This summer, Trump’s much-deliberated One Big Beautiful Bill Act was officially signed into law. This law brings a host of tweaks and changes to the tax code, from 529 plan updates to a new deduction for seniors. But for this blog, we’ll just cover the highlights that are mostly likely to impact your planning decisions.

Without further ado…

Permanently penciled in

Many of the updates in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act were designed to extend provisions made in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA. These are updates to the tax code that were scheduled to sunset after 2025, but with the new bill, have been made “permanent.” (I.e., there’s no scheduled end date now, but another administration could propose changes in the future. Tax code is always written in pencil, after all.)

Some of the now-permanent provisions include:

• Current tax brackets
• Increased standard deduction
• Qualified Business Income deduction
• Enhanced child tax credit

One important permanency change to note is the federal gift and estate tax exemption. Not only does the new law make the TCJA exemption (currently $13.99 million) permanent, but starting in 2026, it raises the exemption to $15 million per person, adjusted for inflation each year. So for those of you who were worried the law would revert to pre-TCJA exemption levels (in the neighborhood of $5 to $6 million), that’s no longer a concern.

So how does this impact your plan? It means that for now, most of you (those whose estates are well below $15 million, or $30 million for married couples) don’t need to worry about extensive estate planning to avoid hefty taxes. But as we said—tax code is always written in pencil, so if the total of your assets comes close to the current exemption amount, it’s a good idea to have some tax-mitigation strategies in place, in case the law changes in the future.

Another opportunistic provision made permanent? Qualified Opportunity Zones. (See what we did there?) If you realize a significant capital gain, investing in opportunity zones provides the chance to delay your tax obligation.

Now, onto the exciting new provisions…

ADded to the Tax Code

First, let’s address the changes everyone is talking about.

Lower Taxes for Seniors

You might have heard that “Social Security isn’t taxable now,” but that provision didn’t pass; Social Security is still taxed the same way. Instead, individuals age 65 and older can now receive an extra $6,000 deduction, which could alleviate your overall tax burden if you’re taking Social Security.

This deduction is subject to a phase-out for high earners, but it’s still important to consider for your overall tax plan, particularly if you’re considering a Roth conversion or similar strategy, as you could have an additional $6,000 worth of deductions to account for ($12,000 if you’re married filing jointly and both of you are over age 65).

“No taxes on tips or overtime!”

Again, not technically true. What the new bill offers is a higher deduction for qualified tips and overtime—$25,000 to be exact. So if you get overtime pay or tips, your accountant will likely want to note that as a separate line item, since you could receive a significant deduction for it.

Cash for Cars

There is now a $10,000 deduction available for interest on qualified auto loans. So if you’ve recently purchased or plan to purchase a vehicle, you may be able to deduct some (or all) of the interest on the loan. Talk to your accountant before you go car shopping, though—there are a few stipulations to this deduction.

Flexible 529 Plans

This provision may not be as popular as the senior deduction, but it’s worth noting. While the specific parameters are slightly different for each state, the new bill expands the definition of “qualified expenses” for 529 plans, so the accounts are more flexible.

And finally, here are two provisions that will likely impact many of our clients’ plans:

Don’t Miss

Deductions Get SALTy

—in a good way. With the new law, the State and Local Tax (aka SALT) deduction is $40,000 per household (previously $10,000). This is only in effect for the next few years, though, and will revert to $10,000 in 2030, so plan accordingly. There’s also an income-based phase out, but if you’re below that phase-out level, this could mean a significant increase in your itemized deductions—particularly if you’re on the coast and have higher property and state taxes.

Charitable Deductions Change

Itemized charitable deductions now have a 0.5% floor, meaning you don’t receive a deduction until the amount you give is above 0.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). So, if your AGI is $100,000, the first $500 of your charitable donations are not deductible—but anything beyond that is.

What does that mean for your plan? Maybe you combine your contributions to meet the deduction requirement—using the example above, that would mean if you typically gave $500 per year, you could give $1,000 every other year to get the deduction.

That said, for those in the top tax bracket, itemized charitable deductions are capped at 35% of your income. So if you’re very charitably inclined, just know that you can only deduct that much per year.

If you’re not itemizing, you can receive a $1,000 standard deduction for charitable giving.

Where you go from here

While plenty of updates have been made to the tax code, the good news is, many of the changes are simply continuations of provisions that we’ve been working with for the past eight years—so, many aspects of your financial plan likely won’t need to change. But of course, it’s important to understand the new deductions so you don’t miss out on any opportunities.

If you have questions, we’re happy to discuss how the changes could impact your personal financial plan, and as always, we recommend consulting with your accountant regarding your specific tax strategies.