{"id":48074,"date":"2026-02-23T05:29:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=48074"},"modified":"2026-02-23T05:29:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T05:29:31","slug":"social-security-fairness-act-unfair-taxes-and-the-bill-that-aims-to-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=48074","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Fairness Act: Unfair Taxes and the Bill That Aims to Fix It"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Social Security Fairness Act signed at the beginning of 2025 is now unfair, at least when it comes to taxes, according to some representatives in Congress.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Social Security Fairness Act eliminated the\u00a0Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)\u00a0and the\u00a0Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduced Social Security benefits for about 3.2 million public-sector retirees who also receive pension income. The law\u2019s\u00a0effective date was retroactive\u00a0to January 2024, so many beneficiaries received last year a one-time retroactive payment that may have amounted to thousands of dollars and higher monthly benefits, starting in 2025.<\/p>\n

Those income spikes last year likely triggered more taxes for many people, experts said. To help address the potential tax bomb, Rep.\u00a0Lance Gooden, R-Texas, introduced earlier in February the bipartisan No Tax on Restored Benefits Act to amend the tax code to exclude retroactive Social Security payments tied specifically to the repeal of WEP and GPO from federal taxable income.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor hundreds of thousands of Americans, the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act was truly transformative, ensuring they received the benefits they deserved,\u201d said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, cosponsor of the bill, in a news release. \u201cBut it was never intended to saddle widows, low-income seniors, and dedicated public servants with an unexpected tax bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much are the extra taxes?<\/h2>\n

How much of people\u2019s Social Security benefits will get taxed depends on the total amount of their income, including\u00a0tax-exempt interest like from a municipal bond, plus one-half of their Social Security benefits for the taxable year.<\/p>\n

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits can be taxed\u00a0depending on how much more that combined income is over the base amount for your filing status.<\/p>\n

The base amounts based on filing status are:<\/p>\n