IRS CEO Frank J. Bisignano and Senator Bernie Moreno toured Cleveland on May 22, 2026, to spotlight three Working Families Tax Cuts Act provisions that are now flowing through real returns: no tax on car loan interest, no tax on overtime, and the enhanced deduction for seniors. The visit included the Ford Engine Plant in Brook Park and the Social Security Administration office in Middleburg Heights. The bigger story for tax pros is the data the IRS released alongside the photo op.
Here is what the IRS confirmed is actually being claimed.
Car loan interest deduction. Up to $10,000 deductible for individuals who paid interest on a loan to purchase a qualified vehicle after December 31, 2024. The vehicle must be a new personal use vehicle with final assembly in the United States. As of mid May 2026, roughly 54,000 Ohio filers had claimed it (about $88 million in deductions). Nationally, more than 1.4 million filers had claimed about $2.6 billion. Senator Moreno is credited as the provision’s lead sponsor.
Enhanced senior deduction. $6,000 above the standard deduction for individuals 65 or older. Married couples with two eligible spouses can stack to $12,000. Two filing requirements matter: Social Security numbers must appear on the return, and married taxpayers must file jointly to qualify. Ohio: about 1.4 million filers, with claimed deductions approaching $7.9 billion. Nationally: more than 35 million seniors and more than $193 billion claimed.
No tax on overtime. For tax years 2025 through 2028, individuals receiving qualified overtime compensation may deduct the portion above the regular rate of pay (generally the “half” portion of “time and a half”) that is reported on a Form W-2 or Form 1099. Annual cap is $12,500 per individual. Ohio: more than 1.2 million filers claimed about $3.4 billion. Nationally: about 29.4 million filers claimed nearly $92.7 billion.
Why this matters for tax pros
This release is not new guidance. It is the IRS publishing uptake numbers that practitioners can use as a pulse check on whether their book of business is leaving deductions on the table. A few notes worth flagging for your practice.
On the car loan interest deduction, the eligibility gates are narrow and worth memorizing before client meetings. The vehicle has to be new, personal use, and have final assembly in the United States. Loan must be after December 31, 2024. Walk clients through the final assembly question before they assume the deduction is available; the VIN tells the story and dealer paperwork should not be taken at face value. Counsel should also document the personal use representation in the engagement file, because a later business use conversion is the kind of fact pattern that turns a clean deduction into a correspondence audit.
On the senior deduction, two compliance triggers are easy to miss: the SSN reporting requirement and the joint filing requirement for married couples. A married client filing separately for any reason (state law issues, separation, spousal liability concerns) will not qualify. That is a conversation to have before the return is signed, not after.
On the overtime deduction, the W-2 or 1099 reporting requirement does the heavy lifting. If the employer is not separately identifying the overtime premium on the wage statement, the deduction is at risk regardless of how many hours the client worked. Practitioners with employer clients should be auditing payroll output now, not in January. The provision sunsets after tax year 2028, so any planning that depends on it needs to factor in the expiration date.
One last note on the politics around this release. The IRS framed the tour as a victory lap on the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and quoted both Bisignano and Moreno on the policy intent. Tax pros do not need to share or reject that framing. What matters is that the agency is publicly tracking uptake, which usually signals that compliance verification on these same provisions is being built out in parallel.
THE TTR TAKE When the IRS releases uptake numbers in the same breath as a press tour, that is the agency telling you which provisions it is watching closely. Use the data, tighten your intake questions on the eligibility gates, and assume verification scrutiny is coming.
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Direct link to the official Internal Revenue Service announcement.