The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (often abbreviated OB3 / OBBB / OBBBA) — the major U.S. tax-law change passed July 4, 2025 (Public Law 119-21).

A sweeping reconciliation tax and spending statute that:

• Permanently extends key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (for example, higher standard deductions and tax-brackets).
• Introduces significant new tax benefits and deductions for individuals (e.g., overtime pay deduction, tip income deduction, car-loan interest deduction).
• Makes changes to business and international tax rules, and alters reporting thresholds (e.g., thresholds for Form 1099-K, research & experimental cost treatment) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.
• Some provisions take effect for tax year 2025 (filed in 2026) and many begin in 2026 or later.

Major Changes for Individuals

• The Act makes permanent many of the tax rate structures and deduction levels from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
• Standard deduction levels are increased and become permanent. Example: for 2025 (tax year) the standard deduction is ~$15,750 for single filers and ~$31,500 for married filing jointly.
• New specific deductions for certain worker-categories:
  • Deduction for “qualified tips” (cash or charged tips) up to $25,000 for eligible taxpayers for tax years 2025–2028.
  • Deduction for “qualified overtime compensation” for 2025–2028: up to $12,500 for an individual.
  • A deduction for interest on car loans (for personal use vehicles) up to $10,000, for vehicles meeting specific criteria (U.S. final assembly, loan originated after 31 Dec 2024).
• For seniors (65+), an additional deduction of $6,000 (2025–2028) on top of the standard deduction, phased out for higher incomes.
• The cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction is temporarily raised (for 2025–2029) up to around $40,000 (with income phase-outs) rather than the previous $10,000 cap, benefiting taxpayers in higher-tax states.

🌐 Implications for Your International-Tax / U.S. Tax Business

Since you’re building a U.S. individual tax platform and focusing on international tax aspects, here are items to flag for your clientele and the platform you’re developing:

• Because many changes are permanent, your platform should reflect that clients no longer face planned expiration of those TCJA provisions after 2025 (which would have created uncertainty).
• For American expats and cross-border clients: The standard deduction, deductions for tips/overtime/car-loan interest, and SALT cap changes may affect tax-planning strategies (especially where clients have U.S. ties plus foreign income or assets). You may want to update your client-checklists for:
  • Review of deductions that were previously under temporary rules and now are permanent or extended.
  • Impact of higher deduction levels on taxable U.S. income, affecting treaty benefit analyses, foreign tax credit utilisation, etc.
• For clients with U.S. or U.S.-assembled vehicle loans (even abroad), consider whether the car-loan interest deduction applies (though note the vehicle must be for personal use in the U.S. context).
• For high-net-worth and global mobile clients: The raised SALT cap may make U.S. itemising more attractive in high-tax states, which can affect domicile/state tax modelling and thereby affect the U.S. taxable base.
• From the business/international side: The law also includes business & international tax changes (e.g., immediate depreciation, research-and-development cost treatment) which may enter into planning for U.S. entities with foreign operations.

⚠️ Planning-and-Compliance Considerations

• Many new deductions have eligibility thresholds (income phase-outs, Social Security number requirements, valid filing statuses). For example, the tip-deduction requires the taxpayer to have a Social Security number and file jointly if married under certain rules.
• Some provisions are temporary (e.g., certain deductions 2025–2028) or have sunset dates, so you’ll want to build alert-logic into your platform to signal upcoming changes or expirations.
• Because this is a major overhaul, your client engagement materials (proposals, service letters, platform UI) should highlight “new law after July 4, 2025” changes, and normalise reviewing their 2025 tax-year position early (since some changes are retroactive to 2025).
• International tax angles: Although the main individual provisions target U.S. domestic taxpayers, any change in U.S. taxable income, deduction base, and SALT strategy could influence cross-border tax planning (e.g., U.S. net income feed into treaty calculations, foreign tax credit pool sizing, etc.).
• Analytics & platform features: You may incorporate “what-if” modeling for clients — e.g., “if you have tip income of X and W-2 income of Y, your new deduction is Z under OBBBA” — which gives added value to your tax-platform service.
• Keep abreast of IRS/final regs: Since the law passage is recent, full regulatory guidance and forms may lag — so build in process for updates when the IRS publishes lists (e.g., for “occupations that customarily receive tips”).