Policy Spotlight: A Look at the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA)
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law what he called the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (OBBBA)—a sweeping piece of tax legislation that makes permanent many of the provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), while introducing several new changes that could impact families, business owners, and estate planning strategies.
Here are a few highlights:
- Estate Planning: The unified estate and gift tax exclusion has been made permanent at $15 million per individual / $30 million per couple, indexed for inflation. (This is up from the ~$7M/$14M that would’ve taken effect without the bill.)
- Higher Standard Deduction: For 2025, individual filers can claim $15,750 and married couples $31,500. Those 65+ may be eligible for an additional deduction, though it phases out at higher incomes.
- SALT Deduction Expanded: Taxpayers earning under $500,000 in AGI can now deduct up to $40,000 in state and local taxes—up from the previous $10,000 cap.
- Family-Friendly Credits: The child tax credit has been increased to $2,200 per child and made permanent, while the dependent care tax credit has also expanded. There’s a new “Trump account” for children born between 2025–2028: a tax-free savings account seeded with $1,000 by the federal government.
- Small Business Benefits: OBBBA restores full first-year write-offs for equipment and R&D costs, along with enhanced deductions for pass-through entities.
Tax Planning: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
With the signing of the OBBBA, tax planning has shifted from a “nice-to-have” to a financial must. As part of Four Leaf’s comprehensive financial planning services, I use a program called Holistiplan to review your tax return and work alongside your CPA or tax professional to help you prepare for what’s coming. The goal? To make the most of today’s rules and be ready for tomorrow’s.
What Is Tax Planning?
Tax planning is not the same as tax preparation. While your CPA or software like TurboTax helps you file your return correctly, tax planning is forward-looking. It’s a detailed review of your return to identify opportunities to reduce your lifetime tax liability.
Why Is It Important?
Because taxes touch every part of your financial life. Your tax return is like a financial fingerprint—unique to you and full of insight. A proactive review can uncover strategies you might otherwise miss, and help us have smarter, more personalized conversations about your future.
What Kind of Opportunities Might Be Identified?
Using Holistiplan, I evaluate a wide range of possibilities, such as:
- Optimal timing of income and deductions
- Strategies for Roth conversions
- Charitable giving efficiencies
- Tax bracket management
- Impacts of changing filing status or dependents
- How the sale of a business or exercise of stock options might affect your tax picture
Tax laws are changing in real time, making now the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the tax planning services already included in your relationship with Four Leaf Financial Planning.
