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Federal Budget and Spending

Our experts provide the latest policy research, analysis, and commentary on the US federal budget and spending, including the impact of US debt and interest rates

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Inflation Reduction Act IRA repeal and reforms

Will the OBBBA Tax Cuts Grow the US Economy?

Over the long run, OBBBA’s permanent extension of lower marginal tax rates on work, saving, and investment lays a solid foundation for stronger economic growth.

6 min read
Debt Limit Deadline and Growing National Debt Demand Action CBO long-term budget forecast federal spending national debt and deficit CHIPS and Science Act Biden estate tax unrealized capital gains at death Federal capital gains tax collections historical data CBO releases new long-term budget outlook, The national debt is now projected to nearly double by 2050

How Does the OBBBA Impact Debt, Deficits, and Tax Revenue?

Our modeling indicates the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will boost economic growth but increase deficits, leading to record high debt in 2028 that rises to 124 percent of GDP by 2034.

7 min read
Taxes at every level of government federal taxes vs state taxes vs local taxes

Taxes at Every Level

Each level of government provides its own services and therefore levies its own taxes to generate revenue for these services.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates Unequal Tax Treatment for Gambling Losses

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Creates Unequal Tax Treatment for Gambling Losses

In a surprising tax code alteration that has frustrated Americans who enjoy gambling, a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act limits gambling losses that can be used to offset gambling winnings to 90 percent of their value. This provision introduces a steep tax penalty for professional gamblers and certain casual bettors.

5 min read
One Big Beautiful Bill Pros Cons

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes many of the individual tax cuts and reforms of the TCJA permanent. It improves upon the TCJA by making expensing for R&D and equipment permanent. However, for the most part, it does not include further structural reforms, and instead introduces many new, narrow tax breaks to the code, adding complexity and raising revenue costs.

7 min read
Big Beautiful Bill Impact on Economy and Economic Growth

Will the Big Beautiful Bill Lead to an Economic Boom or Just Modestly Higher Growth?

Lawmakers are right to be concerned about deficits and economic growth. The best path to address those concerns is to ensure OBBB provides permanent full expensing of capital investment, avoids inefficient tax cuts, and offsets remaining revenue losses by closing tax loopholes and reducing spending.

8 min read
Donald Trump tax proposals regarding replacing the income tax with tariffs, exempting taxes on tips, and corporate income tax cut

Five Things To Know About Trump’s Income Tax and Tariff Idea

President Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of entirely replacing the federal income tax with new tariffs. Recently, he has said that when tariff revenues come in, he will use them to replace or substantially cut income taxes for people making under $200,000.

8 min read
Taxing Life Insurance Tax

Taxing Life Insurance

As Congress attempts to prevent the expiration of major Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions, it needs to find ways to pay for them. Ideally, it should use the least economically harmful means possible.

3 min read
2025 Tax Reform TCJA Offsets Budget Offsets

Picking the Right Budgetary Offsets Key to Tax Reform Success

In a perilous economic and fiscal environment, with instability created by Trump’s trade war and publicly held debt on track to surpass the highest levels ever recorded within five years, a lot rides on how Republicans navigate tax and spending reforms in reconciliation.

6 min read
Overview of the Tax Foundation’s General Equilibrium Model

Tax Policy and the US Economy: Enhancements to Our Modeling Framework

The Tax Foundation models tax policy using our proprietary Taxes and Growth model, illustrating the economic, revenue, and distributional impacts of different changes to the federal tax code. We’ve recently implemented improvements to the model that have been underway for the past several years, and we will be detailing them further in our forthcoming model methodology update.

4 min read
Child Tax Credit debate Biden Democrats Child tax credit expansion, affect labor supply work requirement and incentive Manchin

Don’t Let the Loophole Lobby Decide the Tax Debate

If Republicans want a successful year for tax reform, they must put aside the extensive demands for niche provisions and, instead, approach this debate with a principles-first mindset.