One Big Beautiful Bill: A Win for Real Estate, Realtors and Business Owners!

Brandon Green
Jul 18
3 min read

Owning real estate and being a business owner has always been the best way to maximize your tax position, and that got a big boost with the new tax bill. Let’s dive in.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Direct Impact on Real Estate Agents across America

What Changed

Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) makes key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent while introducing powerful new deductions and incentives that affect real estate professionals, investors, and self-employed taxpayers.

Highlights include:

100% bonus depreciation for assets placed in service from 2025 to 2029.
Section 199A QBI deduction made permanent, with higher phase-out thresholds.
State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap raised from $10,000 to $40,000 through 2029.
Opportunity Zones extended permanently, with enhanced incentives for rural and distressed areas.
Above-the-line charitable deduction of up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint), even without itemizing.
Auto loan interest deduction of up to $10,000 for new U.S.-assembled vehicles (limitations apply).
Senior standard deduction boosted by up to $6,000 for taxpayers aged 65 or older through 2028.
Standard deduction and Child Tax Credit increased, with inflation indexing.
Section 179 Expensing Cap Raised: Now allows up to $2.5 million of qualifying property to be expensed, with a phaseout starting at $4 million, indexed after 2025.
Section 179D Energy-Efficient Commercial Building Deduction: Up to $5.00/sq. ft., but sunsets after 2026.
45L Residential Energy Credit: Worth $2,500–$5,000/unit, also ends after 2026.

Comparison To Prior Laws

Provision	Prior Law	New Law (OBBB)
Bonus Depreciation	40% in 2025, then phase out	100% from 2025–2029
QBI Deduction (199A)	20%, expires 2025	20%, made permanent
SALT Cap	$10,000	$40,000 through 2029
Charitable Deduction (non-itemized)	Expired 2021 (COVID provision)	$1,000/$2,000 made permanent
Auto Loan Interest Deduction	Not deductible	Up to $10,000 for new U.S. vehicles
Senior Standard Deduction Boost	$1,850	Up to $6,000 extra through 2028
Standard Deduction	$30,000 (joint)	$31,500 (joint), inflation-indexed
Child Tax Credit	$2,000	$2,200, inflation-indexed
Section 179 Expensing Cap	$1.16M phase-out at $2.89M	$2.5M, phase-out at $4M + indexing
Section 179D (Energy Efficiency)	Up to $5/sq. ft., extended	Ends mid-2026
45L Energy Credit	Up to $5,000/unit	Ends mid-2026

What This All Means

For Real Estate Agents and Brokers:

Permanent QBI deduction allows you to deduct a portion of your income.
Bonus depreciation/Section 179 expensing may apply to office build-outs, equipment, or business-use vehicles. Now allows full write-offs of qualifying property up to $2.5M.
SALT cap increase benefits agents in high-tax states like California, New York, Hawaii, and Connecticut, allowing you to deduct more of your state and local taxes paid than in the past.
Deadline alert: Energy-efficient project deductions (179D and 45L) phase out — a planning opportunity for real estate teams involved in green buildings.

For Real Estate Investors

Bonus depreciation/Section 179 improves ROI on new construction and renovations for rentals by allowing a bigger up-front write-off for depreciation. Increases deduction for large capital purchases like HVAC systems, appliances, or vehicles used in rental operations.
Opportunity Zones now offer permanent tax deferral/elimination benefits with more emphasis on rural and underserved areas.
QBI permanence allows a deduction of rental income in certain circumstances, supporting long-term tax planning for rental portfolios.
SALT benefits investors in high-tax states like California, New York, Hawaii, and Connecticut, allowing you to deduct more of your state and local taxes paid.
Deadline alert: Energy tax planning. Leverage 179D deductions or 45L tax credits before they sunset. These provisions apply to certain energy-efficient improvements to commercial buildings and energy-efficient residential homes.

For Individual Filers

Expanded standard deduction increases the freebie tax deduction for all filers not itemizing.
The Child Tax Credit increase helps families with qualifying dependents get a higher deduction.
Charitable and auto loan interest deductions open new ways to reduce taxable income by allowing a write-off for these expenses with fewer hoops to jump through to qualify than in the past.
Senior deduction offers an added tax deduction for those over age 65.

⚠️ Don’t do tax planning via email or ChatGPT.

Per usual, this stuff is complicated and highly specific to individual situations. Just because you could take the deduction doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

That’s why Alchemy is here: to provide context and customization to YOU. The info from this new bill will be incorporated into the tax planning for current Alchemy members. If you’re not already a member, let’s talk about how this new bill will benefit you and your family. Book a complimentary discovery call here.