2025 tax law changes for investors: each provision, its section and its start date

The 2025 tax law, Public Law 119-21, was signed on July 4, 2025, and IRS pages published during 2026 call it the Working Families Tax Cuts. Most of its changes for investors began on January 1, 2026, so returns for tax year 2026, filed in 2027, are the first to show them in full. This post lists each provision that matters to investors, savers and people who send money abroad, with its section of the law and its start date, checked against the statute and IRS guidance as of November 2, 2026.

Which provisions affect investors, and when do they start?

Most apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, but a few reach back into 2025 and a few wait until 2027.

Two things investors might look for are missing. The law did not touch the 0%, 15% and 20% long-term capital gains rates, and it left the 3.8% net investment income tax and its unindexed thresholds in place. The section numbers above belong to the public law; each one amends the Internal Revenue Code, so IRS forms and notices usually cite the code section instead, such as section 4475 for the remittance tax or section 1202 for small-business stock.

What did the law make permanent?

It deleted the end-2025 expiry date from the 2017 individual tax cuts, so those rules now run with no end date and keep adjusting for inflation.

• Brackets (section 70101). The 2026 rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%, with the top rate applying above $640,600 of taxable income for single filers and $768,700 for married couples filing jointly, as announced in IR-2025-103. Without the law, the top rate would have returned to 39.6% this year.
• Standard deduction (section 70102). For 2026 it is $16,100 for single filers and married people filing separately, $24,150 for heads of household and $32,200 for married couples filing jointly. The law raised the base amounts starting with 2025 returns and indexes them from there.
• Estate and gift exemption (section 70106). Deaths and lifetime gifts in 2026 are sheltered up to $15,000,000 per person, up from $13,990,000 for 2025, and the figure rises with inflation from 2027. The generation-skipping transfer exemption is the same $15,000,000. The separate annual exclusion of $19,000 per recipient is unchanged, and gift tax on money sent abroad covers how it applies to family abroad.
• Alternative minimum tax (section 70107). The 2026 exemption is $90,100 for single filers and $140,200 for joint filers, but above $500,000 and $1,000,000 of alternative minimum taxable income it now shrinks by 50 cents per dollar instead of 25. That matters most to people exercising incentive stock options.
• Pass-through deduction (section 70105). The 20% deduction under section 199A, which also covers qualified REIT dividends and publicly traded partnership income, no longer expires. From 2026 anyone with at least $1,000 of income from a business they actively run gets a minimum deduction of $400. Qualified vs ordinary dividends explains how REIT payouts are taxed.
• Itemized deductions (sections 70108, 70110 and 70113). The $750,000 cap on mortgage debt is permanent, and mortgage insurance premiums count as deductible interest again from 2026. Miscellaneous itemized deductions, which once included investment advisory and custody fees, are gone for good apart from educator expenses. Moving costs stay nondeductible except for the military and, from 2026, intelligence agency staff.

How did capital gains, small-business stock and opportunity zones change?

Rates on investment income stayed the same, but two capital gains breaks tied to particular investments grew, and older reporting thresholds came back.

For 2026 the long-term rates apply at 0% up to $49,450 of taxable income (single) or $98,900 (married filing jointly); 15% above that; 20% above $545,500 (single) or $613,700 (joint). The net investment income tax is still 3.8% on the smaller of net investment income and the amount by which modified AGI exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). The capital gains guide shows how those bands stack on top of wages and other income.

Small-business stock (section 70431). For shares in a qualifying C corporation acquired after July 4, 2025, part of the gain can be excluded after three years instead of five: 50% after three years, 75% after four and 100% after five. The cap per company rises from $10 million to $15 million of gain, or 10 times the investor's basis if that is larger, and is indexed from 2027. Companies with up to $75 million of gross assets, up from $50 million, can now issue qualifying shares. Stock acquired on or before July 4, 2025 keeps the old five-year rule.

Opportunity zones (section 70421). The program is now permanent, with zones redrawn every 10 years. The first new map runs from January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2036, according to IRS Notice 2026-40. Gains invested in a qualified opportunity fund from January 1, 2027 can be deferred for up to five years, and holding for five years adds 10% to the investor's basis (30% for rural funds). Gains deferred under the original program are still taxed on the 2026 return, because that deferral ends on December 31, 2026 unless the investment is sold sooner.

Reporting thresholds (sections 70432 and 70433). Payment apps and online marketplaces again send Form 1099-K only when a seller receives more than $20,000 across more than 200 transactions, and the change is retroactive. The threshold for Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC is $2,000 for payments made in 2026, up from $600. Income is taxable whether or not a form arrives.

How did charitable giving, SALT and itemized deductions change?

Starting with 2026 returns, non-itemizers get a small deduction for cash gifts, itemizers face a floor on gifts, and the top bracket gets less from every itemized dollar.

• Non-itemizers (section 70424). Filers who take the standard deduction can also deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to qualifying charities, or $2,000 on a joint return. Only cash counts: gifts of stock or other property, and gifts to donor-advised funds or supporting organizations, do not, according to the IRS.
• Itemizers (section 70425). Gifts count only to the extent they exceed 0.5% of AGI. The 60%-of-AGI ceiling for cash gifts to public charities is now permanent, and the amount lost to the floor carries forward only in a year when giving also exceeds one of those ceilings.
• The 37% bracket (section 70111). Itemized deductions are cut by 2/37 of the smaller of the deductions or the income that reaches into the top bracket, so each deducted dollar saves at most about 35 cents. For a couple far into that bracket, $100,000 of itemized deductions shrinks by $5,405 and saves $35,000 of tax rather than $37,000.
• Scholarship credit (section 70411). From January 1, 2027, a nonrefundable credit of up to $1,700 is available for cash given to scholarship-granting organizations in states that opt in. Proposed regulations came out on October 1, 2026 (IR-2026-117).
• State and local taxes (section 70120). The 2026 cap is $40,400 ($20,200 if married filing separately), reduced by 30% of modified AGI above $505,000 ($252,500 if married filing separately) but never below $10,000 ($5,000). It was $40,000 for 2025, rises 1% a year through 2029 and drops back to $10,000 from 2030.

Qualified charitable distributions from an IRA, capped at $111,000 per IRA owner in 2026, are left out of income rather than deducted, so neither the floor nor the 2/37 trim reaches them. Year-end tax moves for investors lists the December 31 deadlines for 2026 gifts, and crypto gifts and donations works through the floor on a gift of appreciated assets.

What changed for HSAs, Trump accounts and education savings?

The law widened who can put money into an HSA, created Trump accounts for children and let 529 plans pay more school costs, without raising HSA or IRA limits.

• HSAs (sections 71306 to 71308). Using telehealth before meeting the deductible no longer costs HSA eligibility, permanently, for plan years from 2025. From January 1, 2026, bronze and catastrophic plans count as HSA-compatible whether or not they are bought on an exchange, and people in direct primary care arrangements costing up to $150 a month ($300 if the arrangement covers more than one person) can contribute and pay those fees from the account. IRS Notice 2026-05, issued December 9, 2025, explains all three. Contribution limits were left alone: $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, plus $1,000 at 55 or older for 2026.
• Trump accounts (section 70204). These are traditional IRAs for children under 18, and they took their first deposits on July 4, 2026. A one-time $1,000 federal deposit for US-citizen children born from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028 is paid once an adult claims the account and elects the payment on Form 4547, and family and employers can add $5,000 a year from parents, relatives and employers combined (indexed for inflation after 2027).
• 529 plans (sections 70413 and 70414). Tax-free withdrawals now cover K-12 tuition plus books, tutoring, standardized test fees and similar costs for distributions after July 4, 2025, and the K-12 cap doubles to $20,000 a year from 2026. Programs that lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, such as a trade license, also qualify.
• ABLE accounts and child care (sections 70115, 70117 and 70404). Rollovers from 529 plans to ABLE accounts and extra contributions by working ABLE beneficiaries no longer expire, and the dependent care FSA limit rises to $7,500 ($3,750 married filing separately) from 2026.

HSA investing covers how the account works over decades, and Trump accounts for children sets out the new accounts' rules in detail.

What does the 1% remittance tax mean for people who send money abroad?

Since January 1, 2026, senders who pay a remittance provider in cash, or with a money order or cashier's check, owe a 1% federal excise tax.

Section 70604 added section 4475 to the tax code. The tax is 1% of the amount sent, on transfers paid with cash, a money order, a cashier's check or a similar physical instrument. The provider collects it from the sender, deposits it with the IRS and reports it quarterly, and the provider owes any amount it fails to collect. Transfers funded from a bank or other financial-institution account, or with a US-issued debit or credit card fall outside it. Treasury's proposed regulations from April 2026 are not final; the remittance transfer tax guide covers how the 1% is figured, refunds on canceled transfers and state-level remittance taxes.

The tax is added to whatever fee and exchange-rate markup the provider already charges. The money transfer cost calculator compares the total cost across providers, and the cheapest way to send money abroad explains what drives it. The law did not change how gifts to family overseas are taxed: amounts above the annual exclusion still go on Form 709.

Which tax breaks are temporary, and when do they end?

Four new deductions apply only to tax years 2025 through 2028, the higher SALT cap ends after 2029, and several clean-energy credits ended early.

The four deductions go on the new Schedule 1-A and can be claimed whether or not the filer itemizes. The senior deduction is $6,000 per person aged 65 or older, with each person's $6,000 reduced by 6% of modified AGI above $75,000 ($150,000 on a joint return). Among the credits that ended early, the new and used clean vehicle credits stopped for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025 (sections 70501 and 70502). The home energy improvement and residential clean energy credits stopped after December 31, 2025 (sections 70505 and 70506).

What has not been announced yet?

The 2027 inflation-adjusted amounts, including the brackets, the standard deduction and the estate exemption, had not been published as of November 2, 2026.

The IRS released the 2026 figures on October 9, 2025, in IR-2025-103 and Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and the tax code requires the next year's tables by December 15. IRS 2027 inflation adjustments for investors will cover them when they arrive. One 2027 number is already set: HSA limits of $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage, plus $1,000 at 55 or older. Final regulations are still pending for the remittance tax, the scholarship credit and the Trump account investment rules, so details in those areas can still change.

For the accounts and funds these rules touch, start at the stocks hub. Anyone planning a move overseas can see how the foreign earned income exclusion feeds into the SALT phase-down in the moving abroad money checklist.