Early in March, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano, asking for clarification over whether Social Security benefits are subject to income taxati0n. Congressional Republicans and the administration had repeatedly said that the taxes on Social Security benefits were eliminated. Then, in July, SSA issued a correction that said the taxes on benefits were still in place. Vasquez’s letter to Bessent and Bisignano was co-signed by Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS), Eric Sorenson (D-IL), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), and Angie Craig (D-MN). Asked to revisit the topic on Tuesday, Vasquez told KOAT that his offices are getting lots of calls about income taxes, not only on Social Security benefits. “We haven’t received clarification from Sec. Bessent or from the IRS about this temporary $6,000 deduction that we believe less than half of seniors nationwide are going to benefit from, which is much different than what Republicans in Congress claimed was eliminating taxes on Social Security,” Vasquez said. Taxation on tips and overtime, which were thought to have been part of the budget reconciliation bill, turned out to be less than expected, Vasquez said. “There were a lot of headlines that made some pretty wide claims that a lot of New Mexicans are finding, as they’re filing their taxes, were not true, or that they simply don’t qualify,” Vasquez said. For example, Vasquez said that most restaurant workers’ incomes, including tips, are so low that they don’t pay any income taxes except those taken out of their paychecks. If they’re hoping to get a refund, they won’t unless they make more than a certain amount. Meanwhile, getting questions answered by the Internal Revenue Service has become more difficult since the administration cut thousands of IRS jobs, while the “big beautiful bill” doled out $4 billion in tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, Vasquez said. “Your average senior, your average restaurant worker, airline worker, agricultural worker, they’re going to find themselves trying to figure out if they qualify for these benefits, or not, because they felt they were promised this by the administration,” Vasquez said. “And I do fear that folks will make mistakes, but we are here to help prevent that.” Vasquez said constituents with questions or concerns about income taxes should call his offices in Albuquerque (505-208-4777) or Las Cruces (575-323-6390) before the April 15 filing deadline.
Early in March, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano, asking for clarification over whether Social Security benefits are subject to income taxati0n.
Congressional Republicans and the administration had repeatedly said that the taxes on Social Security benefits were eliminated. Then, in July, SSA issued a correction that said the taxes on benefits were still in place.
Vasquez’s letter to Bessent and Bisignano was co-signed by Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS), Eric Sorenson (D-IL), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), and Angie Craig (D-MN).
Asked to revisit the topic on Tuesday, Vasquez told KOAT that his offices are getting lots of calls about income taxes, not only on Social Security benefits.
“We haven’t received clarification from Sec. Bessent or from the IRS about this temporary $6,000 deduction that we believe less than half of seniors nationwide are going to benefit from, which is much different than what Republicans in Congress claimed was eliminating taxes on Social Security,” Vasquez said.
Taxation on tips and overtime, which were thought to have been part of the budget reconciliation bill, turned out to be less than expected, Vasquez said.
“There were a lot of headlines that made some pretty wide claims that a lot of New Mexicans are finding, as they’re filing their taxes, were not true, or that they simply don’t qualify,” Vasquez said.
For example, Vasquez said that most restaurant workers’ incomes, including tips, are so low that they don’t pay any income taxes except those taken out of their paychecks. If they’re hoping to get a refund, they won’t unless they make more than a certain amount.
Meanwhile, getting questions answered by the Internal Revenue Service has become more difficult since the administration cut thousands of IRS jobs, while the “big beautiful bill” doled out $4 billion in tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, Vasquez said.
“Your average senior, your average restaurant worker, airline worker, agricultural worker, they’re going to find themselves trying to figure out if they qualify for these benefits, or not, because they felt they were promised this by the administration,” Vasquez said. “And I do fear that folks will make mistakes, but we are here to help prevent that.”
Vasquez said constituents with questions or concerns about income taxes should call his offices in Albuquerque (505-208-4777) or Las Cruces (575-323-6390) before the April 15 filing deadline.
