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Trump tax bill poised for enactment; unpacking the tax provisions

July 2, 2025 / 58 min read

On July 2, the House began final consideration of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill ahead of the self-imposed July 4 deadline. Our specialists unpack the tax provisions, including TCJA extensions and other sweeping changes.

Months of legislative negotiations among Republicans in Congress reached a crescendo on July 2 as the House advanced toward its final vote on H.R.1, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The bill is expansive and implements many Republican policy priorities. This includes voluminous tax changes, including extension of rules from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), implementation of campaign promises, and modification of many other existing rules. If the House approves the OBBB then it will head to President Trump for signature ahead of the July 4 holiday. With much to unpack, our specialists survey all of the tax provisions included in the bill.

A final sprint after a long process

The origin of the OBBB began last fall following the 2024 election. The result of that election set the stage for the coming tax debate by establishing who would be in office during 2025. Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress and the return of President Trump to the White House provided an indication of the policy choices that would be made. However, the process and timing involved were open for debate going into 2025. Complex negotiations among Republicans in the House and Senate ultimately settled on the choice to pursue one bill through the expedited budget reconciliation process. Stacking a wide range of policy goals into one bill — taxes, spending, and border security, among others — would increase the degree of difficulty during negotiations but would allow for the inclusion of many things.

When the legislative process began in earnest, Republican leadership aimed for a condensed schedule with passage in the House by Memorial Day and final enactment by the July 4 holiday as the key milestones. The House took the first steps to advance the OBBB during May and ultimately completed its efforts on May 22, ahead of the stated due date. As attention shifted to the Senate, the degree of changes and timeline involved were significant unknowns. Preliminary tax details emerged from the Senate Finance Committee on June 16, which included meaningful changes from the House bill. With the self-imposed July 4 deadline rapidly approaching, matters accelerated on June 28 with the release of updated bill text from the various Senate committees.

The final sequence of developments occurred in quick succession beginning on June 30. The Senate began its floor debate of the bill that morning, and the amendment process stretched until the late morning of July 1. Final negotiations culminated in a concluding amendment on the Senate floor and passage by that chamber on July 1. At that point, the process shifted to the House, with lingering questions about the degree of support following amendments in the Senate and the timeline for action. The House began debate on the OBBB during the morning of July 2 and appears poised to proceed to a final vote ahead of the July 4 holiday.

What’s in the OBBB? Please see below for detailed analysis by category: 

Individual tax changes

The OBBB essentially preserves the TCJA’s tax structure relating to individual taxpayers on a permanent basis. This includes an extension of the tax brackets, increased standard deduction, elimination of personal exemptions, modifications of itemized deductions, and the child tax credit. In addition, Trump’s campaign pledges related to taxation of tips, overtime, and Social Security have been included in some form. However, the details matter, as additional technical adjustments were made to many of these rules.

TCJA extension and modification

New tax changes

Trump discussed many new tax changes on the campaign trail, with an emphasis on excluding various items of income from tax and providing additional deductions. The OBBB carries out those intentions, with hallmark features of the legislation focused on creating tax relief for tip income and overtime along with a deduction for certain auto loan interest. Trump focused on tax relief for social security, and the OBBB similarly effects this by way of an additional deduction available to all seniors regardless of whether they have taxable social security income. The OBBB also included a number of items of tax relief that were not campaign focuses but will be very significant for impacted taxpayers. These include education for elementary and secondary students, a new child savings vehicle called “Trump accounts” that functions in ways similar to IRA accounts, expansion of gain exclusions for qualified small business stock, and expansions of a variety of tax credits.

Estate and gift tax changes

The TCJA doubled the value of the estate and gift tax exemptions beginning in 2018. For 2025, the exemption is currently $13.99 million per person. However, that increase was set to expire at the end of 2025, which would’ve effectively cut such amount in half beginning in 2026. The looming expiration of the increased exemption has been an important subject in recent years as estate planners worked with individuals to evaluate planning options.

Beginning in 2026, the OBBB will permanently reset the exemption to $15 million. Such amount will also be increased for inflation in future years. The increased exemption amount for 2026 is certainly a favorable change for taxpayers. However, the permanent nature of this extension might be even more important given that it provides some degree of certainty about the future of estate and gift tax rules.

The SALT cap

The annual limitation on an individual taxpayer’s deduction for state and local taxes (the SALT cap) is a complex subject that deserves its own discussion. This was first created by the TCJA, and the $10,000 annual limitation took effect beginning in 2018. It’s been scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. The impact of the SALT cap naturally escalates for taxpayers with higher incomes or living in higher-tax jurisdictions. However, the levels of state and local taxation — including income and property taxes — aren’t uniform across the country. Thus, the SALT cap is a substantial concern for some, but certainly not all, members of Congress.

After the enactment of the TCJA, states searched for opportunities to alleviate the impact of the SALT cap. The most common arrangement, state pass-through entity tax (PTET) tax regimes, shift the state tax burden from individuals to their pass-through entities. The Treasury Department approved such regimes in Notice 2020–75 by providing for federal, entity-level deductions for qualifying PTETs. In the years since that Notice, most states have adopted PTET regimes.

Taken together, Republicans in Congress were faced with a challenging series of questions. Should a version of the SALT cap be extended beyond 2025? If yes, then what amount of deduction should be provided to taxpayers on an annual basis? Should a version of the SALT cap be extended to corporations? And what, if anything, should Congress do to address the prevalence of state PTETs that were eroding the revenue that the SALT cap was designed to generate? To answer those questions, a variety of approaches were considered in the House and the Senate that would have limited and/or phased out SALT deductions and PTETs for various classes of taxpayers and at varying income thresholds. In the end, the OBBB includes the following changes to the SALT cap:

The resolution of the SALT cap concludes a controversial period of negotiations within Congress for at least several years. The final deal resulted in an increased cap and the removal of technical amendments related to PTETs. However, the looming restoration of a $10,000 cap in 2030 sets the stage for further legislative deliberations in the years to come.

Business tax changes

The OBBB addresses the so-called “trifecta” package of business tax provisions: the expensing of research and development (R&D) costs under Section 174, computational changes to the interest expense limitation under Section 163(j), and restoration of the 100% bonus depreciation deduction in the first year certain property is placed in service. The qualified business income deduction under Section 199A would also be made permanent and modified slightly. Additional changes — new deductions and technical modifications — will require further analysis to fully unpack the tax planning opportunities.

TCJA extension and modification

New tax changes

International tax changes

Tax credits related to renewable energy production

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was the signature tax legislation of the Biden administration and greatly expanded the available tax credits for renewable energy production. Those included the creation of a new production tax credit (PTC) under Section 45Y and a new investment tax credit (ITC) under Section 48E for wind, solar, energy storage, and other technologies. A companion credit, under Section 45X, provides incentives for the production of qualifying components for renewable energy (e.g., wind, solar, and batter components) and the production of critical minerals. Additional credits integrate with those core elements and provided incentives for the ecosystem of renewable energy production.

The enhanced IRA credits have been the subject of considerable debate, especially during the 2024 election cycle. At the outset of the OBBB process, Republican leaders focused attention on modifying or repealing large portions of the IRA. The House initially took a more aggressive line in modifying these credits before the Senate appeared ready to delay expiration dates in many cases. The final version of the OBBB represents a form of compromise between those approaches, with significant modifications to the credits but with at least some delayed implementation.

Accelerated termination of the PTC for wind and solar

The OBBB will accelerate the phase out of the Section 45Y PTC for wind and solar projects that are placed in service after Dec. 31, 2027. However, a safe harbor transition rule will preclude application of that cut-off for any wind and solar projects that begin construction within 1 year of OBBB enactment. This initial expiration date only applies to wind and solar projects, so other projects eligible for the PTC will continue to qualify even if placed in service in future years.

The insertion of a transition effective date along with a short-term credit phase out date will create a window of opportunity for wind and solar credits. Smaller scale projects might be completed on a shorter timeline, such as beginning of construction and placing in service within the 2027 calendar year. However, larger scale projects, especially those requiring months or years of supply chain lead time, will need to mobilize quickly to meet the beginning of construction test within the next year.

Restrictions related to foreign entities

The OBBB adds complex rules restricting the PTC depending on the degree of connection to specified foreign entities and foreign-influenced entities. These restrictions are heavily definitional and rife with potential nuance. This will be an area of focus for taxpayers pursuing PTC projects moving forward given the potential for missteps.

Nuclear energy communities

The IRA provided enhanced credits for projects located within defined energy communities. There are various aspects to that definition, but they largely focus on communities that previously produced coal, oil, or gas. The OBBB expands this concept to include nuclear energy communities. This generally includes communities with a requisite employment rate related to an advanced nuclear facility, advanced nuclear power research and development, nuclear fuel research, development, or production, and manufacturing of components for a nuclear facility. This modification will increase the availability of the 10% bonus credit for the PTC.

Investment Tax Credit (ITC) — Section 48E

Similar to the PTC changes, the OBBB will terminate the ITC under Section 48E for wind and solar projects placed in service after 2027. The same transition safe harbor applied to the PTC is adopted for the ITC. Thus, wind and solar projects that begin construction within one year after OBBB enactment won’t be subject to the Dec. 31, 2027 placed in service requirement. An exception to the wind and solar termination rule is provided for energy storage technology at such facilities. These changes also don’t impact projects that are otherwise eligible for the ITC.

Restrictions related to foreign entities

Some of the restrictions related to foreign entities described above also apply to the ITC. However, the OBBB treats the two sets of credits in meaningfully different ways. The ITC is available for qualified facilities, and that term (along with “qualified interconnection property”) will exclude projects that begin construction after 2025 if there is material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity. The OBBB will also deny the ITC to any entity that is a specified foreign entity or a foreign-influenced entity.

The OBBB also imposes a new tax credit recapture rule that’s triggered if the taxpayer claiming the ITC makes a payment to a specified foreign entity within 10 years of the property being placed in service. This change will apply to taxpayers allowed the credit for any tax year beginning two years after the OBBB enactment date.

Domestic content

One feature of the ITC, as expanded by the IRA, is a mechanism for increasing the ITC when qualifying components are produced domestically. These rules are complex on their own terms, but one key aspect is the percentage amount of domestic content in certain components. The OBBB will increase this percentage incrementally over time, beginning with facilities that begin construction after June 16, 2025. This means the domestic content “bonus” will be more challenging to unlock after that date.

Qualified fuel cell property

The OBBB allows taxpayers that place in service qualified fuel cell projects to claim the ITC at 30% of the property’s cost basis. But this is significant in that it would streamline the process for claiming such credit. However, this change will only apply to properties that begin construction after the tax year of enactment.

Cost recovery for the PTC and ITC

The IRA amended depreciation rules under Section 168 to include properties that qualify for the ITC or PTC as five-year property for depreciation purposes. The OBBB will pull this back, in part, by eliminating properties that qualify for the prior version of the ITC under Section 48 from five-year classification.

Advanced manufacturing production credit — Section 45X

The OBBB will modify the ways in which the advanced manufacturing production credit, Section 45X, will phase out and terminate. The credit for critical minerals will be reduced by 25% beginning in 2031 (i.e., 75% of the calculated credit can be claimed) with additional incremental reductions of 25% through to its elimination in the 2034 tax year. The credit wouldn’t be available as to the manufacture of wind components produced and sold after 2027. The definition of applicable critical minerals would also be expanded to include metallurgic coal that is produced and sold through Dec. 31, 2029. The OBBB will also introduce foreign entity limitations to Section 45X in ways not so different from those summarized above. All of these changes will generally be effective for tax years beginning after the OBBB enactment date.

Qualifying advanced energy project credit — Section 48C

Section 48C provides a credit for certain projects that apply for and are granted amounts related to advance energy projects. These typically involve clean energy manufacturing, recycling projects, industrial decarbonization, and critical minerals projects. A limited pool of credits is available through this program that is implemented by the IRS and Department of Energy.

Under current law, a credit recipient receives a notification from the IRS, after which they have two years to place their projects in service. Failure to meet this deadline results in a termination of that credit allocation, which is returned to the available pool. The OBBB will end this credit reservation process, effective in the current year. This means that if a taxpayer fails to place a project in service within the two-year period, then the credit amount otherwise associated with that project will never be restored to the pool.

Other credits:

EVs, fuels, and residential energy

While the renewable energy credits discussed above have generated a lot of attention in recent years, the tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) have attracted even more headlines. Thus, the OBBB focuses on such credits by accelerating expiration dates on a very short timeline. The bill also modifies rules related to clean fuels and the adoption of renewable energy technologies at residential homes.

Early termination of EV and refueling credits

Fuels

The OBBB extends the clean fuel production credit under Section 45Z by an additional two years, meaning the credit will be available to transportation fuel sold through 2029. Beginning with fuel produced in the 2026 tax year, the OBBB will also deny the credit as to any feedstock that is not exclusively produced or grown in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada. The bill will make technical amendments to the rules regarding emissions rating for indirect land changes and animal manures. Finally, further amendments will be made to the sustainable aviation fuel credit and the small agri-biodiesel producer credit.

The OBBB will also provide a refund, without interest, in situations where a taxpayer: (1) removes from a terminal diesel fuel or kerosene that had been indelibly dyed; (2) already paid tax on the fuel; and (3) the fuel is exempt from tax. This change will apply to dyed fuel removed 180 or more days after the OBBB’s enactment date.

Residential and commercial energy property

Real estate investment

The OBBB largely modifies and extends existing rules related to real estate development. However, a few new provisions were added during negotiations in Congress.

Education and exempt organizations

The OBBB would make the following tax changes in relation to universities and certain tax-exempt organizations:

Immigration-related tax changes

The Trump administration has focused considerable attention on border security and immigration since taking office in January. Such focus has carried over to the OBBB, which includes a new excise tax and other modifications to existing rules tightening eligibility based on immigration status or social security documentation. These provisions are also meaningfully different from those passed by the House in May.

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