What’s in the Big Beautiful Bill?

President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law on July 4th before a crowd of thousands of lawmakers, delegates, and average American citizens. At over 900 pages, the law is one of the most extensive in U.S. policy history.

Many of its provisions address timely issues, like parts of the President’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were set to end this year. Tax cuts, which are part of supply-side economics, generally increase the government’s revenue, as with President Kennedy’s, Reagan’s, Bush’s, and Trump’s 2017 cuts (barring outside factors like reduced public spending or pandemics). In the Big Beautiful Bill, these cuts are coupled with spending cuts, which should increase government revenue while reducing the national deficit.[1]

As is always the case, large portions of the bill were cut or consolidated during the approval process in Congress. Still, the new legislation addresses many of the platforms of the administration and the bill’s initial supporters, including education, immigration, and energy.

Consider some of the major policy initiatives outlined in this historic legislation:

1. Tax and Income Provisions
   1. Tax cuts and credits
      1. Makes permanent or extends aspects of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including the lower individual and corporate tax rates, AMT exemptions, and 23% qualified business income deduction. These cuts are also estimated to save the average American household around $10,000 that would otherwise be owed in taxes
      1. Makes standard deduction amount permanent and adds an additional $1,000 per person until 2028.
      1. Increases child tax credit by roughly 20% until 2028, with annual inflation adjustments.
   1. “Trump accounts”
      1. Enrolls children born 2025-2029 in program where their account receives initial $1,000, and parents can add up to $5,000 in post-tax contributions each year, with the funds becoming partially accessible at age 18.
   1. Senior tax deduction
      1. Increases tax deduction by $4,000 for seniors (65+) who make no more than $75k a year ($150k jointly).
   1. Expanded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs):
      1. Nearly doubles contribution limits (e.g., $8.6k self, $17.1k family), widens eligibility, and allows fitness/telehealth expenses.
   1. “No tax on tips”
      1. Makes the first $25,000 of tips and $12,500 of overtime pay tax-deductible, with a $150k income limit ($300k jointly) until 2028.
   1. Death/estate tax
      1. Permanently increases permitted tax-free transfers to heirs (set to drop to $7 million in 2026) to $15 million tax-free, both while alive and after death, with an annual cost-of-living adjustment.
         1. *expected to greatly benefit family farms and small businesses so that they can continue to exist generationally.
   1. State and local tax (SALT) deduction
      1. Increases SALT deduction from $10k to $30-40k.
   1. Includes 100% bonus depreciation for R&D and capital cost expensing.
2. Healthcare and Social Programs
   1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps)
      1. Makes states now contribute funding depending on several factors, such as error rates.
      1. Makes able-bodied adults age 19 to 65 (previously 55) subject to work requirements, with provisions for the disabled, parents of dependents, and other underprivileged persons.
   1. Medicaid restriction
      1. Adds more frequent eligibility checks and 80-hr/month work requirements.
      1. Cuts provider taxes incrementally from 6% to 3.5% by 2032.[2]
      1. Allocates $50 billion to rural hospitals that will feel the greater brunt of the lost funding.
      1. Prohibits funding for one year to clinics that primarily offer family-planning services, provide abortions beyond Hyde Amendment exceptions, and received over $1 million in reimbursements in 2024.
         1. *This will effectively defund Planned Parenthood for one year, potentially providing an opportunity to learn the legal arguments against this law and beat those arguments when lawmakers craft future legislation that permanently defunds Planned Parenthood.
3. Defense and Immigration
   1. Increases budget by $135 billion for defense, including AI/military innovation, infrastructure, the Coast Guard, $25 billion for the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and $29 billion for shipbuilding.
   1. Changes monetary requirements for those seeking asylum.
   1. Allotts $150 billion for border security, including funding for completing the wall on the U.S. southern border, detention centers, deportations, and ICE training and recruitment.
4. Energy and Agriculture
   1. Changes in “environment-friendly” provisions
      1. Ends Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, which provided funding for projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and pollution.
      1. Phases out IRA-derived clean energy/EV tax credits, residential efficiency credits, wind and solar energy credits.
      1. Introduces Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) rules, blocking credits for projects owned, sourced, or funded by foreign companies in countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
      1. Ends tax credits for individuals who buy products like electric vehicles and their charging equipment
   1. Agriculture
      1. Boosts crop insurance by roughly $6.3 billion and disaster relief by $2.9 billion.
      1. Reauthorizes farm safety net & commodity programs through 2031.
5. Miscellaneous
   1. De Minimis shipping exemption
      1. Ends duty-free exemptions for commercial imports under $800.
   1. School choice made permanent
      1. Makes families that make less than 300% of their local median income eligible for scholarships.
      1. Allows up to $5,000 in tax credits to be used for private schools or homeschooling.
      1. Sets no national cap on donations, and each state must choose to opt in to the program.
      1. Allows individuals to claim 100% tax credit for donations (capped at $1,700 per taxpayer) to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs).
   1. Allows individuals to deduct up to $10k/year interest on U.S.-assembled vehicle loans, depending on income level.
   1. Cuts CFPB budget by 50%; eliminates $200 NFA tax on suppressors and short-barreled rifles.
   1. Raises statutory debt limit by $4 trillion.[3]

The Big Beautiful Bill is extensive, and this list is certainly not exhaustive. Historic problems (like years of economic turmoil) require historic solutions. Only time will tell whether or not this bill will deliver those solutions. But overall, the tax cuts, tax credits, reduced spending, and reallocation of resources seem to draw toward sound fiscal policy and restoring constitutional limits on government spending.

For more in-depth explanation, summary, or access a copy of the bill itself, please see the sites listed below.

What’s in the “One Big Beautiful Bill”? | USAFacts

The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) | Grafton Wealth | Winter Park, FL

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): What Counties Should Know | National Association of Counties

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Summary: Key Tax Changes and Why It’s Controversial | Kiplinger

Most Significant Changes in the Final House Version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Self Reliance Central

One Big Beautiful Summary | Eric Bergenn

H.R.1 – 119th Congress (2025-2026): One Big Beautiful Bill Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Big Beautiful Bill Summary: What Just Passed in the Senate and What’s Next

Senate’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ creates permanent school choice credit  – CatholicVote org

[1] In Actual Dollars, Tax Cuts Boost Revenue Time After Time

[2] Provider taxes are taxes imposed by state governments on organizations like hospitals, nursing homes, etc., which are used to fund Medicaid.

[3] The debt limit is the amount of money the Department of the Treasury can borrow to fund federal operations.