Before you file your taxes, read this

This blog was written by Kevin Garcia-Galindo, LIBRE Policy Associate.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but Tax Day is here. One of my least favorite days of the year.

Many of you will find out how much Washington overcharged you, while others will learn how much you owe.

Either way, it’s a reminder of how much of your hard earned money goes elsewhere.

But here’s the part no one’s talking about: If the Working Families Tax Cuts (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill), hadn’t been signed last year, about 70% of Latino households across the country would have faced a massive tax hike.

The last thing anyone needs was Washington taking more of our money.

We need our paycheck to pay “la renta”, “hacer el mercado,””, or to save some extra cash. And thanks to the WFTC, your paycheck will stretch further this year.

At a time when we don’t usually get good news from DC, this was a big win.

Why this tax season looks different

The Working Families Tax Cuts did two simple things: It made the 2017 tax cuts permanent and increased the standard deduction.

Back in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut taxes across the board and put real money back into the pockets of working Americans.

It also doubled the standard deduction — meaning more of your paycheck was protected from taxes, and filing was a little less painful.

But those cuts were set to expire at the end of 2025.

If Congress had done nothing, tax rates would have gone up in five of seven brackets, the standard deduction would have been cut in half, and anyone making over $12,000 (or any couple over $24,400) would have paid more.

This would have meant a tax hike for over 75% of Latino households.

What this means for your wallet

Congress did the right thing, voting to make the tax cuts permanent and increase the standard, so this year, you won’t have to pay a huge tax.

Here’s how much Americans saved:

• A married couple with two kids making around $55,000 a year saved about $1,840 — that’s two months of groceries, or the car repair that’s been sitting on the to-do list since last winter.
• A single mom with one child making around $35,000 a year saved over $1,340 — enough to cover a month’s rent or finally pay down that credit card from the holidays.
• An entry-level electrician making around $45,000 a year saved about $882 — that’s a few months of after-school care, or the first real contribution to an emergency fund.

For Latino small- business owners like the Escuderos or Angelica Betancourt, those savings were the difference between hiring someone and laying someone off.

We were one vote away from losing thousands of dollars

Here’s something worth thinking about:  we were one vote away from a massive tax hike landing on our families. This almost didn’t happen!

Some of the same lawmakers now talking about affordability gladly voted to raise your taxes.

That’s why it matters who’s representing you in Congress, and that’s why it’s important to make sure your voice is heard, because if we don’t show up and exercise our rights as citizens, there’s a very good chance our wallets will end up paying the price.

Why your voice matters

At LIBRE, we’re fighting to keep taxes low, expand opportunity, and make sure Latino families can keep building the future they’ve worked for.

But this only works if we stay engaged.

Because, as you saw, we are always a few votes away from bad policies wrecking the budget of millions of Latinos across the country.

When we show up, we protect what we’ve built.

That’s why we need your help to make sure our voices are heard.

Join us.