📰 Accounting Press

Tax Bill 2.0 Becomes Law, AI on the Rise, and an Auditing Reprieve

Washington has delivered a tax code sequel. Congress gave final approval to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) Act in razor-thin votes – 51–50 in the Senate and 218–214 in the House – and President Trump signed it into law on July 4th. The measure cements the 2017 tax cuts while tossing in new perks (from tax-free tips and overtime pay to breaks on car loan interest and senior benefits).
Supporters are touting big economic payoffs. They predict record job and wage growth, with typical families seeing over $10,000 more in annual take-home pay. But skeptics warn about the hefty price tag – the Congressional Budget Office estimates OBBB will add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade – raising concerns about fiscal risks ahead.

What’s Inside:

• Auditing Reprieve: In a win for auditors, the final bill stripped out a controversial provision that would have defunded the PCAOB (the audit industry’s watchdog). A Senate referee (parliamentarian) found the PCAOB-abolition plan violated reconciliation rules, so the agency lives to audit another day.

• Accounting Profession Wins: The OBBB contains several provisions that the accounting industry had pushed for, which the AICPA hailed as “beneficial to the accounting profession”. It permanently extends key tax breaks from 2017 – for example, making 100% bonus depreciation and the 20% qualified business income deduction (Sec. 199A) permanent – and even removes the cap on state and local tax deductions for pass-through entities. These changes give CPAs more certainty in long-term tax planning for businesses and individuals, ensuring popular deductions remain available and stable.

• Eased Compliance Burdens: The new law rolls back certain IRS reporting requirements that would have created extra work for accountants. Notably, it restores the Form 1099-K third-party transaction reporting threshold to the previous $20,000 and 200 transactions (instead of letting it drop to $600). It also raises the general Form 1099 reporting cutoff from $600 up to $2,000 for payments to contractors and others. By reducing the number of small-dollar transactions that trigger tax forms, OBBB spares accountants and small businesses a flood of paperwork in future filing seasons.

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