The new 2025-2028 tax deductions, calculated in seconds
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act created four brand-new federal deductions worth up to $25,000+ per household. Most people don't know what they qualify for. Find out in under a minute, free and with no signup.
Why these deductions matter now
These four deductions apply to tax years 2025 through 2028 and are claimed on the federal returns you file each spring. They all stack on top of the standard deduction, with no itemizing required, which makes them unusually valuable for regular W-2 workers and retirees. A tipped restaurant worker pulling overtime could shelter $20,000+ of income; a retired couple can knock $12,000 off their taxable income automatically.
Withholding hasn't caught up in many workplaces, so most eligible workers will see the benefit as a larger refund unless they adjust their W-4. Our calculators show you what's on the table so you can plan ahead.
The single most common mistake
Almost every headline about this law says "no tax on overtime," and almost every reader takes that literally. It isn't. The deduction applies only to the premium portion of overtime, the "half" in time-and-a-half, which is roughly one third of a typical overtime check. Your overtime is still subject to Social Security and Medicare in full, and it is still subject to withholding at the time you're paid.
The practical effect is that a worker with $9,000 of overtime is looking at a deduction of about $3,000, not $9,000. Calculators that apply the deduction to the whole check overstate the benefit by a factor of three, and we have seen several that do. Ours derives the premium explicitly and shows you both numbers so the difference is visible rather than buried. The methodology page explains the derivation.
Which of these applies to you
Most people qualify for at most one or two, and the fastest way to find out is by situation rather than by deduction name:
- You work hourly with regular overtime. Start with the overtime calculator, then check your state's paycheck page, because no state has adopted the federal overtime deduction and your state tax is unchanged.
- You work for tips. The tips deduction covers up to $25,000 of reported tips. Reported is the operative word: unreported tips were never going to produce a deduction, and claiming one invites the exact scrutiny you don't want.
- You or your spouse turned 65. The senior deduction is $6,000 per qualifying person and phases out as income rises, so a couple's result is not simply double a single filer's.
- You bought a new car. The car loan interest deduction has the narrowest eligibility of the four: new vehicles only, final assembly in the United States, and the loan must be secured by the vehicle. Used cars, leases, and refinances are out.
- You just want to know your take-home pay. The paycheck calculator covers all 50 states plus DC.
Estimates you can sanity-check
Every calculator shows its work (caps, phase-outs, and the exact rules) with figures from the IRS's published 2026 inflation adjustments and One Big Beautiful Bill Act guidance. They're planning estimates, not filing software: for your actual return, use a tax professional or reputable filing software.
Two things we do differently from most calculator sites. First, nothing you type leaves your device. There is no form submission, no account, and no analytics on your inputs, because the entire calculation runs in JavaScript in your browser. Second, we publish our sources. Federal figures come from the IRS revenue procedure for 2026 rather than from secondary reporting about it, and each state's rates come from that state's own revenue department. Every page carries the date its figures were last checked.
We are also explicit about what these tools don't model: itemized deductions, self-employment tax, the AMT, capital gains, local income taxes, pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions, and tax credits are all out of scope. If your return involves those, our output is a starting point rather than an answer. The full methodology spells this out.
Frequently asked questions
Is overtime really not taxed now?
No, and the name of the law is misleading. Overtime is still fully subject to Social Security and Medicare tax, and still subject to federal withholding when you're paid. What the law created is a deduction, claimed at filing, for the premium portion of FLSA-required overtime, up to $12,500 for a single filer or $25,000 for a joint return. For most workers it arrives as a larger refund rather than a bigger paycheck.
Do these deductions require itemizing?
No. All four are available on top of the standard deduction, which is what makes them unusual and why they reach ordinary W-2 workers and retirees who would never itemize.
How long do these deductions last?
Tax years 2025 through 2028 as currently written. They are scheduled to expire after 2028 unless Congress extends them.
Do the states follow these federal deductions?
Generally no. These are federal deductions, and a state that starts from federal taxable income may or may not pick them up. Several legislatures are still deciding. Each state guide on this site states the current position and links to that state's revenue department.
Are these calculators free, and do I need an account?
Free, no signup, no account, no email required. The site is supported by advertising. Your inputs are never transmitted to us because every calculation runs in your browser.