If you’re staring at your 2025 or 2026 tax documents and wondering why the numbers look so different, you aren't alone. Honestly, it's a mess out there. The short answer to whether are we currently under trumps tax plan is a resounding "yes," but with a massive catch that happened right at the finish line of 2025.
For years, tax experts warned about the "2025 tax cliff." This was the moment the original Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017—the first Trump tax plan—was supposed to expire. Without a new law, we would have woken up on January 1, 2026, to the old, pre-2018 tax rates. But that didn't happen. Instead, a new piece of legislation colloquially known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB) swept in to make the core of those tax cuts permanent.
So, while the 2017 law technically had an expiration date, its ghost is very much alive. In fact, it's more of a permanent resident now.
The Reality of the Current Tax Landscape
Most people think tax laws are set in stone. They aren't. They’re more like a shifting sand dune.
The original TCJA lowered the top individual tax rate from $39.6%$ to $37%$. It nearly doubled the standard deduction. It also capped the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000$, which famously annoyed people in places like New York and California.
Today, those lower brackets are still here. The OBBB, passed in late 2025, essentially copy-pasted the 2017 rates into the permanent tax code. If you’re a single filer making $50,000$ a year, you’re still likely sitting in the $22%$ bracket rather than jumping back up to the $25%$ rate that existed before Trump took office.
What Actually Changed This Year?
Even though the "plan" is largely the same, the numbers move every year because of inflation. For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction has climbed again.
- Single Filers: $$16,100$
- Married Filing Jointly: $$32,200$
- Head of Household: $$24,150$
This is a far cry from the $$6,350$ single people were deducting back in 2017. The goal was to keep people from needing to itemize their taxes. It worked. About $90%$ of Americans now just take the standard deduction and call it a day.
The "One Big Beautiful Bill" Tweaks
It wasn't just a straight extension. There are some new "Trump-era" flavors added to the mix for 2026.
The SALT cap—that $10,000$ limit that everyone loved to hate—got a facelift. Under the new 2025 legislation, the cap was increased to $$40,000$ for many taxpayers. This was a huge win for middle-class homeowners in high-tax states. It’s still a cap, which fits the original philosophy, but it's a much looser one.
✨ Don't miss: Dollar to Gold Conversion: Why Your Cash Keeps Losing the Race
Then there’s the "No Tax on Tips" and "No Tax on Overtime" provisions. If you’re a service worker or a blue-collar employee hitting $50$ hours a week, this is probably the biggest change you'll notice. These were cornerstone promises of the 2024 campaign that actually made it into the 2025 bill.
Why the Child Tax Credit Matters
Under the old 2017 rules, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was $$2,000$. There was a lot of drama about whether this would drop back down to $$1,000$ when the law expired.
The current status? It’s actually been bumped to $$2,200$ for qualified taxpayers in 2026. They also made a portion of it refundable, which helps lower-income families who don't owe enough in taxes to use the full credit. It’s a bit of a hybrid between the 2017 Republican plan and some of the expansion ideas seen during the pandemic era.
Business Taxes: The Permanent Fixture
While the individual side of the tax code has been a rollercoaster of expirations and extensions, the corporate side has been remarkably stable.
The corporate tax rate remains at $21%$. This was the "crown jewel" of the 2017 plan, and unlike the individual cuts, it was never designed to expire. However, some business deductions were starting to fade away.
For instance, "bonus depreciation"—which lets businesses deduct the cost of large equipment immediately—was supposed to be gone by now. The 2025 law restored it to $100%$. Basically, if a construction company buys a new crane in 2026, they can often write off the whole thing this year instead of spreading the deduction over a decade.
Surprising New Additions
You might start hearing about "Trump Accounts" for kids. This is a new type of tax-advantaged savings account that launched recently. The government even puts in a one-time $$1,000$ contribution for babies born in a certain window. It’s sort of like a Roth IRA for toddlers, aimed at long-term wealth building.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 2026 Filing Season
A common myth is that because the 2017 bill "expired," our taxes are automatically higher.
That’s not quite right. Because the new bill passed, we are still very much in a "low rate" environment. However, you might feel like you’re paying more because of something called bracket creep.
Even though the rates are low, if your wages went up $10%$ to keep up with the cost of eggs and gas, you might have been pushed into a higher tax bracket. The IRS adjusts the brackets for inflation to prevent this, but it’s never a perfect science.
Practical Steps to Handle Your 2026 Taxes
Don't wait until April to figure this out. The rules changed just enough in late 2025 to make your old "autopilot" settings potentially wrong.
- Check Your Withholding: With the new "No Tax on Overtime" rules, your payroll department might need a nudge. Ensure you aren't overpaying if a chunk of your income is now exempt.
- Look at Your Car Loan: There's a new (though limited) deduction for interest paid on certain vehicle loans. It's capped at $$10,000$ and has income limits, but it’s worth checking if you bought a car recently.
- Senior Special: If you’re over 65, there’s an additional $$6,000$ deduction available through 2028. This is a "bonus" on top of the standard deduction.
- Charitable Changes: Even if you don't itemize, you might be able to take an "above-the-line" deduction for charitable gifts—$$1,000$ for singles and $$2,000$ for couples.
We are definitely still living in the world built by the 2017 tax plan, just with a few new 2025/2026 additions that make it even more complex.