Here is a summary of the major provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (formally the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA))— the sweeping budget, tax, and policy law (H.R. 1) signed on July 4, 2025
Tax and Individual Provisions
Tax breaks & deductions
- Higher standard deductions for 2025–26.
- New deduction for seniors (65+) to reduce Social Security taxes.
- Permanently extends some 2017 tax cuts and makes major deductions like the 23 % small business 199A deduction permanent.
Worker-friendly provisions
- No tax on overtime or tips for a set period.
- New tax benefits like expanded health savings account (HSA) uses (e.g., tele-health before meeting a deductible).
Other tax changes
- Expanded tax reporting rules for non-employee payments.
- Capital gains treatment reforms for certain farmland sales.
Most individual tax cuts were temporary by design
Many people assumed the TCJA permanently lowered individual income taxes. In reality:
- Individual rate cuts, standard deduction increases, SALT caps, and many credits expire after 2025
- Corporate tax changes were largely permanent
- This structural asymmetry was intentional to comply with Senate budget rules
👉 Result: many households will see automatic tax increases unless Congress acts.
- Healthcare Policy Changes
The bill includes extensive health coverage reforms:
Medicaid & CHIP
- Tightens Medicaid eligibility and adds work requirements (e.g., 80 hrs/month for some adults).
- States may charge modest copays ($35 for some services).
- Prohibits certain Medicaid funding uses (e.g., some reproductive or gender-transition services).
Private health insurance
- Changes to eligibility and enrollment on ACA marketplaces.
Medicare
- Adjusts physician payment factors and PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) rules.
Impact: The Congressional Budget Office projected the health provisions would reduce federal spending significantly but increase the number of uninsured millions by 2034.
- Federal Spending & Debt
- The law extends the U.S. debt ceiling by about $4 trillion.
- Major programs like Medicaid and SNAP see significant spending reductions — over $1.2 trillion in cuts in some estimates.
- SNAP & Food Nutrition Changes
- Nutrition funding reduced over the next decade.
- Shares of state administrative costs for SNAP are increased.
- Thrifty Food Plan updates are restricted.
- Public Lands & Energy
- Mandates leasing of a large portion of public lands for drilling, mining, or logging.
- Cuts royalties and fees paid by energy firms on public lands.
- Requires oil and gas lease sales at specific sites.
- Other Notable Elements
- Higher child tax credit ($2,500 through 2028).
- Raising SALT (state and local tax) deduction cap to benefit homeowners (with income limits).
- Adjustments to nonprofit and private university endowment taxes.