Standard deduct is 15K individual and 30K married. SS is 50% taxed up to 44K filing joint. So if you have (joint) 30K income and 16K SS, 30K is exempt and only 8 K of SS is taxable, but the deduction will make your taxes 0. I think
The claim the BBB will eliminate taxes on SS for most recipients is a bit deceptive.
I've included a link below to a White House bulletin explaining how most SS recipients will supposedly see taxes eliminated for SS income. How they do it is they add the new $12K deduction (for married couples) to the already established standard deduction of $31,500. On top of that, there is an existing extra $3,200 deduction for seniors. All this adds up to a deduction of $46,700 deduction, which if applied against SS income, would eliminate SS tax for nearly 90% of recipients.
The problem is, Turbo Tax will use the $31,500 standard deduction to shield income taxed at a higher rate than SS (such as pension income or job wages). So really, SS recipients will still be paying taxes on a big chunk of their SS income.
The BBB will save seniors hundreds of dollars in taxes, but not the thousands we had hoped for.
No Tax on Social Security is a Reality in the One Big Beautiful Bill