As the Tax World Turns: One Big Beautiful Bill… But for Whom?

Congress just dropped the One Big Beautiful Bill, and it's exactly what you'd expect from Washington in an election year: a bold headline, a massive price tag, and a maze of provisions that sound good—until you run the numbers.

The bill is ambitious. It aims to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, while layering in new deductions and expanding old ones. It touches nearly every part of the tax code, from tips and overtime pay to estate planning and bonus depreciation.

As a tax strategist who works with high earners, business owners, and real estate investors, I’ve taken a hard look at what’s being proposed. Some of it is helpful. Some of it is noise. And some of it? Frankly, it misses the mark.

The Headliners

TCJA Extensions

The bill makes the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, keeping the top marginal rate at 37% and avoiding a reversion to 39.6%.

This is the anchor of the bill. Politically popular, expected, and frankly, overdue. But locking in the rates without reworking the structure? That’s just cementing complexity.

Above-the-Line Deduction for Tips and Overtime

This lets employees deduct income from tips and overtime—but only if their income is below $160,000.

It’s dressed up as worker-friendly policy, but the income cap guts it. The people clocking real overtime to keep their businesses afloat? Disqualified. Once again, complexity over clarity.

Senior Bonus Deduction

A new $4,000 deduction for taxpayers over 65, phased out at $75K for individuals and $150K for married couples.

Another feel-good headline. In practice? It helps a narrow slice of retirees and skips the people whose retirement is asset-heavy but cash-light.

Auto Loan Interest Deduction

Up to $10,000 in deductible auto loan interest—but only for vehicles assembled in the U.S. and for taxpayers under $100K ($200K married).

I’ll be blunt. This is marketing, not tax policy. It’s too narrow to move behavior, and most of the clients I work with either lease or purchase outright. Not a game changer.

The Pieces That Actually Matter

QBI Deduction Increase

This bill increases the 199A deduction from 20% to 23%.

For passthroughs—S corps, partnerships, Schedule Cs—this matters. If your structure is dialed in and you’re under the wage/asset thresholds, that 3% bump is real. But this doesn’t make the rules any easier to navigate. It just raises the stakes of doing it wrong.

Bonus Depreciation Extension

Back to 100% bonus depreciation through 2029, then phased out.

This is a win. Especially for real estate investors using cost segregation or businesses making big capital investments. But let’s be clear: this is only a win if it’s paired with good planning. The IRS is watching how this is applied, and sloppy execution will get flagged.

R&D Expensing

The bill fixes the Section 174 issue, allowing full expensing of domestic R&D through 2029.

This is one of the few technical pieces that actually addresses a real pain point. The amortization rule from the last round of changes hurt startups and manufacturing businesses. This gives some breathing room—but it’s a delay, not a repeal.

Estate Tax Exemption Bump

Increases the unified gift and estate exemption to $15 million, inflation-adjusted after 2025.

If you’ve already been working on legacy planning, you’ve anticipated this. If not, this is your window. But don’t get comfortable—this is a political number, and it can be rolled back the moment the Senate flips.

What’s Missing

That’s the part that gets me. We have a chance to make real improvements to the code, and instead we’re recycling talking points. Here's what I wish we were talking about:

1. Passive Loss Rules

Still outdated. Still punishing real estate investors for not meeting arbitrary "participation" tests, even when they’re actively managing assets.

2. Incentives for Reinforcement, Not Consumption

Want to help business owners? Reward reinvestment. Reward payroll expansion. Reward keeping clean books and building systems.

3. S-Corp Compensation and Basis Clarity

The lack of clear IRS guidance on reasonable comp and basis tracking continues to make S corps audit-prone. Fix that, and you improve compliance and planning outcomes.

4. Acknowledging Tax Strategy as a Core Lever

Not everyone needs a tax preparer. But anyone building wealth needs a strategist. Yet planning isn’t supported, encouraged, or even acknowledged in this bill. That’s a miss.

So What Happens Now?

It’s headed to the Senate, where it will hit a wall. Conservatives want deeper cuts. Moderates are concerned about the deficit. Democrats are ready to shred the Medicaid provisions and climate rollbacks. If it survives, it won’t look like this version.

But whether this bill passes, dies, or limps through in pieces—that’s not the point.

The point is this: tax law doesn’t create wealth. Strategy does.

Final Thought

This bill might change the landscape, but it doesn’t change the game. The winners will still be the people who stay proactive, who look at the tax code as a tool—not a threat.

And if you’re one of those people who wants to stay ahead of the game, not get crushed by it—subscribe to The CPA Revolution. Every month, I break down what’s happening in tax policy, show you what your CPA probably isn’t telling you, and highlight strategies that actually move the needle.

Because average isn’t working anymore. And Congress sure isn’t going to fix that for you.

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