KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics on both sides of the state line. If you have a story idea to share, you can send Charlie an email at charlie.keegan@kshb.com.
—
Americans will not pay more in taxes for the money they earn in 2026 because the U.S. Congress passed the Big Beautiful Bill Thursday.
The bill makes many of the provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. They were set to expire at the end of 2025.
“We’d been preaching about this sunset coming up and being careful about this sunset,” admitted Curtis Freking of Adams Brown. “Lo and behold, the sun’s not setting. It’s become permanent.”
Frecking mostly handles taxes for businesses. He said certainty is good for businesses.
The 2017 TCJA set the corporate income tax rate at 21 percent, down from 35 percent.
The new bill also impacts taxes on an individual level. The standard deduction remains high for people who don’t want to itemize their federal tax returns.
The bill increases the child tax credit and eliminates taxes on tips and overtime up to certain amounts.
Americans remain skeptical about how exactly it will impact them.
Rick Saunders is a teacher with a property rental side gig. He thinks the bill’s language on “passthrough” income will benefit him in terms of the money he makes from properties.
“It probably won’t affect us for a couple of years. Why worry and stress out? Just wait and see,” Saunders said.
Hannah Crooks used to be a social worker. She’s nervous that the tax cuts mean the government collects fewer tax dollars and therefore can’t pay for certain social programs she calls necessary.
“I want what’s best for my community, and it seems like a lot of things that are happening negatively impact my community,” Crooks pointed out.
Supporters of the bill said taxpayers may not notice an immediate change because the bill prolongs what they’ve been experiencing over the past eight years. They argue that without the bill’s passage, all taxpayers would’ve had higher taxes.
—
