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The One Big Beautiful Bill Turns One. Here Are the 10 Provisions That Changed the Most.

Resist Now Updated 5 min read How we verify

One year in, the damage is measurable

President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025. The CBO scored it at $3.4 trillion in new deficits over the next decade. It cut $863 billion from Medicaid and $186 billion from SNAP while permanently extending the 2017 tax cuts.

One year later, the first provisions are taking effect. Here are the ten that matter most, in plain English.

The 10 provisions

1. Medicaid work requirements

Adults ages 19-64 on Medicaid expansion must work or volunteer 80 hours per month to keep coverage. Deadline: December 31, 2026 for all states, though some states started early. CBO projects 5.3 million people will lose coverage. Read our full brief on the July 1 deadline.

2. SNAP work requirements expanded

Work requirements for food assistance now cover ages 18-64, up from 18-54. Same 80 hours per month. This hits older workers hardest, particularly those in physically demanding jobs who can no longer meet hourly thresholds.

3. SNAP cost shift to states

Starting 2027, states pay 75% of SNAP administrative costs instead of the current 50-50 split. States with error rates above 6% must also cover up to 15% of actual benefit costs. This creates an incentive for states to kick people off rather than improve accuracy.

4. 2017 tax cuts made permanent

The individual tax rates from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which were set to expire December 31, 2025, are now permanent. This disproportionately benefits high earners. The top 1% receive a larger share of the tax benefit than the bottom 60% combined.

5. SALT cap raised (temporarily)

The state and local tax deduction cap rises to $40,000 for taxpayers earning under $500,000. It reverts to $10,000 after five years. This was the price for votes from blue-state Republicans and expires just in time to not affect the next presidential election’s budget scoring.

6. Federal school vouchers

A new tax credit matches donations dollar-for-dollar (up to $1,700/year) to state-approved scholarship-granting organizations. Vouchers pay for private school tuition, tutoring, and educational materials. States must opt in via their governors. No accountability or reporting requirements for participating private schools.

7. Student loan restrictions

Graduate and professional students, including medical students, lose access to new Grad PLUS loans for periods starting July 1, 2026, and new caps limit their Direct Unsubsidized loans. All new federal borrowers are limited to only two repayment options. Borrowing caps are tightened. This pushes graduate students toward private lenders with fewer protections.

8. Tip and overtime tax exemptions

Service workers can deduct up to $25,000 in tips from federal income tax. Up to $12,500 of overtime pay ($25,000 on a joint return) is also deductible. Both deductions end after the 2028 tax year.

9. Trump accounts for children

Children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 receive a one-time $1,000 federal contribution to a savings account. The money can be used for education expenses. This is a headline generator, not a policy. It costs relatively little and changes almost nothing for families in poverty.

10. Medicaid cost-sharing for the near-poor

Starting October 1, 2028, people with income between 100% and 133% of the federal poverty level must pay co-pays and deductibles for Medicaid. These are people earning roughly $15,000-$20,000 per year. Any cost-sharing at that income level is a barrier to care.

Costs vs. benefits

ProvisionWho benefitsWho pays10-year cost
Permanent tax cutsTop earnersFederal deficit+$3.4T total bill
Medicaid work requirements—5.3M enrollees-$863B from beneficiaries
SNAP restrictions—Low-income families-$186B from food assistance
School vouchersPrivate school familiesPublic school fundingNot yet scored
Tip/OT exemptionsService workersFederal revenueSunsets 2028

“This is not a tax bill with spending cuts. It is a transfer: from the poorest Americans to the wealthiest, with enough temporary sweeteners to sell it.”

That’s from the Center for American Progress implementation timeline.

What you can do

  1. Know when provisions hit your state. The USAFacts timeline tracks implementation dates by provision.

  2. Check your Medicaid and SNAP eligibility now. If you receive either benefit, confirm your enrollment status and document your work hours before the deadlines arrive.

  3. Tell your representatives to repeal the worst provisions. The 2026 midterms are the first opportunity. Use Resist Bot to make contact.

  4. Track voucher opt-in decisions in your state. If your governor opts into the federal voucher program, public school funding in your district will be affected.

Correction, October 14, 2026: An earlier version of this brief said medical students lose access to Direct Stafford and PLUS loans, that tipped workers pay no federal tax on up to $25,000 in tips, that up to 250 hours of overtime is exempt, and that both tax breaks expire in 2028. Under the law, graduate and professional students lose new Grad PLUS loans for periods starting July 1, 2026, and face new caps on Direct Unsubsidized loans. Tips up to $25,000 and overtime pay up to $12,500 ($25,000 on a joint return) are deductible from federal income tax through the 2028 tax year (Public Law 119-21).

Correction, October 15, 2026: An earlier version of this brief said the tip and overtime deductions sunset before the midterms. Under the law, no deduction is allowed for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2028, so both run through the 2028 tax year, after the 2026 midterms (Public Law 119-21, secs. 70201 and 70202). An unsourced line about why the deductions were included was also removed.

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