Table of Key Tax Provisions in OBBBA

Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is final, businesses and investors should carefully review the tax changes to understand the potential impact. The legislation comprises a broad range of tax provisions that will affect all types of taxpayers across most industries. 

Many of the provisions offer different options for implementation. The effective dates are important, and there are time-sensitive planning considerations. The changes could affect third-quarter financial statements and estimated tax payments. By staying informed and prepared, businesses can help mitigate risks, capitalize on opportunities, and maintain compliance with new changes.

The following table offers a detailed breakdown of the key tax provisions in the enacted legislation compared to pre-enactment law. Use it as a resource for identifying important changes and assessing their potential impact. For an in-depth analysis of the key tax provisions, see our full alert: Republicans Complete Sweeping Reconciliation Bill. We have also prepared several other analyses of key aspects of the bill: 

BDO’s Washington National Tax will continue to monitor guidance and developments on these issues. Check our tax policy page periodically for the latest information.  

Key Tax Provisions

Provision
Law Prior to OBBBA Enactment
OBBBA Changes 
Individual income tax rates (Sec. 1).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) provided rate cuts and adjusted the thresholds across the tax brackets from 2018 through 2025, setting them at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.
Extends the TCJA changes and provides an additional year of inflation adjustments for the 10% and 12% brackets, effective after 2025.
Standard deduction (Sec. 63).
TCJA increased the standard deduction from 2018 through 2025, which reached the following amounts with inflation adjustments for 2025:
  • $30,000 (MFJ)
  • $15,000 (S/MFS)
  • $22,500 (HOH)
Permanently increases the standard deduction beginning in 2025 to $31,500 (MFJ), $15,750 (S), and $23,625 (HOH), and indexed for inflation thereafter.
Personal exemptions (Sec. 151).
Personal exemptions set at zero from 2018 through 2025.
Permanently repeals personal exemptions, except for creating a new personal exemption for seniors, discussed below.
Child tax credit (Sec. 24).
TCJA increased the maximum child tax credit (CTC) to $2,000 per qualifying child and made up to $1,700 per child refundable (indexed for inflation). The TCJA also increased the thresholds at which the CTC began to phase out to:
  • $200,000 of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for single filers
  • $400,000 of MAGI for joint filers
The CTC was set to revert to $1,000 per qualifying child after 2025, with a higher refund earned income threshold and lower phaseout levels.
  • Permanently increases the CTC to $2,200 beginning in 2025, indexing it for inflation thereafter.
  • Makes permanent the refundable portion of the CTC and higher phaseout thresholds.
Qualified business income deduction (Sec. 199A).
  • TCJA created Section 199A from 2018 through 2025, allowing individuals, trusts, and estates to deduct 20% of qualified business income from a partnership, S corporation, or sole proprietorship (20% of total qualified real estate investment trust dividends and publicly traded partnership income are also eligible).
  • Taxpayers cannot be in specified service trade or business and must meet capital investment or wage payment requirement unless income is below inflation-adjusted thresholds that reached $394,600 (MFJ) and $197,300 (S, HOH, MFS) in 2025.
  • Makes deduction permanent at 20% rate while slowing the phaseout of the exception from the capital investment and wage expense requirements and the bar on specified service trades or businesses.
  • Creates new minimum $400 deduction for taxpayers with at least $1,000 of qualified income, with both figures indexed for inflation.
  • Changes effective for tax years beginning after 2025.
Alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemptions and phaseouts (Sec. 55).
TCJA increased the exemptions and exemption phaseouts from 2018 through 2025. Exemptions in 2025:
  • $137,000 (MFJ)
  • $88,1000 (S/HOH)
  • $68,500 (MFS)
Phaseout of exemption in 2025:
  • $1,252,700 (MFJ)
  • $636,350 (S/HOH/MFS)
Makes the TCJA AMT thresholds permanent, but only after resetting the inflation adjustments for the exemptions phaseout threshold back to the 2018 level, effectively reducing the thresholds and reindexing them for inflation after these 2026 amounts:
  • $1,000,000 (MFJ)
  • $500,000 (S/HOH/MFS)
Doubles the rate at which the exemptions phase out over these thresholds.
Deduction for qualified residence interest (Sec. 163(h)).
TCJA lowered the cap on the amount of acquisition indebtedness taxpayers can consider for the mortgage interest deduction from $1 million to $750,000 for indebtedness incurred after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026.
Makes permanent the lower cap on indebtedness but treats certain mortgage insurance premiums as qualified interest effective for tax years beginning after 2025.
Casualty loss deduction (Sec. 165(c)).
TCJA repealed the deduction for personal casualty losses incurred after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026 (except to the extent of personal casualty gains) except for disaster losses, which remain deductible under the TCJA to the extent the loss exceeds 10% of AGI. Disaster losses are deductible to the extent they exceed $500 without regard to the 10% AGI threshold for disasters declared between Feb. 26, 2021, and 60 days after Dec. 12, 2024.
  • Makes the casualty loss limitations under the TCJA permanent, but expands the exception for disaster loss treatment to state-declared disasters.
  • Extends the $500 threshold in place of the 10% AGI requirement for disasters declared within 60 days of July 4, 2025.
Miscellaneous itemized deductions (Sec. 67).
TCJA suspended miscellaneous itemized deductions from 2018 through 2025.
Makes repeal of miscellaneous itemized deductions permanent, but allows an itemized deduction for certain educator expenses beginning in 2026.
Pease limitation on itemized deductions (Sec. 68).
TCJA suspended the Pease limitation on itemized deductions for 2018 to 2025.
Makes the repeal of the Pease limitation permanent but creates a new limitation beginning in 2026 capping the value of itemized deductions so that the maximum benefit is equivalent to reducing taxable income in the 35% bracket rather than the 37% bracket.
Child and dependent care credit (Sec. 21).
Individuals can receive a credit ranging from 20% to 35%, depending on income, for certain dependent care costs.
Increases the credit rate from 20% to 50% for tax years beginning after 2025.
Dependent care assistance programs (Sec. 129).
Employees may exclude from income certain dependent care costs paid by their employers.
Increases cap from $5,000 to $7,500.
Adoption credit (Sec. 23).
Individuals can claim a credit for qualified adoption expenses up to a lifetime inflation-adjusted cap that reached $17,280 in 2025, with the credit phasing out for AGI exceeding an inflation-adjusted cap that reached $259,190 in 2025.
Makes up to $5,000 of the credit refundable, with a slight change in the inflation adjustments for the credit, effective for 2025.
Charitable deduction (Sec. 170).
  • Individuals are generally allowed an itemized deduction for charitable contributions. For 2021, a temporary provision allowed a charitable deduction of up to $300 for non-itemizing taxpayers.
  • TCJA increased the AGI cap on the deduction for charitable contributions from 50% to 60% for 2018 through 2025.
  • Reinstates a deduction for cash contributions to public charities for taxpayers that do not itemize of up to $2,000 (MFJ) or $1,000 (S, HOH, MFS) beginning in 2026.
  • Makes permanent the 60% of AGI threshold for the itemized deduction.
  • Creates a new 0.5% AGI floor on itemized charitable deductions beginning in 2026.
Other TCJA limits.
TCJA provided from 2018 through 2025:
  • Repeal of exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements
  • Repeal of exclusion for moving expenses
  • ABLE account changes
  • Exclusion for student loan forgiveness after death
  • Special tax treatment for service on Sinai Peninsula
  • Exclusion from income of employer payments of student loans
All listed TCJA changes are generally made permanent, with several changes:
  • Offers an additional year of inflation adjustments for the limits on qualified transportation fringe benefits and ABLE accounts
  • Increases the savers credit for ABLE contributions and makes other changes
  • Provides an exception for the repeal of the exclusion for moving expenses for members of intelligence communities
  • Changes inflation adjustment for the exclusion from income of employer payments of student loans
Wagering losses (Sec. 165(d)).
Wagering losses are generally deductible only up to wagering gains, and TCJA clarified that this limit also applies to wagering losses in a trade or business from 2018 through 2026.
Makes permanent the TCJA treatment of wagering losses in a trade or business and adds a new limit allowing taxpayers to deduct only up to 90% of wagering losses (up to the amount of gains).
Section 529 accounts (Section 529).
Section 529 provides tax-preferred savings accounts for certain education expenses.
Expands the definition of qualified expenses and doubles the limit on distributions for elementary and secondary schools
State and local tax (SALT) cap (Sec. 164).
SALT itemized deductions limited to $10,000 ($5,000 MFS) of state and local income, property, and sales taxes from 2018 through 2025.
  • Makes the $10,000 SALT cap permanent, with a temporary increase in the threshold from 2025 through 2029.
  • Increases threshold to $40,000 in 2025, but this phases down to $10,000 for income exceeding $500,000.
  • Increases the $40,000 and $500,000 thresholds by 1% each year from 2026 through 2029.
Active loss limit (Sec. 461).
Section 461 limits a taxpayer’s ability to deduct certain active business losses above a limit that is indexed for inflation and in 2025 reached $626,000 (MFJ) and $313,000 (S/HOH/MFS). The limited loss generally becomes an NOL in future years. The provision was set to expire for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2028.
Makes the active loss limit under Section 461(l) permanent while reducing the threshold at which the limit applies by clawing back eight years of inflation adjustments.
Estate and gift tax lifetime exemption amount (Secs. 2010, 2505).
Lifetime exemption amount set at $10 million and indexed for inflation ($13.99 million in 2025). The top estate tax rate is 40%. The exemption amount was scheduled to be cut in half after 2026.
Exemption amount is increased to $15 million per taxpayer in 2026 and indexed for inflation thereafter.
Exemption for seniors (Sec. 151).
The TCJA generally repealed personal exemptions.
  • Creates a $6,000 personal exemption for taxpayers aged 65 and above for four years from 2025 through 2028.
  • Exemption begins to phase out with MAGI exceeding $150,000 (MFJ) and $75,000 (S/HOH/MFS).
Taxation of tip income (Sec. 61).
Tip income is taxed under Sec. 61 and reported to employers monthly under Sec. 6053.
  • Creates an income tax deduction of up to $25,000 per year from 2025 through 2028.
  • Deduction is available only for voluntary tips in occupations that “traditionally and customarily” received tips before 2025 in a business that is not a specified service trade or business under Section 199A.
  • Deduction is available without regard to whether deductions are itemized but phases out for MAGI exceeding $150,000 (S, MFS, HOH) or $300,000 (MFJ).
  • Extends the FICA tip credit to cover certain beauty services.
  • Creates reporting requirements for employers.
Taxation of overtime pay (Sec. 61).
Overtime pay is subject to income and employment tax.
  • Creates an income tax deduction of up to $12,500 (S, MFS, HOH) or $25,000 (MFJ) for overtime pay under the FLMA from 2025 through 2028.
  • Deduction is available without regard to whether deductions are itemized but phases out for MAGI exceeding $150,000 (single) or $300,000 (joint).
  • Creates reporting requirements for employers.
Auto loan interest deduction.
There is no current deduction for personal interest, which includes interest incurred on a personal vehicle loan.
  • Creates an income tax deduction of up to $10,000 in interest paid on a loan for new vehicles under 14,000 pounds with final assembly in the U.S.
  • Deduction is available for non-itemizers but phases out when modified AGI exceeds $100,000 (S, MFS, HOH) or $200,000 (MFJ).
  • Effective for tax years 2025 through 2028. Creates reporting requirements for lenders.
Tax-preferred savings accounts. (Sec. 530A).
The tax code provides several types of tax-preferred savings and spending accounts.
  • Creates a new type of tax-preferred account for minors called “Trump” accounts.
  • Contributions are allowable after July 4, 2026, until an individual turns 18, and are capped annually at $5,000 (indexed for inflation).
  • Contributions are not deductible, but the accounts would generally be exempt from tax, with qualified distributions taxed as capital gains.
  • Under a pilot program, children born between 2025 and 2028 are eligible to receive a $1,000 contributory credit in their account.
  • Investments up to age 18 are limited to mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track a qualified index, do not use leverage, and have expenses of less than 0.1%. Qualified indexes include the S&P 500 and other indexes for equity investments primarily in U.S. companies. Industry-specific indexes are prohibited but indexes based on market capitalization are allowed.
  • Distributions are generally not allowed until age 18, with rules similar to IRAs thereafter.

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