Tax Planning in the Trump Era: Strategies for High Earners

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The Trump Administration has been undeniably favorable to high-earning Americans. The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” alone, which was signed into law in July 2025, continued or put in place provisions that are favorable to many high-income taxpayers.

The headline news of the OBBB was the extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s provisions, but there were other advantages put into place in 2025, as well. Here are some ways that high earners can take advantage of the current tax law.

“Do Nothing”

One of the biggest benefits of the OBBB has been the extension of the TCJA tax brackets and rates. Not only did the TCJA reduce the top tax rate from 39.6% to 37%, it also expanded the income ranges for each bracket.

For example, prior to the TCJA, married couples filing jointly earning $481,000 would pay a 39.6% tax rate. Under the TCJA, those couples would only pay a 35% rate. That translates to a savings of tens of thousands of dollars. 

The OBBB also kept in place the increases in the standard deduction introduced with the TCJA. Without the passage of the OBBB, both tax brackets and standard deductions would have reverted to their original levels. So, even by “doing nothing,” high earners are reaping the financial benefits of the Trump era. But there are more active strategies that they can employ. as well.

Create or Maintain a Pass-Through Business

Many high-income taxpayers own their own businesses. The TCJA introduced a 20% exemption of “qualified business income” for those with “pass-through” income, such as that earned by sole proprietors and S-corporations. This means that high earners who structure their business properly can effectively exclude 20% of their income from taxation. While this provision was also set to expire at the end of 2025, the OBBB makes it permanent, according to Buchanan.

Leverage Bonus Depreciation

Bonus depreciation allows businesses purchasing qualifying property after Jan. 19, 2025 to deduct up to 100% of that cost in the year of purchase. While there are many qualifiers to this deduction that are best discussed with an accountant, the bottom line is that the OBBB made 100% bonus depreciation a permanent feature of tax law. Prior to the implementation of the OBBB, 100% bonus depreciation was scheduled to completely expire in 2027. 

Exploit the Increased SALT Provision

The OBBB increased the deduction for state and local taxes, known as the SALT deduction, from $10,000 to $40,000 through 2029. For wealthy taxpayers in high-tax states, this could amount to a windfall.

In California, for example, the top tax rate is 13%. For those earning, say, $500,000 in taxable income, that amounts to more than $40,000 in state tax. Under the prior law, only $10,000 of that money could be shielded from taxes. But the OBBB boosts that deduction by a whopping $30,000, again translating to potentially tens of thousands of dollars of savings for high earners.

One of the many ways high earners can exploit this provision is to buy a home with a large mortgage, as property taxes are included under the SALT exemption.

Take Advantage of Estate and Gift Benefits

The estate and gift tax exemption was scheduled to be cut in half in 2026. But the OBBB increased the exemption to $15 million from $10 million to $30 million for married couples — and made that change permanent. It also indexed them for inflation going forward. This creates huge opportunities for high net-worth individuals, as they can pass larger amounts of their estate to their heirs tax-free. 

The Bottom Line

The passage of the OBBB has made the tax landscape much clearer for high earners — and for the most part, the provisions of the law are favorable. Taxpayers can now take the time to plan their tax moves, as many of the provisions have been made permanent.

Just understand that even with the “permanent” portions of the law, nothing lasts forever. A new administration and Congress could potentially reverse some or all of the OBBB’s impact, meaning it’s still better to make plans sooner rather than later. 

Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.

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