As tax season gets underway, millions of American families are opening their refund statements and seeing something welcome: more money in their pockets.
That didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of the Working Families Tax Cut, and it comes at exactly the right moment for households in search of financial breathing room. This filing season creates a powerful opportunity to connect tax policy to everyday outcomes — higher refunds, stronger purchasing power and a more resilient retail economy.
The Working Families Tax Cut delivers targeted relief to working families through a more generous child tax credit, a higher standard deduction, an increase in the state and local tax deduction cap and new deductions for tips and overtime. Because these provisions were applied retroactively, families are seeing a full year’s worth of benefits in this filing season — boosting refunds and disposable income when budgets remain tight.
That matters for retail. Consumer spending drives nearly 70% of the U.S. economy, and retail alone supports 55 million jobs and contributes $5.3 trillion annually to GDP. When families have more financial flexibility, retailers see it first — in stronger foot traffic, higher transaction volume and healthier seasonal demand.
The legislation doesn’t just help consumers — it also strengthens the businesses that serve them.
Learn more about why pro-growth tax policy is essential.
For the millions of retailers organized as pass-throughs, the bill makes Section 199A permanent, preserving the 20% deduction that supports reinvestment, hiring and wage growth in local communities. For larger retailers, the bill maintains the 21% corporate tax rate, ensuring U.S. businesses remain globally competitive and avoiding cost increases that would otherwise be passed on to consumers.
The bill also permanently restores full expensing for domestic research and development, benefiting retailers investing in logistics, payments technology, cybersecurity and supply chain modernization — investments that improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and enhance the customer experience. Together, these provisions deliver long-term tax certainty that retailers need to plan, grow and compete.
What makes the Working Families Tax Cut especially powerful is that it strengthens both sides of the retail equation. Workers and families see higher refunds, more take-home pay and greater financial stability. Retailers gain predictability, investment certainty and a competitive tax environment that supports growth and job creation.
That combination fuels local economies, especially in suburban and rural communities where retail is often the largest private-sector employer.
NRF has long championed tax policies that support consumers, workers and the retail businesses that anchor communities nationwide. This tax season, the benefits of the Working Families Tax Cut are showing up where it matters most — in family budgets, store aisles and local economies.
We’re proud to help amplify why this law works — for consumers, for retailers and for American growth.
