📊 The Standard Deduction Is Going Up — But Will It Last?

alison882
Jul 11
2 min read

Here’s what the Big Beautiful Bill means for your taxes in 2025 — and why now is the time to plan ahead.

When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017, it overhauled the tax code in dramatic ways—most notably by nearly doubling the standard deduction. That change has benefited millions of taxpayers who no longer need to itemize to get a meaningful tax break.

But here’s the catch: those provisions were set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acted to make them permanent.

That’s where the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) comes in. One of the headline provisions of the BBB is an increase to the standard deduction—if it didn't stick many taxpayers would have seen their tax bills go up in 2026.

Let’s break it down.

📌 What Is the Standard Deduction?

The standard deduction is a flat-dollar reduction to your taxable income. You either take the standard deduction or itemize your deductions—whichever gives you the lower tax bill.

Under the TCJA (2018–2025), the standard deduction nearly doubled:

Filing Status	Pre-TCJA (2017)	TCJA (2024 Estimate)
Single	$6,350	$14,600
Married Filing Jointly	$12,700	$29,200
Head of Household	$9,350	$21,900

The BBB proposed an additional modest increase to the standard deduction, adjusting for inflation and cost of living. But if the TCJA expired, the deduction would have dropped back down to 2017 levels, undoing years of tax savings for middle-income families.

💥 What was the Risk?

If Congress failed to make the TCJA provisions permanent—or extend them—then on January 1, 2026, the standard deduction would have dropped by nearly 50%.

That means:

More people would have to itemize to get the same tax benefit (assuming they had that many deductions).
Taxable income would rise, even if nothing else changed.
Taxpayers would find themselves pushed into higher brackets due to other expiring TCJA provisions (like lower rates and expanded child tax credits).

In short: your tax bill likely would have gone up even if your income stayed the same.

🧾 How the BBB Helps

The Big Beautiful Bill:

Increases the standard deduction slightly beyond TCJA levels.
Makes TCJA provisions permanent for individuals and families.
Indexes deductions more aggressively to inflation, preserving value over time.

This means more predictable planning for taxpayers and less complexity during filing season.

🧠 Final Thought

The standard deduction increase under the Big Beautiful Bill offers a promising extension of tax relief. As a taxpayer, the best thing you can do is plan proactively and work with a trusted advisor to adapt your strategy before any rules change.