Each year, April 15 is an unpleasant reminder of just how much hard-earned money American workers are forced to fork over to the government. But thanks to the tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, or OBBB), Tax Day 2026 is significantly less painful this year.
According to new data, the OBBB is already delivering major relief. As of late March, the average IRS tax refund was up nearly 11 percent, translating to about $350 extra on the average return. Taxpayers are also taking advantage of the new “No Tax on Tips” and “No Tax on Overtime” provisions, with more than 20 million workers claiming those deductions. According to the Treasury Department, nearly half of all filers have benefited from at least one provision in the OBBB.
The tax cuts have been so impactful, in fact, that even The New York Times is impressed, publishing a story earlier this month about “Trump’s supercharged tax season.”
The OBBB is particularly beneficial for small business owners. 12 million small businesses have seen an average tax reduction of $7,000, while the permanent extension of the 20 percent Qualified Business Income deduction is delivering $4,600 in average relief to eight million small business owners.
Another landmark provision of the OBBB was the creation of “Trump Accounts.” The program allows parents and legal guardians to open an account for any U.S. citizen children under the age of 18, starting by making an election when they file their taxes for 2025. Contributions to these accounts grow tax-free much like a Roth IRA, and the federal government will contribute $1,000 in seed money to each Trump Account for babies born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028. The parents of more than four million children have already opted in to this historic opportunity.
The OBBB is also particularly beneficial for seniors, as it effectively eliminates taxes on Social Security for about 90 percent of recipients. In February, AMAC sent out a call for real-life stories from members about the impact of the new tax law and received more than 1,000 responses in a matter of hours. These members, who represented all 50 states, reported an average tax savings of $2,832, with nearly a third reporting savings of more than $2,500.
But perhaps the most significant aspect of the OBBB is the massive tax hike that it prevented.
During his first term, Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment was the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That law set the stage for historic economic growth pre-COVID by lowering individual income tax rates and nearly doubling the standard deduction. Additionally, it lowered the corporate tax rate to keep the United States competitive with other developed nations, which helped increase real wages for workers.
Heading into 2026, however, the 2017 tax cuts were set to expire. That issue loomed large in the 2024 election, as Democrats indicated that they would not look to extend key provisions of the bill.
Americans thus faced the prospect of one of the largest tax hikes in history following four years of record inflation and economic turmoil under the Biden administration. In total, nearly 62 percent of Americans would have paid $4 trillion more in taxes had the 2017 law expired.
Trump promised to stave off that disaster. At his urging, Republicans passed the OBBB in time for the President to sign it on July 4 of last year.
Since then, Democrats have predictably lambasted the law as a tax cut for the wealthy – the same line they used to attack Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. But as IRS data showed, the 2017 law primarily benefitted working- and middle-class filers. In 2018, the first year that law was in effect, filers who made $15,000 to $50,000 enjoyed an average tax cut of 16 percent to 26 percent, while those who made $50,000 to $100,000 received a tax break of 15 percent to 17 percent, and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 saw a tax cut of 11 percent to 13 percent. No income group making more than 500,000 saw a tax cut in excess of nine percent.
In other words, everyone benefitted from the 2017 tax cuts, but those who made the least benefitted the most. Moreover, despite lower tax rates, federal tax revenues reached a new record high as Americans made more money.
The OBBB promises to deliver more of the same results – which is likely why, behind the scenes, Democrats have begrudgingly admitted that the legislation’s tax provisions are overwhelmingly popular.
Ultimately, what sets Trump’s reforms apart is the simple but powerful principle that Americans know how to spend, save, and invest their own money better than Washington ever will. By letting workers keep more of what they earn, the Trump tax cuts aren’t just easing the burden on Tax Day – they’re restoring a measure of financial freedom year-round.
In a nation built on individual liberty, that may be the most important return of all.
Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
