After years of debate, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that raises the cap on the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, a major shift in federal tax policy. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on Friday, July 4, hailing it as a win for suburban taxpayers and a central feature of his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The SALT deduction limit has now increased from $10,000 to $40,000 for households earning $500,000 or less for the next five years starting in 2025. The benefit starts to phase out, or decrease, for consumers who earn more than $500,000 of income. The deduction limit will rise by 1% each year through 2029 before reverting to the $10,000 limit in 2030, offering high taxpayers short-term relief while maintaining the temporary shift.
The bill’s passage marks the most substantial move toward SALT relief since the original $10,000 cap was imposed in 2017 as part of Trump’s first-term tax overhaul.
The measure has sparked sharply divided reactions among Long Island lawmakers.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, praised the bill’s passage and the increase in the SALT cap as a victory for middle-class taxpayers.
“For nearly a decade, middle-class New Yorkers have borne the brunt of unfair double taxation,” Garbarino said in a statement. “This compromise will allow the vast majority of my constituents to deduct the full amount of their state and local taxes and provide much needed financial relief to hardworking Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican, said the bill is “a hard-earned win for Long Island families.”
“Just the SALT provision alone means that a Long Island family earning $250,000 and paying $18,000 in property taxes will get $5,000 more back when they file their 2025 taxes– real relief I fought tooth and nail to deliver,” said LaLota in a statement.
U.S. Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen both Democrats, voted against the bill.
“It’s been a long battle. I’ve been fighting for the restoration of the SALT deduction since 2017, when the Republicans in Congress first capped it. I passed three separate bipartisan SALT bills in Congress to do that, but they died in the Senate,” said Suozzi in a statement.
Suozzi called the bill’s passage a “partial win,” saying it offers temporary relief for overtaxed homeowners in Long Island and Queens.
“The bill sunsets, ends in five years so we all have to ‘keep SALT on the table” in Congress and continue the fight for permanent and whole restoration,” said Suozzi.
Suozzi has led several high-profile initiatives to restore or raise the cap, positioning himself as one of the issue’s most vocal advocates in Congress. He co-founded the bipartisan SALT Caucus in 2021, uniting dozens of lawmakers to push for relief for taxpayers in high-cost states like New York. Suozzi also introduced the SALT Deductibility Act alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and helped negotiate a temporary cap increase into the House version of the Build Back Better Act. Throughout his efforts, Suozzi has organized press conferences, union-backed events, and bipartisan letters to House leadership, all aimed at reversing what he calls an unfair system of “double taxation” on middle-class homeowners.
Gillen was far less enthusiastic. She cited a failure to fully repeal the SALT cap and accusing Republicans of walking back on their promises to Long Island voters.
“This legislation also fails to repeal the restrictive SALT cap, which has forced my constituents to pay tens of thousands of dollars in unfair double taxation,” Gillen said in a statement. “Earlier this week, they blocked my amendment to fully repeal the cap and cut taxes for Long Island. Today they doubled down by voting to extend the cap that is crushing families’ bottom lines.”
Gillen also co-sponsored the bipartisan SALT Deductibility Act, and joined New York colleagues in a February delegation letter to Congressional leaders demanding full repeal. In May, Gillen introduced an amendment during reconciliation proceedings aimed at completely eliminating the cap, underscoring that the president had promised to “get SALT back”, and testified before the House Rules Committee in support of her measure.
“There is nothing beautiful about this bill,” said Gillen.
Supporters, including Garbarino, counter that the $40,000 figure will effectively restore full deductibility for most families, without skewing the benefits too heavily toward top earners.
“While not perfect, this bill includes real wins for Long Island and for the American people. I was proud to cast my ‘Yes’ vote to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill and send this critical legislation to the president’s desk,” said Garbarino in a statement.
