Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Federal Policy

ITEP’s federal policy resources provide quantitative and qualitative research and analysis on current tax policies, proposals and reform options. Its distributional analyses highlight how tax proposals will affect Americans in different income groups nationally and in all 50 states.

Featured Research

State-by-State Estimates of the First Year of Trump’s Tax Policies: All But the Richest Americans Face Higher Taxes

As a result of the tax policies approved by President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress, all but the richest Americans are paying higher taxes on average in 2026 than they did last year.

Four Big Tech Companies Avoid $51 Billion in Taxes in Wake of One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Four of the corporations whose CEOs flanked President Trump at his 2025 inauguration ceremony have now disclosed that they collectively…

The Child Tax Credit Leaves Out Millions of Children in 2026. There Are Better Alternatives.

The 2025 Trump tax law slightly increased the Child Tax Credit in a way that benefits virtually none of the…

Tesla Reported Zero Federal Income Tax on $5.7 Billion of U.S. Income in 2025

Tesla enjoyed almost $5.7 billion of U.S. income in 2025 but paid $0 in federal income tax. Over the past…

Filter Federal Research

report  

Impact of Key Trump Policies on Taxes and Costs: National and State Estimates

• By Steve Wamhoff

The major tax and economic policies of President Trump’s second term have increased taxes and household costs for most Americans except the richest 1%.

blog  

ITEP Comment on Tax Credit Restrictions for Immigrants

• By Carl Davis, Emma Sifre

This proposal would bar a variety of immigrant tax filers from receiving the refunded portion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), and Adoption Tax Credit.

blog  

New State Taxes on the Wealthy Raise Revenue and Rebalance Tax Codes, Advancing Racial Justice

• By Brakeyshia Samms

Taxing the rich is proven fiscal policy – it raises revenue for vital public services and makes tax codes fairer. But a part of the debate that rarely gets enough attention: taxing the rich is also one of the most effective tools available for advancing racial equity.

blog  

Trump’s Invasion of Iran Could Cost You Thousands

• By Amy Hanauer

Higher fuel and food prices are on track to cost the average household over $1,300 by the end of the year.

blog  

Meta’s Outlandish Tax Breaks for AI Data Centers

• By Steve Wamhoff

Meta is claiming the research tax credit – a tax break meant to encourage innovation and experimentation – to pay for the equipment it uses in data centers to power its AI activities. ITEP described how Meta paid just 3.5% of its profits in federal corporate income taxes in 2025.

brief  

New Estimates of the Total Number of People and Children in Immigrant Families who Could Lose Eligibility for the Refundable Portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

• By Emma Sifre

Treasury and the IRS proposed a new rule that would further restrict eligibility for the refundable portions of four tax credits. The rule would affect primarily lawfully present immigrants authorized to work in the U.S. and their family members, including their children, the vast majority of whom are citizens.

blog  

Big Tech Is Raking in Enormous Tax Breaks for AI Development

• By Matthew Gardner

OBBBA’s expensing provision is becoming especially lucrative for the companies building out AI infrastructure right now. There is no evidence whatsoever that tax breaks are necessary to encourage their construction.

blog  

New Census Data Show Importance of Refundable Tax Credits and Need for Improvements

• By Joe Hughes

The Child Tax Credit actually moved fewer children out of poverty in 2025 than it did in 2024 prior to Congress passing the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA).

blog  

TurboTax Maker Intuit Paid Zero Federal Income Tax in 2025

• By Joe Hughes

TurboTax maker Intuit reported nearly $6 billion in U.S. profits in 2025 and paid no federal income tax. Instead, the company received a refund, thanks in part to new tax breaks from OBBBA.

blog  

The Biggest Winners from Trump’s Tariff Refunds are Big Corporations

• By Matthew Gardner

The Trump administration has been forced to pay out over $100 billion from illegal tariffs, and the biggest winners from these tariff refunds have been big corporations.

brief  

The Impact of Proposed New Tax Credit Restrictions for Immigrant Filers: An Updated Analysis of the DACA Recipient Population

• By Carl Davis, Erika Frankel, Emma Sifre

New Treasury Department public regulations would drastically reduce tax credit claims by DACA recipients and their families, among others. We find that 158,000 people in households with at least one DACA recipient will suffer financial harm, and that more than half of the impacted individuals are U.S. citizens.

blog  

The Trump Administration Slashed Taxes for H&R Block and Raised Costs for Tax Filers

• By Joe Hughes

Tax-prep giant H&R Block paid no federal taxes on its U.S. income in 2025. It also made a public disclosure, required by the European Union, characterizing one-third of its global profits as earned in Ireland, a low-tax country where the company offers no tax services and has only 15 employees.

blog  

Five Things to Know About the Trump Administration’s New Effort to Deny Tax Credits to Lawfully Present Immigrants

• By Carl Davis

Today the Trump administration proposed new regulations seeking to drastically reduce the tax credits that certain immigrant tax filers can claim. The affected credits include the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Additional Child Tax Credit, American Opportunity Tax Credit, and the Adoption Tax Credit. 

blog  

Six Companies Reaped $83 Billion in Federal Tax Breaks in 2025

• By Sarah Buttikofer, Matthew Gardner

Six companies alone accounted for $83 billion of federal tax breaks disclosed by publicly traded U.S companies so far for 2025. Microsoft received a record high for single-year federal tax breaks for one publicly traded company, followed by Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, JPMorgan Chase, and Nvidia.

blog  

Trump Weighs Another Giveaway to the Wealthy With Capital Gains Indexing Ahead of Midterms

• By Jon Whiten

Trump is once again weighing a proposal to index capital gains taxes to inflation as part of a set of policy promises ahead of the midterm elections. It would amount to a massive new tax break for wealthy investors.