Number: RS20342
Title: Additional Standard Tax Deduction for the Elderly: A Description and Assessment
Authors: Pamela J. Jackson, Government and Finance Division; Jennifer Teefy, Knowledge Services Group 
Abstract: An additional personal exemption for elderly taxpayers was enacted by the Revenue Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-471). The rationale for the provision was to accord the elderly tax relief because the elderly had small incomes and are unable to adjust their incomes in response to increases in the cost of living since they no longer work. Congress attempted to target the tax benefit to low- and moderate-income elderly individuals by substituting an additional standard deduction for the personal exemption amount in the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514). The additional standard deduction for both the elderly and the blind is projected to cost $9 billion in lost tax revenue over the next five years and fails to meet the economic tests of horizontal and vertical equity among taxpayers. The provision could be corrected with alternative policies. If Congress wanted the provision more focused to benefit lower-income elderly, then it could be converted to a tax credit with a phaseout range.
Pages: 6
Date: May 7, 2008