The Ultimate Guide: How the Big Beautiful Tax Bill Saves You Money in 2025 and Beyond

Congress just passed a sweeping $4.5 trillion tax bill—what’s being dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill”—and it’s going to reshape tax planning for years to come. Whether you're a business owner, real estate investor, or a high earner in a high-tax state, there’s something in this for you.

As financial planners, we’re digging into the details to help you understand how this affects your situation. Here are four of the biggest areas to watch:

Lower Tax Brackets and a Bigger Standard Deduction: What It Means for Your Wallet

One of the biggest wins for the average taxpayer: the current lower marginal tax brackets are no longer scheduled to end in 2025. That means the existing tax rates—10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%—will remain in place permanently, instead of reverting to higher pre-TCJA rates.

Alongside that, the higher standard deduction becomes permanent and gets a boost:

$15,750 for single filers
$23,625 for heads of household
$31,500 for married couples filing jointly

These amounts will continue to rise with inflation, keeping overall tax liability lower for most taxpayers and simplifiying the filing process.

Who benefits: Middle-income households, retirees, and anyone not itemizing deductions.

SALT Cap Increase: How High-Income Earners in High-Tax States Can Save Thousands

One of the most meaningful changes for many of our clients is the dramatic increase to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap. The cap now rises to $40,000 for joint filers, a significant increase from the long-standing $10,000 cap. However, there is a phaseout once household income exceeds $500,000, which is important for upper-income households to track.

Why this matters: For taxpayers in high-tax states—such as New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and even metro areas in North Carolina—the SALT deduction has been a major pain point in recent years. Increasing the cap provides meaningful federal tax relief for many households, especially those paying significant state income and property taxes.

Who benefits: Dual-income professionals, homeowners in high-tax zip codes, and those earning under $500k who itemize deductions.

Small Business and Real Estate Tax Breaks: New Opportunities for Entrepreneurs and Investors

The bill is especially generous to small business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs. Some highlights:

100% Bonus Depreciation is back. Effective for assets purchased after January 20, 2025, this lets real estate investors and businesses fully deduct qualifying property in the year it's placed in service.
PTET (Pass-Through Entity Tax elections) will remain in force, allowing S corps and partnerships to pay state taxes at the entity level and deduct them federally—an especially valuable workaround for the SALT cap.
Section 179 Expensing increases to $2.5 million, phasing out at $4 million.
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusions expand: up to $15 million in gains can now qualify, with partial exclusions beginning at 3 years of holding. Also, eligibility grows for businesses up to $75 million in assets.

Who benefits: Business owners, landlords, tech founders, and angel investors.

Family, Healthcare, and Savings Incentives

Several provisions in the bill aim to support families and improve access to tax-advantaged savings:

Child Tax Credit rises to $2,200 per child starting in 2026, with inflation adjustments.
Dependent Care FSAs see a long-overdue increase: up to $7,500 for joint filers starting in 2026.
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can now be used with Bronze and Catastrophic health plans—this expands eligibility for younger and healthier individuals.
A new “Individual Trust Account” allows up to $5,000 in annual contributions for those under 18, with a $1,000 government match for children born between 12/31/24 and 1/1/29. Funds can be used for education, small business startup costs, or a first-time home purchase.
Above-the-line charitable deduction of $2,000 for joint filers, plus new limits on itemized deductions tied to AGI.

Who benefits: Young families, HSA users, and charitably inclined taxpayers.

Maximizing Your Tax Savings Under the New Tax Law

This legislation cements lower taxes for many Americans—especially real estate investors, business owners, high-income W-2 earners, and tech professionals. While it doesn’t simplify the tax code, it does create new planning opportunities for those with the right strategies in place.

Key takeaway: If you live in a high-tax state, own a business, or are nearing retirement, now is the time to revisit your financial plan. The new SALT cap, depreciation rules, and deductions offer powerful tools—if you use them wisely.

As always, our team of expert financial planners is here to help you navigate the changes and help with proactive tax planning so that you make the most of your money.