With the end of the year approaching, there are a lot of demands on working families’ budgets: holiday expenses, end-of-year giving, and putting something away for your retirement and the kids’ education. It’s not easy, but the Working Families Tax Cuts that Republicans passed this year will provide some help, enabling you to keep more of your hard-earned money to save, invest, and spend how you see fit.

The cornerstone of the Working Families Tax Cuts is permanently lower tax rates. In 2017, Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes across the board. But those cuts were set to expire at the end of this year without action from Congress, which would have meant a $2,500 tax hike for a typical family in South Dakota. Republicans were determined not to let that happen. So we passed a bill this year that makes those lower tax rates and the higher standard deduction permanent, meaning lower tax bills and more money in working families’ pockets.

With this bill, we also secured additional tax relief for South Dakotans raising families. In 2017, Republicans doubled the child tax credit. This year we raised it again, to $2,200 per child, and linked it to inflation so it will never lose its value. We also created new investment accounts for newborns with an initial $1,000 investment from the government. Families will be able to contribute to these accounts as their children grow, and the money can be used later for education, to start a business, and to buy a first home – in short, to get a head start on the American Dream.

This bill also eliminated taxes on overtime and on tips. Police officers, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, and others who have to be on the job during Thanksgiving and Christmas will be able to keep what they earn for those overtime shifts. And waiters, bartenders, and busboys working through the busy holiday season won’t have to pay taxes on their tips when they file their taxes in April.

Small businesses also stand to benefit from permanent tax relief. In 2017, Republicans created a 20 percent small business deduction, which freed up cash for small businesses to invest in their operations and employees. That provision is now a permanent feature of our tax code. Full expensing for new equipment, which makes it more affordable for small businesses, farmers, and ranchers to invest in their operations, is also now permanent. And these permanent pro-growth tax policies will help small businesses remain competitive and strong in the years to come.

For the last few years, working families, farmers and ranchers, and small businesses have struggled through serious economic headwinds. Republicans’ top priority this year was delivering tax relief for these hardworking Americans to give them more breathing room in their budgets. Without action by Congress, 2026 would have brought a massive tax hike. Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, that tax hike isn’t coming next year, or the year after that, or ever. And that’s great news as we head into the new year.