The Big Beautiful Bill

Below is an upgraded side-by-side comparison incorporating the final, enacted version of the “Big Beautiful Bill” (officially Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) versus the earlier 2017 TCJA. It highlights the major tax changes confirmed in the final law.

Provisions	TCJA (2017)	The BBB (2025)
Individual tax rates & brackets	Lowered rates, 7 brackets (10 % to 37 %)	Those same individual tax rates and brackets are made permanent (no sunset)
Standard deduction	Raised under TCJA and indexed; originally for ~2025 expiration	Standard deduction is preserved and increased for 2025: • Single / Married Filing Separately: $15,750 Head of Household: $23,625 • Married Filing Jointly / Qualifying Surviving Spouse: $31,500
Personal / dependent exemptions	Eliminated by TCJA	Remains eliminated under the new law
State and Local Tax (SALT)	deduction cap Capped at $10,000 (impacting high-tax states)	Temporarily raised: for 2025–2029, taxpayers may deduct up to $40,000 (or $20,000 married filing separately) of SALT. After that window, the cap may revert.
New “No tax on tips” deduction	None	For 2025–2028, employees and self-employed may deduct “qualified tips” (cash or charged tips) up to $25,000 (subject to income phaseouts).
Overtime pay deduction	None (overtime income taxed like regular wages)	New deduction up to $12,500 for qualified overtime pay (the extra “half-time” portion) for 2025 onward. Phaseouts apply for higher income taxpayers.
Auto-loan interest deduction (for U.S.-assembled vehicles)	No such deduction	Deductible interest on auto loans for U.S.-assembled vehicles, up to $10,000/year, with eligibility thresholds (phasing out above certain AGI)
Bonus / accelerated depreciation / expensing	TCJA allowed 100 % bonus depreciation (for a limited period, then phased down)	The final version makes 100% bonus depreciation permanent for qualifying property acquired after Jan 19, 2025.
Child tax credit	$2,000 per qualifying child (some refundable portion)	Increased credit: $2,500 per child through 2028, then reverts to $2,000 thereafter per the law’s text.
“Trump Accounts” (or child savings accounts)	None in TCJA	New tax-favored accounts for children (“Trump Accounts”): • Initial $1,000 credit at birth • Contributions up to $5,000/year per child (with tax-advantaged growth)
Senior / 65+ additional deduction	No special deduction for retirees beyond standard rules	A deduction of $6,000 for taxpayers aged 65+ (available regardless of itemizing) phases out above income thresholds
Estate & gift tax	High exemption (≈ $11 million per person, inflation-indexed)	The new law raises and locks in a higher estate and gift tax exemption (exact new amount indexed) (i.e., fewer estates subject to tax)
Clean energy / renewable incentives & credits	Various incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (solar, EV credits, renewable energy credits)	Many clean energy credits are reduced, ended, or accelerated sunset under the new law; the final law phases out or eliminates several IRA-era incentives.
Corporate / business provisions	Lowered corporate rate (21%) under TCJA, business expensing, various international provisions	Maintains many business / corporate provisions from TCJA and adds or modifies others (e.g. changes to depreciation, executive compensation rules)
Itemized deduction limitations (for top-bracket taxpayers)	No special cap besides general rules	Imposes a limit: itemized deductions for taxpayers in the top bracket (37 %) are capped so that deduction value is limited to 35% of income (i.e. $100 deduction yields $35 of tax benefit, not $37)

Key Notes & Impacts (from final law)

• Many of the 2017 TCJA changes that were due to expire are now permanently extended under the new law (e.g. rates, standard deduction).

• Several of the new deductions and benefits (tips, overtime, auto-loan interest, senior deduction) are temporary (2025–2028) under the law.

• The SALT cap increase to $40,000 is temporary (2025–2029). After that, it may revert to the old $10,000 cap.

• The “no tax on tips” deduction is occupation-specific (only for jobs listed by the IRS as customarily receiving tips before end of 2024) and is subject to income phaseouts. Some proposals were scaled back or dropped in the final version (e.g. increasing pass-through deduction to 23 %, stricter SALT caps, more aggressive BEAT reforms) from earlier drafts.

• Clean energy tax credits created under the prior Inflation Reduction Act are largely phased out or eliminated earlier than in previous law.

What Are your thoughts regarding the Tax Provisions brought to you by the BBB?