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Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' includes these key tax changes for 2025 — what they mean for you

Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' includes these key tax changes for 2025 — what they mean for you

NBC News6 days ago
It's been about two weeks since President Donald Trump 's 'big beautiful bill' became law, and financial advisors and tax professionals are still digesting what the sweeping legislation means for clients.
Meanwhile, several changes are effective for 2025, which will impact tax returns filed in 2026.
While the Trump administration has been promoting ' working family tax cuts,' the legislation's impact depends on your unique situation — and some updates are complex, experts say.
'There are just so many moving pieces,' said certified financial planner Jim Guarino, managing director at Baker Newman Noyes in Woburn, Massachusetts. He is also a certified public accountant.
Currently, many advisors are running projections — often for multiple years — to see how the new provisions could impact taxes.
Without income planning, you could reduce, or even eliminate, various tax benefits for which you are otherwise eligible, experts say.
When it comes to tax strategy, 'you never want to do anything in a silo,' Guarino said.
Here are some of the key changes from Trump's legislation to know for 2025, and how the updates could affect your taxes.
Trump's 2017 tax cut extensions
The Republicans' marquee law made permanent Trump's 2017 tax cuts — including lower tax brackets and higher standard deductions, among other provisions — which broadly reduced taxes for Americans.
Without the extension, most filers could have seen higher taxes in 2026, according to a 2024 report from the Tax Foundation. However, the new law enhances Trump's 2017 cuts, with a few tax breaks that start in 2025:
The standard deduction increases from $15,000 to $15,750 (single filers) and $30,000 to $31,500 (married filing jointly).
There is also a bump for the child tax credit, with the maximum benefit going from $2,000 to $2,200 per child.
If you itemize tax breaks, there is also a temporary higher cap on the state and local tax deduction, or SALT. For 2025, the SALT deduction limit is $40,000, up from $10,000.
The higher SALT benefit phases out, or reduces, for incomesbetween $500,000 to $600,000, which can create an artificially higher tax rate of 45.5% that some experts are calling a 'SALT torpedo.'
This creates a 'sweet spot' for the SALT deduction between $200,000 and $500,000 of earnings, based on other provisions in the bill, CPA John McCarthy wrote in a blog post this week.
Trump's new tax changes for 2025
Trump's tax and spending bill also introduced some temporary tax breaks, which are effective for 2025. Some of these were floated during his 2024 presidential campaign.These provisions include a $6,000 'bonus' deduction for certain older Americans ages 65 and over, which phases out over $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.
There are also new deductions for tip income, overtime earnings and car loan interest, with varying eligibility requirements.
This chart shows a breakdown of some of the key individual provisions that are effective for 2025 compared to previous law.
Premium tax credit 'subsidy cliff' returns
During the pandemic, Congress boosted the premium tax credit through 2025, which made Marketplace health insurance more affordable.
But Trump's legislation didn't extend the enhanced tax break, which could raise Affordable Care Act premiums for more than 22 million enrollees if no action is taken, according to KFF, a health policy organization.
That could impact enrollees when choosing ACA health plans this fall, according to Tommy Lucas, a CFP and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.
Starting in 2026, enrollees need to prepare for the ACA subsidy cliff, where enrollees lose the premium tax credit when income exceeds the earnings thresholds by even $1, he said.
Currently, most ACA enrollees receive at least part of the premium tax credit. However, the subsidy cliff means enrollees lose the benefit once earnings exceed 400% of the federal poverty limit. For 2025, that threshold was $103,280 for a family of three, according to The Peterson Center on Healthcare, a nonprofit for healthcare policy, and KFF.
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Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland
Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland

Daily Record

time21 minutes ago

  • Daily Record

Donald Trump goes golfing as major protests take place across Scotland

Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. Protesters have insisted that Donald Trump is 'not welcome here' as the US president took to the golf course on the first full day of his visit to Scotland. ‌ Tight security around the Trump Turnberry course meant no demonstrators were seen when the president took to the greens on Saturday morning. ‌ Dressed in black, with a white cap that said USA on it, Mr Trump could be seen driving a golf buggy, flanked by a fleet of security personnel, as he played on the famous course which he bought in 2014. ‌ The outspoken Republican waved to journalists at one point, with hits including Billy Joel's Uptown Girl and Elaine Paige's rendition of Memory from the musical Cats heard playing from his entourage. But when asked about links to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the Simon and Garfunkel hit Bridge Over Troubled Water could be heard. However hundreds gathered in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen – near the site of Mr Trump's other Scottish golf resort – to make their opposition to the president known. ‌ As the visit got under way Scottish First Minister John Swinney – who is due to hold talks with the president later in the trip – announced public money to support a tournament at the Trump International golf links in Aberdeenshire. The 2025 Nexo Championship – previously known as the Scottish Championship – is set to take place there next month, supported by £180,000 of public funding. ‌ Mr Swinney said: 'The Scottish Government recognises the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy.' But Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie likened the awarding of public cash to the tournament to 'handing some pocket money to the school bully'. Mr Trump will head to his golf resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire later on in his five-day long private visit. As part of his trip he will also hold talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, where the two men will refine a trade deal between the UK and the US that was agreed earlier this year. ‌ The president is also expected to talk trade with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday. But with no talks apparently scheduled for Saturday, the president, who is well known for his love of golf, was free to take to the famous course at Turnberry. A major security operation surrounded him, with police officers and military personnel seen scouring the grounds ahead of Mr Trump teeing off. ‌ After touching down in Scotland in Air Force One on Friday night, the president was seen on the course at Turnberry on Saturday morning – although security fencing had also been erected around the resort, with road closures also in place to help protect Mr Trump, who last year survived an assassination attempt. Sniffer dogs were seen patrolling the golf course, with the Navy carrying out sweeps in the water beside the seaside course, while Army vehicles were spotted on the nearby A77 road. Police Scotland has asked for support from other forces across the UK to bolster officer numbers for the high profile visit – with Mr Swinney appealing to people to protest 'peacefully and within the law'. ‌ In Aberdeen Green north east Scotland MSP Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: 'We stand in solidarity not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.' Speaking about the US president, Ms Chapman said: 'He believes that climate change isn't real, he believes that cutting services for those in the world with the least is the right thing to do. We say no to all of those things, not in our name, never in our name.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. ‌ With Mr Trump having last year been convicted by a New York jury of falsifying business records, she said the president was a 'convicted felon'. And she told the PA news agency: 'He is not welcome in Scotland, he is certainly not welcome in Aberdeenshire. We know that he is a convicted felon. 'We also know that all of the promises he has repeatedly made to Scotland have come to nothing, there hasn't been the development of jobs or houses that he promised when he opened his course in Aberdeenshire a few years ago.' Mr Harvie was also critical of the president, telling PA: 'He's attacking our renewables industry once again, one of the success stories of Scotland, and he is trying to attack and undermine it. ‌ 'And that is after having trashed part of our natural environment on the Aberdeenshire coast to build his golf resort.' Anita Bhadani was one of those who organised the Stop Trump Coalition protest outside the US Consulate General's office in Edinburgh. She told PA: 'We are really excited, across this whole weekend, there's so many campaign groups turning out in the streets, tacking in action in their communities or at rallies like this – it's kind of like a carnival of resistance.' She said Mr Trump's 'huge promises' of creating thousands of jobs through development around his Scottish golf courses had not come to pass. A number of speakers addressed the crowd, condemning President Trump, including one who chanted 'death to the IDF'.

European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril
European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril

Telegraph

time21 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

European leaders are disrupting Trump's golfing holiday at their peril

When president Donald Trump stepped off Air Force One on to Scottish soil, he had one thing on his mind. 'There's no place like Turnberry,' he told his travelling press pool beneath the wing of his presidential jet. His Ayrshire golf course, he continued, was 'the best … probably the best course in the world'. Minutes later, he climbed into the Beast – his armoured limousine - to travel 35 minutes along country lanes and through Scottish villages, lined with supporters, protesters, and the merely curious, to Turnberry. Mr Trump may be determined to have a break, but European leaders have other ideas. Willingly or otherwise, Mr Trump faces a string of meetings in the coming days as the Continent's power brokers sit down with the unpredictable president. For now, though, he is secure inside a ring of steel. The historic course, home to some of the most exciting Opens in history, has been locked down. It now sits inside an eight-foot fence, its fairways dotted with burly men in dark suits and earpieces. Snipers watch over the course from a watch tower. Police officers – some on quad bikes – patrol the famous course and the dunes that flank it. Mr Trump arrived with his golf clubs for four days at his two Scottish courses but without some of the trappings of a travelling American president. He travelled with a stripped-down retinue of aides. There was no chief of staff, director of communications, secretary of state or other cabinet ministers, who might be expected on an important foreign trip. His public weekend schedule showed no planned events. Instead, it was a chance to spend time at his golf course with his sons Eric, who manages the family businesses, and Don Jr. Officials insisted that this was a 'working trip' including a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, although they were vague on agenda items. Yet all that changed shortly before Mr Trump flew out of Washington, when Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, announced on X that she would be meeting Mr Trump on Sunday as she closes in on a trade deal: Following a good call with @POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong. — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 25, 2025 EU members have drawn up a retaliatory hit list. The plan is to impose 30pc tariffs on bourbon whisky, yachts, soybeans and other American products if a deal cannot be reached by August 1 to lift US levies. Mrs von der Leyen had better tread carefully. A diplomat who has prepared ministers for meetings with Mr Trump said she was playing a high-risk game. 'Very dangerous,' they said. Mr Trump's chat with reporters at Glasgow Prestwick Airport showed a president relaxed and looking forward to four days of golf, but one who was quick to bristle when it came to policy and politics. Mr Trump left Washington bugged by the drip, drip, drip of headlines about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire paedophile who took his own life in a jail cell six years ago. He flashed irritation and lobbed sharp words at reporters who asked him how much he knew about the case on Friday, but relaxed as soon as he could talk about the love of his life: golf and the course at Turnberry. 'Sean Connery helped get me the permits,' he claimed after landing. 'If it weren't for Sean Connery, we wouldn't have those great courses.' There is a lesson for European leaders looking to muscle in on his tee times with their trade demands or for John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, who is likely to tell Mr Trump that his tariffs are hurting the Scotch whisky industry. When the chat with reporters turned from golf to more substantial matters, he said he had a simple message for Europe. 'On immigration, you better get your act together,' he said in another flash of passion. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore... This immigration is killing Europe.' Anyone meeting with Mr Trump will remember the lessons of Volodymyr Zelensky's Oval Office row. The Ukrainian president was roundly chastised by Mr Trump and his vice president for daring to push back on the US position. And by hosting leaders at his Turnberry and Aberdeenshire courses, Mr Trump retains home advantage even while on foreign soil. Sir Keir may have got the memo. Mr Trump billed their meeting as little more than a chance to celebrate their recent trade deal. Although the Prime Minister does run the risk of upsetting Mr Trump over plans to raise the plight of civilians in Gaza, British officials played down the chances of any major diplomatic announcements. 'It's not like other meetings where we would go in with deliverables we planned to announce,' he said. On Saturday, all that was far from Mr Trump's mind. He spent the day golfing with son Eric, and his ambassador to London. The sound of Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl' and 'Memories' from the musical Cats drifted out from the dunes on Saturday morning as Mr Trump's motorcade of golf buggies arrived at the fourth hole. Photographers huddled on a mound in the dunes, hoping to get a shot of the president on the course. Mr Trump, wearing a white USA cap and dressed in black, waved at the mound before teeing off in the direction of Turnberry lighthouse. Cheers from his baseball-cap-wearing entourage could be heard above the din of the speakers as the group wasted little time in rattling off their drives. A photographer camped in the dunes with a long lens later claimed to have witnessed the president cheat on the third fairway. He said Mr Trump had been handed a ball by a caddy, which he then dropped to the floor and pushed forward a little with an iron before taking a swing. The golf course has been surrounded by an eight-foot-high metal fence, while dozens of officers patrolled the entrances to the beach from Turnberry all the way down to Maidens, the next town along the coast. A temporary watchtower had been erected to monitor the Turnberry perimeter with a sniper rifle trained on the course below. A drone scanned from above, and police boats patrolled the coastal waters. Asked whether there would be a repeat of protesters taking to the beach in front of the golf club, an officer said the incident in 2018 had likely convinced the authorities to close off the entire beach to the public. Fears that the visit would be a magnet for protesters appeared unfounded. Matt Halliday, from Stranraer, said he had been driving around for two hours trying and failing to find protests to join. He said Mr Trump had 'stamped all over Scotland' with his grand golf resort plans, strong-arming local farmers and 'bullying' the council over wind farm plans. One of his signs bore a picture of the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 'I think it is going to bring him down,' he said. However, supporters were easier to find than protesters. Two wearing red 'Make England Great Again' hats arrived shortly after the president had disappeared over the crest of a dune. 'We love Trump,' said Kay English, 37, wearing a face mask sporting the president's face. Tom English, a 38-year-old driver, said the pair had driven up from Liverpool last night to catch a glimpse of the president. 'We support Maga, Trump and what he is doing,' he told reporters, adding: 'I like the way he is, the way he speaks. It is comedy gold. 'He is putting the people first. He is trying to help the whole world to make peace - he is the president of peace.' Mr English said he would return on Sunday and hopefully get within 'shouting distance' to offer words of encouragement to the president and cheer on his cost-cutting Doge unit. He added: 'We love Doge, we are trying to get that here through Reform. There is so much being wasted.' Mr Trump has long blurred the line between family, business and public life. But any world leader intruding on his golfing getaway had better be ready for a possible sharp response.

US reviewing visa denial for Venezuelan Little League players, State Department says
US reviewing visa denial for Venezuelan Little League players, State Department says

Reuters

time21 minutes ago

  • Reuters

US reviewing visa denial for Venezuelan Little League players, State Department says

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - The United States is reviewing a decision to deny entry to a Venezuelan Little League team that had been due to compete in an international baseball tournament in South Carolina, the State Department said on Saturday. Cacique Mara Little League is now out of contention for this year's 2025 Senior League Baseball World Series, which begins on Saturday in Easley, South Carolina, Little League International said in a statement. The team was unable to obtain the necessary entry visas, a development that was "extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes," the organization said, adding that a Mexican team would compete in its place so that the tournament could go forward. U.S. President Donald Trump last month issued a proclamation barring entry to people from 12 countries and restricting entry by nationals of seven others, including Venezuela. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. The State Department, however, said it was reviewing the matter. "Our consular officers are currently working to review the case to confirm proper procedures were followed and necessary appeals were submitted by the visa applicants," a spokesperson said. In the Latin America region, Cacique Mara had finished with a record of 5-0, according to Little League. The 2025 Senior League Baseball World Series will be held from July 26 to August 2.

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