Casten, Underwood Introduce Legislation to Provide Tax Relief for Illinois Families Hurt by SALT Deduction Cap
WASHINGTON – Ahead of Tax Day, Representatives Sean Casten (IL-06) and Lauren Underwood (IL-14) introduced legislation to provide tax relief to Illinois families unfairly harmed by changes to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. The Republican tax law enacted in 2017 disproportionately hurt northern Illinoisans by capping the SALT deduction at $10,000, which prevents taxpayers from deducting the full amount of their state and local taxes on their federal tax returns. SALT taxes allow our communities to pay law enforcement and first responders, offer high-quality public education, and provide a number of other services that contribute to the well-being of our communities.
The SALT Fairness for Working Families Act would help affected taxpayers by increasing the current SALT deduction cap to $15,000, eliminating the marriage penalty, and adding an inflationary adjustment.
“For as long as we've had a tax code, the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction has existed to acknowledge the principle that citizens shouldn't have to pay taxes twice,” said Casten. “We must provide tax relief to Illinois families unfairly harmed by the Republican Tax Plan of 2017, which our bill seeks to rectify by raising the current SALT deduction cap, eliminating the marriage penalty, and adding an inflationary adjustment.”
“Tax reform should put working families first, but the cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction has done just the opposite,” said Underwood. “The 2017 Republican tax law gave wealthy corporations a tax break by making working families pay more. Representative Casten and I introduced the SALT Fairness for Working Families Act to alleviate this burden by restoring the SALT deduction for middle-income Illinoisans.”
The SALT Fairness for Working Families Act was first introduced in 2019 and would:
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Increase the current cap on the SALT deduction from $10,000 to $15,000 for individual filers. This will allow middle-class taxpayers in the 14th District to once again deduct their full SALT amount.
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Eliminate the unfair marriage penalty in the Republican tax law by allowing married couples to double their SALT deduction up to $30,000.
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Adjust the cap for inflation so the value of the deduction does not decrease over time.
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