Workers gain direct tax deduction for union dues and job expenses

What it does

This bill allows workers to deduct union dues and other job-related expenses directly from their taxable income (above-the-line), rather than being subject to the current 2% floor that applies to miscellaneous deductions. Currently, most employee business expenses are either non-deductible or subject to strict limits; this bill removes those limits for union dues and all unreimbursed work expenses, making them easier to claim and more valuable to workers.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand tax deductions available to employees for union dues and work-related expenses, reducing their taxable income and tax liability. This is a straightforward tax-code amendment benefiting workers.

What the text implies

• The bill does not specify what qualifies as 'unreimbursed expenses incurred in the trade or business of being an employee,' leaving interpretation to IRS guidance and potentially creating audit risk for workers claiming novel categories of expenses.
• Union members will see the largest immediate benefit; non-union workers claiming miscellaneous job expenses will also benefit, but the union-dues carve-out may signal legislative intent to prioritize union membership.
• The effective date (taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024) means the first full tax year of benefit is 2025; retroactive application is not included.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Workers gain a direct tax reduction by deducting union dues and job-related expenses that were previously non-deductible or subject to a 2% floor. This is a straightforward tax relief measure that puts money back in workers' pockets and reduces the effective tax burden on labor income.

Who stands to gain

• workers and employees (wage earners)
• union members

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 62(a)(1), Section 67(g), union dues, employee business expenses

Where it stands

35 cosponsors: 33 Democrats, 2 Independents.

• Apr 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 3, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

9 lobbying clients named this bill on 12 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,597,304 in lobbying spend. A filing names 56 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 89% of bills with at least one filing.

Tina Smith, the sponsor, reported $-40,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers — $1,425,000 on 2 filings
• American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees — $690,000 on 1 filing
• National Treasury Employees Union — $690,000 on 2 filings
• Communications Workers of America — $431,000 on 1 filing
• American Federation of Teachers — $410,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.