Social Security Administration lied in 7/3/25 email it sent to tens of millions of seniors

On July 3, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sent out the email above to tens of millions of seniors telling them that because of the passage of “Big, Beautiful Bill,” “nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income tax on their benefits” and “the new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes for most beneficiaries.”

But it’s not true.

Convicted felon Trump’s big, terrible tax bill does not amend the tax code to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. In fact, it no changes to the Social Security program at all.

Instead, the bill just provides a temporary tax deduction of $6,000 for individuals aged 65 or older, and $12,000 for couples older than 65 who file joint returns.  This also only applies to people with incomes under $75,000 for an individual or $150,000 for a couple filing jointly. This means all the bill does is reduce some seniors’ taxable income to where it could potentially result in no federal tax liability on their Social Security benefits.

The reason for this temporary deduction is because the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans used to block Democrats from filibustering the big, terrible bill and push it through with only Republican support, doesn’t allow any changes to be made to Social Security.

What’s more, the temporary tax deduction will expire in 2028 unless Congress renews it, so it’s only for a few years.

Here is the relevant passage from Page 218 of the final bill (pdf):

SEC. 70103. TERMINATION OF DEDUCTION FOR PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS OTHER THAN TEMPORARY SENIOR DEDUCTION. (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 151(d)(5) is amended— (1) by striking ‘‘2018 THROUGH 2025’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘BEGINNING AFTER 2017’’, (2) by striking ‘‘, and before January 1, 2026’’, (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ‘‘(C) DEDUCTION FOR SENIORS.—  ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a  taxable year beginning before January 1, 2029, there shall be allowed a deduction in an amount equal to $6,000 for each qualified individual with respect to the taxpayer.  ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For  purposes of clause (i), the term ‘qualified 24 individual’ means—‘‘(I) the taxpayer, if the taxpayer  has attained age 65 before the close of the taxable year, and ‘‘(II) in the case of a joint return, the taxpayer’s spouse, if such spouse has attained age 65 before the close of the taxable year.  ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION BASED ON MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—  ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxpayer for any taxable year, the $6,000 amount in clause (i) shall be reduced (but not below zero) by 6 percent of so much of the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income as exceeds $75,000 ($150,000 in the case of a joint return).  ‘‘(II) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—For purposes of this clause, the term ‘modified adjusted gross in come’ means the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable year increased by any amount excluded from gross income under section 911, 931, or 933.

An email like the one at the top of the page sent from Social Security is highly unusual.

For years the SSA has been warning people to beware of scam emails that appear to be from SSA and have sensational, alarming or unrealistic headlines.  SSA says the agency will call beneficiaries or write people a letter if something needs attention, they won’t email you.

In this case, former SSA officials say the email SSA sent subscribers on July 3 was not just misleading, but impermissibly partisan.

Jeff Nesbit, a former SSA Deputy Commissioner under both Democratic and Republican administrations, wrote on Twitter that

“The agency has never issued such a blatant political statement. The fact that Trump and his minion running SSA has done this is unconscionable.”

House Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), posted on Twitter that “every word of the email” SSA sent to Social Security subscribers on 7/3  “is a lie.” Rep. Pallone said, “Social Security benefits are still taxed. This big, ugly bill doesn’t change that. It’s disturbing to see Trump hijack a public institution to push blatant misinformation.”