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One Big “Beautiful” Bill

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This post contains a non-exhaustive summary of the most impactful (to my clients) tax and personal finance-related provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that was passed into law on 7/4/2025. That’s the actual name of the Bill / Law, by the way, not an editorial on the Bill’s beauty. In fact, I put “Beautiful” in quotes in the title to give just the opposite impression. To be fair though, this Bill is to beauty about as the Inflation Reduction Act of the previous administration was to reducing inflation. Names of Laws don’t imply meaning, intention, or effectiveness of those Laws. That’s as far as I’m going to get into politics on this one. I’m also not going to get into the budget portions, appropriations, cuts to programs like Medicaid, etc. While the importance of those parts of the Bill probably surpasses the importance of tax changes to many Americans, this post is only about taxes and personal finance, where I can contribute most. I leave it to you to dive into the rest of the Bill as you feel is appropriate, using the sources you feel are appropriate. Better yet, give the 870-page OBBB a read yourself.

Many of the provisions are retroactive to the start of 2025 and so they impact taxes this year. Some begin later in 2025, some in 2026, a few even after that. Some provisions are permanent (meaning it would take a new law to change them). Some are temporary (meaning they will revert back to old law at a future date unless a new law is passed to extend them). I tried my best below to include the effective dates for each change. Please keep in mind that this is my personal interpretation of the OBBB after skimming it and cross referencing various other summaries that have been published. It is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. Lastly, it will take some time to update tax projection software and really get into the details of what, if any, actions clients should take, given their current situation. Unlike other recent tax bills, which were passed in the final days of the tax year, this one gives time to interpret, project, and act. There will be more to come on those actions in the coming months.

Key tax and personal finance provisions of OBBB:

  • Current tax brackets made permanent (would have reverted back to pre-TCJA in 2026).  That includes the 10%, 12%, 22%, 32%, 35%, and 37% rates, as well as their income ranges for Single, Head-Of-Household (HoH), Married Filing Jointly (MFJ), and Married Filing Separately (MFS).  Those income ranges are adjusted upward annually for inflation.  The OBBB adds one additional year of inflation adjustments to the 10% and 12% brackets by setting their “base year” back to 2016 from 2017 starting in 2026. This effectively increases the 10% and 12% brackets for inflation twice in 2026 only, making those brackets higher, and reducing taxes slightly for everyone that pays any Federal tax.
  • Standard deduction made permanent (would have reverted back to pre-TCJA in 2026).  Increased slightly for 2025 to $31,500 for couples, $23,625 for head of household and $15,750 for individuals.  Inflation-adjusted going forward. 
  • New $6,000 personal exemption for those age 65+ (remains $0 for everyone else).  Acts like another standard deduction and phases out by 6% of the amount that MAGI (adjusted gross income plus excluded foreign income in most cases) exceeds $75k single / $150k MFJ.  Effective 2025-2028, only.  This new deduction was Congress’s way of trying to implement President Trump’s “no tax on social security” campaign promise.  Since the Budget Reconciliation process (requires majority vote in the Senate to pass instead of 60 votes) can’t make changes to Social Security, this new deduction is the best they could do.  Social Security taxation rules have not changed at all.  Contrary to the message the administration is putting out there, there is still tax on Social Security income if overall income is above certain thresholds.
  • New phaseout of deductions for those in the top (37%) tax bracket so that their deductions only reduce tax by 35%.
  • Child tax credit raised to $2200 / child + inflation and made permanent (would have reverted back to $1k in 2026).  Still phases out starting at AGI of $200k single / $400k MFJ.
  • $500 Other Dependent Credit made permanent.
  • Gift/Estate tax exemption increases to $15M per person / $30M per couple in 2026 + inflation in future years ($14k now + inflation, so not a huge change, but would have reverted back to pre-TCJA in 2026) and permanent.
  • QBI deduction (this is better known as the 20% “small business deduction” created by TCJA) made permanent (would have ended for 2026).  Phase-in ranges for the §199A limitations increase to $75,000 for non-joint returns and $150,000 for joint returns (from previous $50k/100k).  Other enhancements in the initial House version did not make the final bill.
  • SALT deduction limit (which would have ended in 2026) increases to $40k for 2025 (from $10k) +1% per year.  This higher deduction limit will be in effect for 5 years (ends after 2029).  Applies to single or MFJ (so increases the marriage penalty), but MFS is only $20k (so increases the penalty for married filing separately, which already rarely makes sense).  Reverts back to $10k in 2030.  Phased out by 30% of the amount that AGI is > $500k (so fully phased out at $600k), but can’t go below $10k.  That $500k phase applies to both single and MFJ too (MFS = $250k). The cap is also indexed +1% per year.  A ban on certain state-level workarounds for businesses that were included in the House version of the Bill were NOT included in the final version.
  • Current AMT exemption made permanent but AMT exemption phaseouts reset to 2018 levels ($500k single / $1M MFJ) which backed out a few years of inflation.  Also cuts exemption phaseout to $1 for every $2 of AMTI over the threshold (vs prior $1 for every $4 of AMTI).
  • Mortgage interest deduction limited to $750k of debt made permanent.  Grandfathering of pre-TCJA mortgages at $1M still applies.
  • Mortgage insurance premiums deductible (as they were pre-2022) permanently.
  • Casualty loss deduction limited to Federally declared disaster area made permanent.
  • Elimination of the moving expenses deduction made permanent
  • Elimination of miscellaneous itemized deductions by TCJA (e.g. unreimbursed employee expenses, business mileage, home office deduction) made permanent (i.e. you cannot deduction business mileage, home office, etc. as an employee).
  • Charitable Deduction changes (starting 2026):
    • For non-itemizers a new, permanent deduction of up to $1k single / $2k MFJ.  No income phaseouts. Only direct cash contributions qualify (no property, no DAF, etc.)
    • For itemizers, a new, permanent floor of 0.5% of AGI for deductibility (e.g. if you earn $200k per year, the first $1000 of charitable contributions would not count toward an itemized deduction)
  • Deduction for gambling losses (already limited to gambling gains) limited so that only 90% of losses could be considered.  Means even those with net losses in a year could be taxed on gambling “income”.
  • Dependent Care Credit enhanced to 20-50% of up to $3k/child (max 2) of expenses (from 20-35%).  Permanent.
  • Dependent Care FSA limit increased to $7500 from $5k.  Permanent, but not inflation-adjusted.
  • Tax exclusion for employer-paid student loan assistance permanent
  • “No tax on tips” – New deduction (separate from itemized deductions, but after the calculation of adjusted gross income) for up to $25k (all filing statuses except MFS, which gets $0!) of tips included in income.  Effective 2025-2028.  Tips must be voluntarily paid in customary tipping occupations.  All SSTB (specified service trades or businesses) are excluded.  Deduction phases out at 10% of income over a threshold of MAGI starting at MAGI of $150k single / $300k MFJ.
  • “No tax on overtime”– New deduction (separate from itemized deductions, but after the calculation of adjusted gross income) for up to 12.5k single / $25k MFJ / $0 MFS of overtime pay included in income (shown on W-2).  Effective 2025-2028.  Deduction phases out at 10% of income over a threshold of MAGI starting at MAGI of $150k single / $300k MFJ.
  • Auto Loan Deduction – up to $10k of interest per year would be deductible on auto loans from 2025-2028.  New vehicles purchases only (no leases or used cars), with final assembly in the US. Deduction phases out at 20% of income over a threshold of MAGI starting at MAGI of $100k single / $200k MFJ.
  • Enhanced Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) Premium Tax Credits were not extended.  These increased the tax credit for (“the subsidy”) for ACA purchased health insurance and implemented a new, slower phaseout to the credit for those earning more than 4x the federal poverty level in income.  They were increased for 2021 and 2022 and then extended by the Inflation Reduction Act, but have now been allowed to revert back to the original ACA level with a hard cliff at 4x the federal poverty level.  This means that if you purchase your health insurance through a state ACA exchange and you currently receive a subsidy to offset the cost of your insurance, starting in 2026 that subsidy may be reduced and / or you may have to pay part of it back when you file your taxes.
  • HSA Enhancements -the broad HSA enhancements that were part of the initial House version of the OBBB, including doubling the max HSA contribution, were not included in the final Bill.  These changes were included:
    • Telehealth visits with deductible waived, won’t disqualify plans from being HSA eligible.  Starts 2025 when the old laws that allowed this during COVID expired.
    • All ACA Bronze and Catastrophic health plans will be HSA eligible, regardless of whether they would otherwise qualify.  Starts in 2026.
    • Direct Primary Care arrangements with subscription costs not exceeding $150/mo individual / $300/mo family can be HSA-eligible.  Additionally, HSAs can be used to pay those subscription fees.  Starts in 2026.
  • Credit for the purchase of new and used electric cars ends 9/30/2025 instead of 12/31/2032.
  • Credit for energy efficient home improvements ends 12/31/2025 instead of 12/31/2032.  This was the up to $1200/yr for energy efficient doors, windows, HVAC, water heaters, etc.
  • Credit for installing certain residential renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, geothermal, batteries, etc. ends 12/31/2025 instead of 12/31/2032.  This includes the 30% credit for solar installations.
  • 100% Bonus Depreciation restored for business assets purchased on or after 1/20/2025.  Permanent.
  • Section 179 expensing permanently increased from $1.16M to $2.5M, with phase-out starting at $4M.
  • Business loss limitation provision from the TCJA made permanent.
  • Employer credit for paid family and medical leave permanent.
  • Opportunity Zones permanent with several changes including the definition of a low-income community.  Effective 1/1/2027.  More guidance will be necessary on this one as Opportunity Zones were already a very complicated portion of the TCJA.
  • New 100% credit for donations up to $1700/yr to state-approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).  Scholarships received from those organizations for qualified elementary or secondary education would be tax-free.
  • Expands the allowable uses of 529 accounts to include K-12 education expenses (previously just tuition, with a cap, now more broad) and allows 529s to be used for “qualified postsecondary credentialing expenses” (seemingly certificate programs).
  • New 1% excise tax starting in 2026 on certain money transfers funded from cash, money orders, cashier’s check, or similar, rather than bank account, credit card, or debit card, sent from the US to an international destination.  A new tax credit is available to offset the excise tax if it is paid by a US citizen or US resident.
  • Many changes to student loan annual and lifetime maximums as well as repayment plan options.
  • “Trump Accounts” – IRAs established for minors that will follow most Traditional IRA rules.  Contributions can start 7/4/2026.  $1k granted per child born between 2025 and 2028 by the Feds.  Additional contributions of up to $5k / yr allowed until child turns 18.  No deduction.  Tax-deferred (not tax-free) growth, with distributions taxed at ordinary income rates.  With few exceptions, can’t be accessed prior to age 18.  Seems to follow the IRA rules for access prior to age 59.5 with penalties unless due to death, disability, home purchase, etc.  Must be invested in a low-cost US mutual fund or ETF.  Employers can contribute up to $2500 pre-tax for the employee.  Withdrawals after age 18 taxed pro-rata (gains and untaxed employer contributions taxed as income, after-tax contributions returned tax-free). 
  • 1099 Reporting changes –
    • The minimum threshold to report payments to individuals engaged in a trade or business (1099-MISC / 1099-NEC) increases to $2000, from $600.  Inflation-adjusted starting in 2026.
    • The minimum threshold to report third-party network transaction via 1099-K (e.g. Venmo, Paypal, etc.) reverts back to $20k or greater than 200 transactions.  That was scheduled to be reduced to $600 starting in 2026.
  • Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) – increases the max gain exclusion from $10M to $15M and creates new partial gain exclusions for stock acquired after 7/4/2025 where 50% of the gain can be excluded if held for 3-4 years or 75% if held between 4-5 years. 100% exclusion still occurs at 5 years.

7.12% risk-free?!? Well, sort of…

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There is no free lunch. I’m sure you’ve heard that statement before. As it relates to financial markets, it generally means that you can’t get an expected return above the risk-free rate without taking some level of risk. The higher the potential for return, the more risk must be embedded in the investment. Currently, there is somewhat of an exception, at least for the short-term, courtesy of the United States government.

Savings bonds are generally poor investments for the long-term. There are many types (“series”) of savings bonds and all but one are beyond the scope of this post. The exception, Series I Savings Bonds (“i-bonds”). These bonds are unique in that their variable interest rate is determined by a fixed rate, set by the Treasury at issuance (currently 0% and never below 0%) and a variable rate tied to the CPI (Consumer Price Index). The fixed rate portion is intended to reflect the “real” risk-free rate (i.e. net of inflation), with a 0% floor, while the variable portion is intended to reflect inflation. In this way, i-bonds pay an inflation-protected risk-free rate. Because of the current bout of inflation, the CPI increased by just over 3.5% in the last six months ending in September 2021. The variable portion of the i-bond rate is recalculated every six months based on the annualized change in CPI from the preceding six months. That means that i-bond rate for November 2021 through April 2022 is the 0% fixed rate + 7.12% variable rate = 7.12%. These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, meaning they are about as default risk-free as can be and they’re currently paying 7.12%! So what’s the catch? There’s no free lunch right? No catches per se, but there are some things to be aware of…

First of all, that 7.12% is variable and will reset in May of 2022 based on the change in CPI between November 2021 and April 2022. For each six-month period of time, you’ll receive the variable interest rate, which is not known in advance. It’s unlikely to stay anywhere near 7% over the long-term unless inflation persists. Even then, your return will always only equal inflation. In normal times, that’s not much of a goal, but in a world of negative real interest rates, keeping up with inflation alone may appeal to at least some investors. While it’s unlikely to beat equity investments over the long-term, it’s certainly better than a savings account at one of the major banks paying 0.01%. But there are a few more disadvantages here…

Second, you are required to hold i-bonds for a full year from purchase. I know what you’re thinking… there’s always a way around requirements like that (CD’s charge some interest penalty for example, or illiquid investments that can be sold at below-market prices in case of emergency). Unfortunately, there is no work-around in this case. One full year holding period is required and there is no way to liquidate during that time. Beyond the one-year holding requirement, you can liquidate at any time, but, if you liquidate during the first five years, you are charged a three-month interest penalty (e.g. if you hold for 18 months, you only get the interest for the first 15 of those months). Once you’re past five years, the bond becomes fully liquid with no penalty, and you can hold it for up to 30 years when it will mature and stop paying interest.

Third, you can only purchase $10k of i-bonds per entity per year. What does “per entity” means? It generally means per person, but if you have a business or a trust, those entities can purchase $10k per year as well. So there’s no way to park hundreds of thousands of dollars in i-bonds for the short-term while they’re paying this rate and then liquidate them if rates fall over the next few periods.

Fourth, because i-bonds pay interest rather than qualified dividends or capital gains, that interest is taxed as ordinary income taxed at your highest marginal tax rate (meaning your after-tax return is going to be well less than the rate of inflation). On the plus side though, that interest is deferred until the year you cash in the bonds, so you can choose an otherwise low-income year to keep the marginal tax rate down. Also, as an obligation of the federal government, they are state income tax free, which makes them a bit more appealing if you live in a high income tax state.

So, what’s the bottom line? Should you run out and buy $10k of i-bonds as soon as possible? Well, they’re not a great long-term investment, paying a guaranteed after-tax rate that is less than inflation. They’re not a good emergency fund given the one-year holding requirement. But, right now, in a negative real risk-free rate environment, the fact that the fixed rate portion of the bond cannot go below 0% makes them appealing for those who have significant savings in cash, beyond an emergency fund and other liquid assets. If you’re the type of investor who likes to have a surplus of cash, beyond what you’d need over the course of a year in the case of an emergency like a job loss or disability, this can be a good place to park $10k ($20k if married, $40k if married with trusts, $60k if married with trust and two businesses). It can also be a good replacement for part of the (especially short and/or inflation-protected) bond portion of an asset allocation, since it’s going to pay a higher rate of return, at least for now.

If you decide that i-bonds are for you, you can’t purchase them or hold them in a bank or brokerage account and your financial advisor can’t buy them for you. You’ll need to go to www.treasurydirect.gov and buy them directly from the US Treasury. Opening an account is fairly straight forward and you can link a bank account quickly which will allow you to schedule a purchase right away. If your information is mismatched with something in the Treasury databases, you may have to mail in a form with a Signature Guarantee (like a notarization, but obtained from a bank) to prove your identity. This is also likely if you open an account for a Trust or a business. Once the account is opened an a purchase is made, you’ll see interest being credited after the first three months you hold the bond (that’s the three-month penalty you’d incur if you sell in the first five years). You can track the bond values over time as they accrue interest and can purchase more in future years as desired. Just remember, you’ll always earn the fixed rate that was in place when you purchased the bond (currently 0%) + the variable rate for each six-month period going forward.

You can find more details about i-bonds at the Treasury’s FAQ page for i-bonds.