EXPLAINER: 10 Things to Know About the Tax & Spending Bill

PLUS my favorite things on SALE & the books I'm reading

Hi All -

I have a little bit of everything in today’s newsletter: information about the spending bill that passed the House, some of my favorite items on sale today, and what I’m reading.

Someone posted in the group chat for paid subscribers about one of the (many) memes going around circulating false information about what’s in the Budget bill. So I thought it would be helpful to give you the top things you should know about it. When news is constantly disseminated on social media it can be really hard to figure out what’s real. Here’s what we now about the bill right now.

The spending and tax cut bill is actually titled the One Big Beautiful Bill, it’s not just a Trump aphorism, it is the real name of an actual bill in Congress. Yes, we are currently living in an Onion article.

The first thing to know is that none of this is final. In fact there is still a long way to go for this version of the bill to pass. Here’s a little bit about the process.

The bill has passed the House, but Republican members of the Senate say they won’t pass it as-is. It onlypassed the House by one vote, causing many to point out that the multiple deaths of Democratic members of Congress impacted the bill. Plus two Republicans missed the vote (one was napping). Now the Senate must pass its own version, then it will go through a process called “reconciliation” which is when the two versions (House and Senate) are reconciled together by a committee of representatives from the two houses. Then that version needs to pass both houses.

Perhaps the most important thing to note about this process is that unlike most legislation that passes the Senate, there is no 60 vote filibuster threshold. So if Republicans can reach consensus within their caucus, they can pass this on their own without Democrats input. Here are twelve things (I know I said 10 but I have extra) you should know about this version of the bill and who will be impacted and who will benefit:

1. The big picture takeaway is that preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office reports that those in the lowest 10 percent of the income scale would see their resources reduced while those in the highest 10 percent would see them increased.

2. It includes a major change to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Right now, if you itemize your deductions, you can only deduct up to $10,000 of what you pay in state and local taxes (like property taxes and state income taxes) from your federal taxes. The House bill would raise that cap to $40,000 for 2025. This means if you pay more than $10,000 in these taxes, you could deduct a lot more from your federal taxable income, reducing your federal tax bill. This was something included in the bill to accrue the votes of Republican members in states with high property values like New York, New Jersey and California. It only benefits people who are already writing off large amounts of money on their federal taxes.

3. The bill includes a provision called "No Tax on Tips," which would temporarily eliminate federal income taxes on up to $25,000 of tips for many workers in jobs that traditionally receive them like waiters, bartenders, and delivery drivers. If you work in a tipped job and make less than $160,000 in 2025, you would not have to pay federal income tax on the tips you report to your employer and that show up on your W-2 form. But here’s the catch, nearly 4 in 10 tipped workers earn so little they already pay no federal income tax, so this change won’t help those folks much. “Cash tips” includes physical cash and payments made via card.

4. Despite Republicans running on fiscal conservatism, this House bill would let the government borrow about $4 trillion more to avoid default (aka “raise the debt limit”), this is a major issue for Republicans in the Senate.

5. The bill adds about $150 billion in new funding for border security, a huge increase over the next five years in resources dedicated to the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration enforcement. This includes $51 billion to construct and upgrade border barriers and facilities (remember The Wall?) and $59 billion for detention and transport.

6. It would sharply cut Medicaid funding, make it harder for people to stay enrolled, and is expected to cause millions of Americans, especially low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, to lose their health coverage. The bill would reduce federal spending on Medicaid by about $700 billion over ten years. It would add more rules and paperwork for people to keep their Medicaid, which could lead to many eligible people losing coverage by mistake or because the process is too hard to navigate. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that at least 8.6 million people could lose their Medicaid coverage because of these changes.

7. The bill proposes to cut about $280–$300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, over the next ten years, the largest cut in the program’s history. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that millions of low-income Americans, including families with children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, could lose their food stamp benefits entirely or see their monthly assistance reduced.

8. It includes a prohibition on medicaid coverage of gender transition care starting in 2027. Early versions of the bill only excluded coverage for minors, but the House version includes adults.

9. The bill includes a national school voucher program. Donors who give money to voucher programs would receive a tax crest. This meansif you donate $8,000 to the program (instead of paying your private school tuition) you will be able to reduce your tax burden by $8,000. Households who earn up to 300% of an area's median gross income would qualify for the grants. Many public schools will not be able to sustain themselves if they lose too many students to private schools since a portion of their funding is provider per-pupil. Private schools are not required to follow the same types of federal disability laws which means that they are inaccessible for a lot of students. (This provision also includes a capital gains shelter that experts estimate would facilitate $2.2 billion in capital gains tax avoidance in the next decade for the wealthiest Americans)

10. In an obvious (in my opinion) play to shield Trump allies from legal consequences, the bill includes a provision that aims to limit the federal courts ability to enforce injunctions. America’s courts have very limited ability to force the executive to comply with their orders, one of the only hard tools they have is to charge the individuals involved with contempt. The language would block those judges' ability to enforce contempt citations if they had not previously ordered a bond. Provisions in the spending bill must be considered germane to the issue of spending to be able to be included in the final product.Many experts believe this provision will not be in the final passed bill.

11. The bill includes a phaseout of the current tax credits for low-carbon electricity (ie: solar-, wind-, geothermal- or battery-powered) plants. Under the bill they could only claim the credit if they started construction within 60 days of the bill being signed into law and have the plant in service by the end of 2028. Nuclear reactors are carved out of this. The bill also includes expedited approvals for oil and gas projects in exchange for fees and curves rules on tailpipe emissions.

12. The Child Tax Credit would be extended to 2028 and the highest amount increased from $2,000 to $2,500. It also includes the creation of “Trump Accounts” which are similar to a 529 plan but can be used for things like a down payment on a home. Every child born between 2025-2029 would get $1,000 put in the account to start and parents could put in a max of $5,000 per year.

If you are curious to know how many people in your State or Congressional district will lose SNAP or health insurance because of this bill, you can find that information here.

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In this economy I know none of us want to be spending big, but also who doesn’t love a little treat or pick-me-up. (Or pick-them-up in the case of my fave bra.) So here’s a roundup of some of my favorite sales to shop this MDW of things I actually love and use.

1. The sweatpants that look like jeans rarely go on sale (they are expensive!) but some of my favorite styles are right now. These have a stretchy waistband, and these wide leg ones actually lay the way that you have always wanted wide leg jeans to sit. They also have SHORTS!

2. All of my favorite underthings are on sale, the wireless bra I can’t stop talking about (the sheer version and the padded one) and my fave wedgie-proof 100% cotton underwear. I joked on IG this week, on my deathbed people will say, “I really did like that bra though.” I can’t explain it but it really is great and you don’t need to ever wear a wire again (if you don’t want to).

3. I searched all around for the softest socks and really love these alpaca socks.

4. Are you a garden girlie now? A gardening bucket caddy and my favorite, truly the best overalls for gardening/construction.

5. My favorite moisturizer for dry elbows from Weleda. The perfect gift for any of your perimenopausal friends TBH! (IYKYK)

6. I’ve been testing lots of options but I always go back to Supergoop Sunscreen, a duo with their matte and glowing versions is on sale. I also LOVE LOVE their glowsticks, I keep one in my purse so it’s always with me when I’m out and about.

7. If you have a pile of family photos or old VHS tapes (guilty) ScanDigtial is having a sale. I am getting my old family videos done!

8. I’m all about oversized t-shirts these days, these are all under $20: A super soft one , a v-neck version and a fireworks shirt that’s actually cute for 4th of July.

9. My new favorite bag for your carryon (it’s a wirecutter pick, I think the quality is great) from Away is on sale for $166.

10. I was sent this charm necklace for free and I have been shocked that I’m now wearing it constantly. It’s comfortable and unique looking and I really really love it. The charms come with removable clasps and I have repurposed an earring to wear! Here’s the etsy link to the earrings with dongles, but I asked them to make the circles bigger!

11. Not on sale, but only $40 - A 100% cotton oversized sweater that I’m wearing 2-3 days a week (literally right now, in fact!!)

12. The Kiehls I keep going back to after a decade of use, the 24 hour daily moisturizer and the uber-rich mask aren’t on sale at the momentum but a good buy before summer!

*Some links are affiliate

1. My book club (like the one I’m in with my friends) is reading Hannah Orenstein’s new book, Maine Characters. I’m getting myself in the headspace for a fun summer

2. I got an advanced copy of my bestie Jo Piazza’s book, Everyone is Lying to You, which is a tradwife murder mystery. I’m going to end up reading this in one full sitting.

3. My copy of Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves has finally arrived, I’m excited to dig in and find out what damage Britney did to me.

4. Kennedy Ryan’s new book, Can't' Get Enough, hit the NYT bestseller list, my copy should arrive today!! Am ready for some juicy romance!