OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act — Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025 — is the most significant federal tax statute since the 2017 TCJA. It made the TCJA’s individual rate cuts and standard deduction permanent, but it also rewrote large sections of the rules that govern self-employed and gig workers.

The sections that matter to ELM readers.

• §70101 — Makes the seven TCJA individual tax brackets (10/12/22/24/32/35/37%) permanent. 2026 standard deduction: $16,100 single / $24,150 HoH / $32,200 MFJ (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §4.14).
• §70105 — Makes the §199A QBI deduction permanent and adds new IRC §199A(i), creating a minimum $400 deduction for taxpayers with at least $1,000 of QBI. Widens the phase-in range to $75K/$150K. See QBI Deduction.
• §70110 — Makes permanent the disallowance of miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2%-of-AGI floor under IRC §67. This is what kills the W-2 employee unreimbursed mileage deduction forever. See Accountable Plan.
• §70201 — Creates new IRC §224, the “No Tax on Tips” deduction. Up to $25,000 in qualified tips deductible above the line for tax years 2025–2028. See No Tax on Tips Deduction.
• §70301 — Makes 100% bonus depreciation permanent under IRC §168(k) for property placed in service after January 19, 2025. Big deal for vehicle buyers using actual expense.
• §70306 — Expands §179 expensing: maximum $2,500,000, phase-out begins at $4,000,000 (both indexed for inflation after 2025). The heavy-SUV cap remains at $31,300 for 2026.
• §70432 — Restores the 1099-K reporting threshold to $20,000 and 200 transactions, retroactive to 2022. Reverses the ARPA $600 trap.
• §70433 — Raises the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC reporting threshold from $600 to $2,000, effective for payments made on or after January 1, 2026; indexed for inflation starting 2027.

Two things OBBBA did not do. It did not change the self-employment tax rate (still 15.3% under IRC §1401). It did not lower the substantiation bar of IRC §274(d) — your mileage log requirements are unchanged.

Worked example. Hannah is a single rideshare driver who nets $35,000 on Schedule C in 2026 and earns $7,000 in qualified tips. Post-OBBBA, her stack is:

• $7,000 above-the-line §224 tip deduction (new)
• $35,000 net SE income, with the $400 minimum QBI deduction floor protecting her even if wage/UBIA limits would otherwise zero her out
• $16,100 standard deduction (permanent)

Result: a meaningfully lower 2026 tax bill than the same fact pattern would have produced in 2024.