Tax

For decades, the 4As has championed the federal deductibility of advertising—a critical tax deduction for America’s businesses. But the fight isn't over. In 2017, the 4As and other allied partners successfully defended the preservation of this deduction against proposals to help pay for Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Now, with many TCJA provisions expiring in 2025 and the national deficit looming, the threat may be back. Any industry, including advertising, could once again be on the table during 2025 tax reform negotiations.

And the threat of new taxes is not just in Washington. Cash-strapped states are aggressively targeting the advertising industry for additional revenue. The industry has seen various state attempts to eliminate the sales and use tax exemption for advertising services and new proposals to impose taxes on third-party data providers and data use. Maryland's 2021 digital ad tax was just the beginning. As states grapple with increasing economic pressures, expect a wave of new tax bills on advertising in 2025 and beyond.

Learn About the State Tax Bills We’re Tracking

The 4As is committed to defending the favorable tax treatment of advertising, for the sake of our industry, but also for the sake of America’s economy. Stay informed. Stay protected.

U.S. Advertising: An Economic Growth Engine and Significant Job Creator

The proof is in the data. New research supported by the 4As and the Advertising Coalition (TAC) reveals the undeniable economic power of advertising, fueling trillions in U.S. sales and supporting tens of millions of American jobs. Take a look!

The Economic Impact of Advertising of the U.S. Economy 2024-2029

The Advertising Coalition

The Advertising Coalition is an alliance of the nation’s leading media companies and trade organizations broadly representing advertising-centric businesses and interests across the country. The coalition, of which the 4As is a founding member, advocates to preserve the current federal tax treatment of advertising as a normal business expense–fully deductible in the year it is spent. We engage legislators in Washington and in their districts to help them understand why preserving the federal advertising tax deduction is critical to our industry and U.S. growth and competitiveness.

For more than a hundred years, the current federal advertising tax deductibility paradigm has ensured that American businesses can use advertising to find consumers and compete. Today, it continues to create and support billions of dollars of U.S. economic sales and millions of American jobs. Proposals to alter the current tax treatment of advertising would create a significant economic distortion, threaten existing jobs, and diminish future job growth.

Learn more about The Advertising Coalition.