As you have been enjoying your summer, we have been hard at work absorbing the new tax provisions passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill that was signed into law on July 4, 2025. This isn’t just another incremental tax change; this is the most comprehensive tax reform we’ve seen in years, and it’s creating incredible planning opportunities for our clients.

We’ve put together the attached comprehensive analysis of the law if you want to dive into the full scope of provisions, but here are the highlights of the items we think are most important.

Why This Matters So Much

Here’s the thing – we finally have certainty in our tax law. For years, we’ve been dealing with temporary provisions that were set to expire, making long-term planning a nightmare. The TCJA rates were supposed to jump back up in 2026, bonus depreciation was phasing out, and we were all holding our breath waiting to see what would happen. Well, now we know, and the news is largely positive.

The Big Winners: What You Need to Know

Let me highlight some of the most impactful changes that could affect you:

Individual Tax Relief Made Permanent

• Tax rates stay low: Those TCJA rates that were set to expire? They’re now permanent. No more worrying about automatic tax increases in 2026.
• Higher standard deductions: Not only are they permanent, but they’ve been enhanced beyond TCJA levels. More money in your pocket with less complexity.
• New deductions for working families: Tips up to $25,000 and overtime pay up to $12,500 are now deductible (through 2028). If you’re in the service industry or manage hourly workers, this is huge.
• Enhanced State and Local Tax (SALT) Limit. The SALT Limit was increased to $40,000 for most taxpayers and the pass through entity tax (PTE) was preserved. This should result in a tax savings with little extra effort.

Business Owners, This One’s For You

• 100% bonus depreciation is back: Remember when you could write off equipment purchases immediately? It’s permanent now for property acquired after January 19, 2025. Time to dust off our equipment wish lists.
• QBI deduction made permanent: That 20% pass-through deduction that saves business owners thousands? No more expiration date, s we can plan accordingly.
• R&D expensing restored: Companies can immediately expense domestic R&D costs again instead of that painful 5-year amortization. Cash flow just got a lot better for our tech and innovation clients. Even better, we can go back to 2022 to take advantage of this change.
• Section 179 doubled: The expensing of equipment up to $2.5 million in equipment purchases was made permanent. That’s double what it was before.

Estate Planning Gets a Major Boost

• $15 million per person exemption: The estate and gift tax exemption is permanently set at $15 million per person ($30 million for married couples). No more cliff diving in 2026 which we have been mitigation planning for years. Time to revisit those wealth transfer strategies we’ve been putting on hold or been hedging based on the proposed cliff.

Some Interesting New Opportunities

• Auto loan interest deduction: Up to $10,000 deductible for US-assembled vehicles purchased after 2024 (through 2028). Finally, a reason to celebrate that car payment.
• Trump Accounts for newborns: The government will seed $1,000 into investment accounts for children born after 2024. Think of it as a head start on college savings.

The Planning Opportunities Are Enormous

Here’s what gets me excited as your advisor: we can finally make long-term plans with confidence. Home no more hedging for expiration provisions. When tax laws keep changing every few years, we’re always playing defense. Now we can go on offense.

What You Should Do Next

As I said earlier, I’ve attached our comprehensive analysis that covers every provision in detail. It’s worth a read, especially if you want to geek out on the specifics (and trust me, there are a lot of specifics).

But more importantly, let’s talk. These changes create opportunities, but they also require action. Some of the new deductions have income phase-outs, some are temporary (though many are permanent), and the optimal strategies will vary based on your specific situation.

Whether you’re:

• A business owner looking to optimize equipment purchases and entity structures
• A high-net-worth individual reconsidering estate planning strategies
• A family planning for the next generation’s financial future
• A business owner looking to sell their business
• A real estate investor

…there are strategies we should explore together.

The Bottom Line

After 40 years in this business, I can tell you that periods of major tax law changes like this don’t come around often. When they do, the clients who take advantage of the planning opportunities tend to come out way ahead of those who wait and see.

The One Big Beautiful Bill isn’t just changing the tax code – it’s creating a foundation for smarter, more confident tax and financial planning. And with the level of certainty these permanent provisions provide, we can actually build strategies that will work for years, not just until the next election.

If you’re not already on our calendar, let’s schedule some time to talk about how these changes might impact your specific situation. This is one of those times where getting ahead of the curve really pays off.

P.S. – For my fellow tax nerds, the technical details in the attached analysis are fascinating. The interplay between the permanent QBI deduction and the enhanced depreciation rules alone creates some really interesting planning scenarios. Let’s dig into the details together!

This blog post provides general information about recent tax law changes. Tax planning strategies should be tailored to individual circumstances. Please consult with us or your tax advisor before implementing any strategies discussed.