The One Big Beautiful Bill Is Now Law: What Changed for Businesses and Individuals

July 4, 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill got signed into law. I’ve spent the last week combing through the final text with my team, comparing it to the draft versions we analyzed earlier this year. Some things stayed put. Some things moved. This is what actually happened, and what you need to do about it.

We covered this bill twice already on the blog. If you want the original context, check out What the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Mean for Your Business and How the One Big Beautiful Bill Could Affect Your Wallet. This post focuses on what’s different in the final version.

What Stayed the Same

For Businesses:

• Corporate tax rate at 21 percent. No movement.
• 100 percent bonus depreciation is locked in as permanent.
• Section 179 expensing ceiling jumped to $2.5 million.
• Clean energy tax credits got cut, no reprieve.

For Individuals:

• Tips and overtime now get relief. There are caps, which I’ll detail below.
• Medicaid work requirements kick in January 2026.
• $1,000 Trump Accounts are in the law. You have to opt in.

What Changed from the Earlier Proposals

Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction

I’ve got contractors all over Houston who were waiting for the 23 percent bump. It didn’t happen. The QBI stays at 20 percent, but we got something better: it’s now permanent.

The income thresholds shifted too. Single filers cap out at $75,000. Joint filers at $150,000. Exceed that, and the deduction starts phasing down. The original $400 minimum deduction proposal got dropped entirely.

Child Tax Credit

Draft said $2,500. Final law says $2,200 per child. That $300 difference stings for families with three or four kids, but $2,200 is still substantial. I had one client in Bellaire with two kids who was going to see an extra $1,000 offset in taxes. Now it’s $600. Still meaningful.

Social Security Deduction for Seniors

The proposal floated $4,000. We ended up with $6,000. That’s real money. I have retired clients in the Westchase area who will save $1,500 to $2,000 in federal taxes because of this alone.

Tips and Overtime Pay Relief

This one’s interesting because I have restaurant and hospitality clients who’ll benefit immediately. Tips now get an exemption up to $25,000 per year. Overtime gets an exemption up to $12,500 per year. The income phaseout starts at $150,000 adjusted gross income.

One of my clients runs a restaurant near Memorial Park. His head chef pulls in $45,000 base plus $28,000 in tips. Under the new law, that $25,000 of tips gets a tax break. His tax bill drops from what it would have been.

SALT Deduction Cap

State and local taxes: the cap rose to $40,000 for joint filers, $20,000 for single. It starts phasing down above $500,000 household income. For people in Uptown and the Medical Center making solid six figures with expensive property taxes, this matters. A client in The Woodlands was paying $18,000 in property taxes plus $8,000 in state income tax. The cap used to kill $6,000 of that. Now she gets more of it back.

Trump Accounts for Newborns

These accounts are real. $1,000 per child, available from 2024 through 2028. You have to opt in. The income cap is $250,000. You can use the money for college or a first home down payment. I have three clients with new babies who will open these accounts before year end.

What You Actually Need to Do

If You Own a Business:

Pull your last tax return. Look at your business structure and your income. Are you a sole proprietor, S-corp, or LLC? Does your income sit below that $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (joint) QBI threshold? If not, plan accordingly. The permanent bonus depreciation and Section 179 limits mean you have hard math to work with on equipment and vehicles. Get ahead of it.

If you had clean energy credits on your radar, forget them. They’re gone. Adjust your tax projection now.

If You’re an Individual:

You’ve got a child. That’s $2,200 per kid every year. Sit with the numbers. A family with two kids in Heights or Montrose gets $4,400 annually.

Are you over 65? The $6,000 Social Security deduction is automatic if you meet the requirements. Ask us about it.

Do you run tips through your business or get overtime pay? Track it carefully. That exemption is yours if you’re under the $150,000 income line.

You just had a baby? Open a Trump Account. $1,000 goes in, and if you use it for education or a first home, it comes out tax-free.

The Bottom Line

This law is done. No more drafts. No more speculation. Your business and your family need to move from watching to acting. We’ve already started pulling numbers for clients who want their tax projections updated. Some are restructuring entities. Some are accelerating equipment purchases to hit full bonus depreciation. Some are just getting clarity on what they owe in 2026.

Ready to Move Forward?

I’ve been tracking this bill since day one. My team and I know the gaps and the angles. Whether you need a business tax projection, a personal tax strategy, help setting up an entity structure, or just a straight conversation about what this means for your situation, we can help.

Book your consultation and let’s build your 2025 tax plan on solid ground.