Biden Tax Plan Calculator

Biden's 2020 campaign tax plan was a set of proposals — not enacted legislation — analyzed by groups like the Tax Foundation and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Most of its individual-side provisions modeled here (the 39.6% top rate, the Social Security 'donut hole' payroll tax, and the 43.4% top capital-gains rate) were never passed into law. Only the Child Tax Credit and Child & Dependent Care Credit expansions were later enacted, separately and temporarily, for tax year 2021 only, through the American Rescue Plan Act.

It computes your federal income tax two ways — once under the actual 2021 current-law brackets, and once under Biden's proposed schedule (which keeps the 2021 brackets up to $400,000 of taxable income, then applies a 39.6% top rate above that) — plus the proposed Social Security payroll tax change, capital-gains change, and Child Tax Credit expansion. It then reports the net difference between the two scenarios.

Under current law, only wages up to the Social Security wage base ($137,700 in 2020) are subject to the 12.4% OASDI payroll tax. Biden's plan proposed resuming that 12.4% tax on wages above $400,000, while leaving wages between $137,700 and $400,000 untaxed — hence the 'donut hole' nickname for the untaxed gap in between.

The top marginal rate would rise from 37% (current law) to 39.6% (the pre-2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act level), and the threshold where that top rate begins would drop to $400,000 of taxable income, versus roughly $523,600 (single) or $628,300 (married filing jointly) under current law.

For taxpayers with total income above $1,000,000, Biden's plan proposed taxing long-term capital gains and qualified dividends as ordinary income at 39.6%, plus the existing 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, for a combined 43.4% — versus the current-law top preferential rate of 20% plus 3.8% NIIT (23.8%). Below the $1,000,000 threshold, current-law preferential rates would continue to apply.

The plan proposed raising the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child under 17 (current law) to $3,000 per child aged 6-17, plus a $600 bonus for children under 6 (so $3,600 total for the youngest kids) — and making the full credit refundable. This calculator estimates the dollar increase from adding up your children in each age band.

The income-tax rate increase, the Social Security donut-hole tax, and the capital-gains rate change were all targeted at households above the $400,000 (income tax, payroll tax) or $1,000,000 (capital gains) thresholds. Most households below those levels would see no change from the income and payroll-tax provisions, though families with children could still see their Child Tax Credit change regardless of income.

No. This tool intentionally freezes 2020/2021-era constants to model a specific historical campaign proposal against its contemporaneous baseline. For your actual current-year federal tax liability, use TheCalculatorHive's Federal Income Tax Calculator, which is updated to the current tax year's IRS brackets.

It assumes the standard deduction (no itemizing), treats the Social Security tax as the full 12.4% employer-plus-employee rate, applies a flat top capital-gains rate above $1,000,000 of total income, and models the Child Tax Credit as a simple flat per-child dollar amount with no phase-outs. It does not model the Alternative Minimum Tax, state taxes, the Qualified Business Income deduction phase-out, or the Child & Dependent Care Credit expansion.

It's a simplified, illustrative model built to compare two policy scenarios at a household level using publicly documented proposal details — not a substitute for tax software or a tax professional. Real returns involve additional credits, phase-outs, and filing-specific rules this calculator does not capture.

The dollar amounts are the same ($3,600 under 6, $3,000 for ages 6-17, fully refundable) because the American Rescue Plan Act adopted Biden's campaign-proposed Child Tax Credit figures for tax year 2021 only. However, that expansion later expired, reverting to the pre-2021 $2,000-per-child credit — this calculator's other provisions (top rate, Social Security tax, capital gains) were never enacted at all.

Single, Married Filing Jointly, and Head of Household, each using its own 2021 IRS bracket schedule and standard deduction. Married Filing Separately is not modeled in this version.

Yes — separately from the provisions modeled here, the plan proposed raising the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers aged 65 and older, per the Tax Foundation's breakdown of the proposal. This calculator doesn't model that change; it's limited to the income-tax rate, Social Security payroll tax, capital-gains, and Child Tax Credit provisions listed above.