An Open Letter to Senator Mike Crapo (Chairman) and Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Ranking Member) of the Senate Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and Congressman Kevin Brady, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee

Please don’t raise taxes for single moms!

As a single mom, I worry about money from the moment I wake up until my head finally hits the pillow at the end of the day. Even when I’m working more than one job, there always seems to be less money than I need to take care of everything my son needs.

I’m a CPA and an author, but my most important job every day is as a mother. Regardless of what else is going on in my life or in the world, my son always comes first, and taking care of him – providing for him – is my number one priority.

I try very hard to manage everything on my own, and rely on myself to provide what my son needs – I don’t like asking for help.

But the hard truth is that single moms face financial challenges and stresses that other families don’t. All by ourselves, we try very hard to support our families – often working more than one job to make ends meet. At the same time, we cherish and take care of our children and our homes, spending every minute of our “free time” trying to be there for our kids.

One thing that makes our struggle just a little bit easier is the small tax break we get with the Head of Household tax status, along with personal exemptions for us and our kids. The tax savings we get from that may not seem like a lot to you, but to us, they make a huge difference.

Right now, the tax law for 2017 would let a single mom like me with one child use the Head of Household status to get a special standard deduction plus two personal exemptions (one for each of us).

But if you take away that HoH status and the exemptions, replacing them with a proposed $15,000 standard deduction, my taxable income could increase by almost $2,300. That will add several hundred dollars to my tax bill! And for single mothers (and fathers) with more than one child, the lost exemptions would increases their tax bills even more

Every dollar we single parents save in taxes goes straight toward supporting our kids. Losing even $100 to increased taxes just means more things we can’t buy for our kids. We use those tax savings for food, school supplies, new school clothes to fit our rapidly growing children, sports equipment, and copays for doctor visits.

Please don’t take away the one break we single parents get. Please let us keep the Head of Household tax status and personal exemptions, so we can keep our kids fed, clothed, and ready to succeed in school.

If you want to keep this crucial tax status, please forward this to your representatives in Washington. Find your Congressman here: http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep. And contact your Senator here: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/.