Sen. Cory Booker to unveil bill making $75,000 in income tax-free

WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, told NBC News he’ll introduce a tax bill this week to significantly expand the standard deduction, effectively lowering taxes on low- and middle-income earners.

The New Jersey senator’s plan would set the standard deduction at $75,000 for married couples, or $37,500 for individuals. That’s more than double what it is today: $32,200 for couples filing jointly and half that for single filers.

“It’s a simple idea: American households don’t pay taxes on their first $75,000 of earnings,” Booker said in an interview. “It will have a significant impact on the average American in raising their income.”

Booker’s bill, which he plans to formally introduce in the Senate on Tuesday, would have far-reaching ramifications on the tax system, encouraging more Americans to use the standard deduction rather than itemize. For a “head of household,” his bill would set the standard deduction at $56,250.

It’s a sweeping plan to address a constellation of economic concerns from high costs to wages failing to keep up with necessities like health care and housing.

“Americans are working harder and harder, and they’re making less and less relative to their parents and grandparents. The economy is not working. So we need big ideas that could redeem the dream of America,” Booker said.

Booker’s upcoming legislation can best be understood as a new idea in the mix for the next time Democrats take power in Washington. The New Jersey senator, who ran for president in 2020, said his “focus is on running for re-election,” with his Senate seat coming before voters this fall.

But he’s keeping the door open to a 2028 White House bid.

“I think the Democratic Party needs to become the party again of big ideas that resonate. Donald Trump has put forward a lot of big ideas. He doesn’t follow through on them, but they resonated in his last election,” Booker said. “I have not closed the door on ’28, but I’m really focused on now that the Democratic Party needs to not be defined by what it’s against, simply, but start talking about the big things it stands for.”

There’s some bipartisan interest in the idea: The standard deduction was expanded in the 2017 Trump tax law and again in the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” in 2025. But the current Congress has no plans to rewrite the tax code anytime soon.

And the proposal, which is guaranteed to be expensive, doesn’t yet have a cost estimate. Booker said his goal is to ensure his bill is “fully paid for” by raising taxes on upper earners and large corporations, while closing loopholes and cracking down on “tax avoidance schemes.” The bill doesn’t specify those provisions.

The legislation would also boost the child tax credit to $4,320 per child under 6 years old, and $3,600 per child between 6 and 17, while adding a $2,400 “baby bonus” for the year a child is born.