Inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Five Need-to-Know Items for Family Wealth Planning

On December 22, 2017, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law. This was widely regarded as the most sweeping change to U.S. tax law in over three decades, significantly restructuring both individual and corporate taxation. One very important detail of this Act, however, was that most of the changes in it were temporary, set to “sunset” (expire) on December 31, 2025.

This brings us to The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on Friday, July 4, 2025. While this may, in many ways, be seen as an extension of TCJA (making many of these items permanent), it may also be seen as an expansion, with several important new points to consider.

For this article, we highlight five major takeaways from OBBBA and how we believe it impacts family wealth planning.

(Side note: the name of this law is “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Some may think this is “beautiful” and some may not. This is neither a defense nor a critique of the bill; rather our summary for individuals and families for wealth planning.)

1. TCJA Extensions… with Some Tweaks

• Existing ordinary income and capital gains tax rates and brackets made permanent.
• Standard deduction increased to $31,500 for married filers and $15,750 for single filers (from $30,000 and $15,000, respectively), indexed for inflation.
• Child Tax Credit (CTC) increased to $2,200 per child (from $2,000), indexed for inflation.
• Estate and gift tax exemption permanently rose to $15 million per individual, indexed for inflation.

2. Senior “Bonus” Deduction

Individuals 65 and older receive up to an additional $6,000 deduction. However, this deduction begins to phase out at income levels above $150,000 (married filing joint) or $75,000 for single filers. Additionally, this is a temporary provision, only effective from 2025 through 2028.

3. Increase to SALT Deduction Cap

• The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap increased from $10,000 to $40,000 for most filers, inflating 1% annually.
• This is a federal deduction on state and local taxes paid. For Tennesseans, this means property and sales tax (as Tennessee does not have a personal income tax).
• This begins phasing out at income levels over $500,000 (joint) and $250,000 (single) and is temporary (from 2025 through 2029).

4. Education Saving

• Updates to 529 accounts. Families may spend up to $20,000 (increase from $10,000) per year on private K-12 tuition. Funds may also be used for non-tuition private K-12 expenses and acquiring or maintaining professional credentials.
• ‘Trump Accounts’ are a new savings vehicle that includes a $1,000 deposit made by the government for certain children born in 2025 through 2028 and the ability for parents to add $5,000 per year. Accounts grow tax deferred. There are restrictions on use and funding.

5. Business Owner Provisions

• Permanently extends the 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction which includes contractors, freelancers, and gig economy workers. Certain types of businesses face phaseouts based on income levels, which were increased compared to existing law.
• Reinstatement and expansion of accelerated depreciation, subject to certain phase outs and limitations.
  • The Section 179 depreciation deduction is increased to $2.5 million (from $1 million).
  • 100% bonus depreciation is reinstated from the current 40% accelerated deduction.

There are many items we didn’t cover from this 870-page bill, but we hope this brief summary provides insight into some of the changes that may affect you. While Seven Springs Wealth Group does not provide tax or legal advice, we are actively working to identify tax planning opportunities that may exist for you based on these changes.

Please reach out to your advisor or call us at 615-370-1253 if you have specific thoughts or questions you want to discuss.

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