What the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Mean for Your Business (2025 Preview)

Note: As of this writing, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025” has passed the House but is still awaiting Senate approval.

What This Tax Bill Could Mean for Your Business

I’ve been tracking this bill since April. The House passed it in May, but it’s stuck in the Senate right now. If it clears the Senate, everything changes for 2025 planning. I’ve already got notes on how it hits my clients differently. Some of them win big. Some barely notice.

Here’s what matters and what’s just noise.

Corporate Tax Rate Stays at 21%

If you’re a C-Corp, the 21% stays. No change. It was supposed to bump up in 2026 otherwise.

Honestly, this section doesn’t matter for most of you. I’m in the field three days a week talking to owners around Houston, and almost none of them are C-Corps. You’re either an LLC or S-Corp. That means your business profit flows to your personal tax return. You don’t pay corporate tax at all.

I get questions about C-Corp elections maybe twice a year, and the answer is usually no. The 21% rate staying stable doesn’t change that math.

QBI Deduction Goes Up to 23%

This is the one everyone wants to talk about.

Right now you can deduct 20% of your business profit on your personal return. That deduction lowers your taxable income. The bill bumps it to 23%. Three percent doesn’t sound like much until you see what it does to your tax bill.

This hits S-Corp owners, LLC owners, and sole proprietors. Anyone making money through a pass-through entity gets this bump.

Let me give you real numbers. You own a plumbing company in Katy, structured as an S-Corp. After paying yourself a salary, you net $150,000 in profit for the year. You’re married, filing jointly.

Right now, at 20% QBI, that’s $30,000 you can deduct. That saves you about $7,200 in federal tax, roughly.

Under this bill, at 23%, that’s $34,500 you can deduct. You save about $8,280. That’s an extra $1,080 in your pocket per year. Over ten years, that’s $10,800. I’m not going to tell you that’s money to retire on, but it matters.

There’s a catch though. If you’re married filing jointly and your business income goes over $383,900, the QBI deduction starts to disappear. It depends on what kind of business you run. Service businesses get hit harder than others.

And I’m going to be blunt: your books have to be clean. I get clients who want to claim this deduction but their business profit is all over the place. The IRS will ask for support. You need it. I’m not just plugging in numbers on hope.

100% Bonus Depreciation Is Back

If you buy equipment, this one changes everything.

Bonus depreciation means you write off the whole cost in year one instead of spreading it over years. Right now it’s 60% in 2024 and dropping. This bill brings it back to 100%.

Say you run a landscaping outfit in Jersey Village and you buy a new truck and a trailer. $65,000 total.

Under current law, you deduct $39,000 year one. The rest spreads out. You pocket about $9,360 in tax savings that first year.

Under this bill, you deduct the whole $65,000 year one. Your tax savings jump to $15,600. That’s an extra $6,240 in your pocket in year one. That’s real money.

It works on used equipment too. Buy a used excavator for your construction crew, same rules apply.

The timing question is whether this bill passes before year-end. If it does, and you were planning equipment purchases anyway, you might accelerate the buy. If it doesn’t pass, you hold tight and don’t burn cash on timing that won’t pay off.

R&D Expenses Fully Deductible Again

This one only matters if you’re a software shop, an engineering firm, or a manufacturing business doing actual R&D. If that’s not you, skip ahead.

If it is you, right now you’re amortizing R&D costs over five years. This bill lets you deduct them year one again. That’s significant. Most of my clients don’t fall into this bucket, but the few who do have been watching this closely.

SALT Cap Increases (Maybe)

The SALT cap goes from $10,000 to $40,000 for couples making under $500,000.

Texas has no state income tax, so this is all about property taxes. I’ve got clients in the Heights with $18,000 property tax bills. Memorial area clients pushing $22,000. West U is even higher. Right now you can only deduct $10,000 of that. Under this bill, $40,000.

If you’re a business owner, married, under $500,000 income, and you’ve been paying six figures in property taxes over the last few years, this saves you $3,000 to $7,000 in federal taxes alone. That’s not a business deduction, but it matters if you own a business and a nice house in Houston.

Energy Credits Are Going Away

If you were planning to buy a Tesla and claim the $7,500 credit, that’s gone. Solar panels, wind credits, all the green energy stuff. Cut.

I’m not here to argue about it. I’m just telling you what happens. If you were counting on those credits, you need to rethink the timing on that equipment purchase.

What You Should Do Right Now

If this bill passes, here’s what I’m already doing with my clients.

1. Pull Your Depreciation List

If you’ve been putting off equipment buys because they cost money, 100% bonus depreciation changes the conversation. Run the numbers first. The deduction is nice but you still have to spend the cash.

2. Get Your 2024 Books Buttoned Up

The QBI bump only works if your profit numbers are solid and documented. It’s February 2025. If your 2024 books are messy, clean them now. The Senate is going to vote on this bill in the next few months. You want to be ready.

3. Look at Your Business Structure

If you’re a sole proprietor making over $60,000 in net income, we should talk S-Corp election. The SE tax savings plus the higher QBI deduction could be worth thousands per year. Same if you’re an LLC taxed as partnership.

4. Don’t Buy Equipment Just for the Tax Deduction

I get this every year. Someone wants to drop $100,000 on new equipment because the deduction is worth $25,000 to $30,000 in tax savings. But you’re still spending $70,000 to $75,000 in cash out of pocket. Make sure the equipment makes business sense first. The tax benefit is dessert, not the meal.

What Happens If the Bill Doesn’t Pass?

Nothing changes. We stay under current rules. The QBI deduction stays at 20%. Bonus depreciation keeps dropping to 40%, then 30%. The SALT cap stays at $10,000.

I’m not making big moves yet because I want to see what the Senate does. If it passes, I’m calling clients with updated numbers. If it dies in committee, we keep doing what we’ve been doing.

How We’re Helping Clients at EZQ Group

Right now I’m running scenarios with S-Corp owners and LLCs that have real profit. Modeling the QBI bump. If you’re planning to buy equipment this year or next, we’re talking timing.

And I’m pushing hard on clients to get their books clean. The bigger your business profit, the more you need documentation. The IRS doesn’t care about your story. They care about your receipts.

If this is resonating with you and you want to talk about what it means for your business, call. We’ll pull your last two years of returns, run some scenarios, and figure out if this bill matters for your situation.

This article provides general information and is not tax advice. Tax situations vary. Consult with a qualified tax professional about your specific circumstances.