trump campaigned on.
Are you planning to make energy-efficient home improvements?
Do you want to buy an electric or a plug-in hybrid vehicle?
The bill has prioritized additional funding for immigration enforcement, and specifically includes collecting more fees from certain noncitizens.
Are you a noncitizen without a green card?
Are you an immigrant who sends money abroad to friends or family?
Preserve existing tax brackets
Extend and increase standard tax deduction
Increase tax deductions for seniors
Increase cap on state and local tax deductions
Add tax deduction for income from tips
Add tax deduction for overtime income
Add tax deduction on auto loan interest
Preserve limit on mortgage interest deduction
Preserve restrictions on loss deduction
Add tax deduction for donating to charity
Extend alternative minimum tax exemption
Increase tax deductions for pass-through businesses
Eliminate a tax on silencers and certain firearms
Add tax breaks for Alaskan whalers and fishers
Increase child tax credit, with tightened rules
Deposit $1,000 into a “Trump account” for newborns
Make adoption tax credit refundable
Extend and increase estate tax exemption
Add work requirements for Medicaid
Add work requirements for food stamps
Expand HSA access to more people
Eliminate tax credits for low-emissions electricity sources
Eliminate tax credits for clean energy vehicles
Restructure student loan repayment programs
Limit Parent PLUS loan amounts
Limit graduate school loan amounts
Expand eligible 529 expenses
Remove some assets from financial aid calculations
Change eligiblity rules for Pell Grants
Increase taxes on university endowments
Add and increase immigration fees
Add a tax on money sent abroad
An earlier version of this article misstated the circumstances under which the cap for state and local tax deductions would return to $10,000 from $40,000. It will return at the start of 2030 and will not be adjusted for inflation thereafter, not the end of 2028 with future adjustments for inflation.
An earlier version of this article misstated who would be affected by the new Medicaid work requirements. They will apply to most adults who do not have children younger than 14, not most adults who do not have children 14 or older.