Officially titled the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” this megabill fulfills a laundry list of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises from taxes to border security.
As House Republicans continue to negotiate the final details of the legislation, here’s a look at some possible ways the bill could affect everyday Americans, according to recent estimates.
Keep in mind, the Senate is likely to significantly change this bill and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) continues to review the legislation.
Some potential impacts:
- More than an estimated 8 million recipients could lose Medicaid coverage, according to a CBO analysis requested by House Democrats. Republicans say they’re targeting able-bodied adults and undocumented immigrants, but other beneficiaries could also be impacted.
- Cuts SNAP food assistance by roughly $230 billion over 10 years, narrowing participation in the program servicing roughly one-in-eight Americans each month
- Extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts
- Fulfils Trump’s campaign promises of no taxes on tips and no taxes on overtime work
- Provides $50 billion wall to renew construction of Trump’s border wall
- Commits roughly $150 billion in defense spending for shipbuilding and ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system
- It’s important to note, the impacts of the bill are estimates based on early analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The estimates – and legislative text – have not been finalized.
With Speaker of the House Mike Johnson by his side President Donald Trump speaks to the press following a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol, May 20, 2025 in Washington.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Changes in Medicaid work requirements
Republicans say their main goal is reducing “waste, fraud, and abuse” within Medicaid, the health care program for lower income Americans and those with disabilities, in order to achieve hundreds of billions in savings over the next decade.
Early estimates requested by House Democrats put the number of people who could lose coverage at more than 8 million, but that number continues to fluctuate and the Congressional Budget Office has not yet released its final score of the GOP bill, which is not yet even finalized itself.
The bill imposes new work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid recipients aged 19-64 who don’t have dependents, which includes working at least 80 hours per month. The bill also requires states to conduct eligibility redeterminations at least every 6 months for all recipients.
The legislation also removes undocumented migrants from Medicaid eligibility (per the White House, this accounts for approximately 1.4 million undocumented migrants losing coverage provided through state Medicaid programs).
Under the bill’s current text, these work requirements don’t kick in until 2029, as President Trump leaves office. But House Republican hardliners are looking at moving that date up to 2026 or 2027 in their negotiations with leadership.
The bill also increases copays for Medicaid recipients who make more than the federal poverty limit, for single beneficiaries that’s just over $15,500. They would be required to pay an extra $35 dollar copay in some visits.
It also increases the required Medicaid paperwork for income and residency verification as lawmakers look to crack down on people who are “double-dipping” in multiple jurisdictions. These additional steps are expected to especially impact seniors and others who can’t promptly respond.
SNAP cuts
The bill tightens eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), what used to be called “food stamps” program, which helped roughly 42 million low-income people per month buy groceries in 2024.
Adults aged 55-64 and children would face additional work requirements to qualify for SNAP benefits.
The bill also shifts some SNAP costs to the states. The program is currently 100% federally funded. This bill requires states to share in at least 5 percent of SNAP benefit costs starting in 2028.
The SNAP cuts total an estimated $230 billion over 10 years.
The changes could have an indirect impact on school lunch programs, requiring some previously eligible families to apply for access and impact federal reimbursement payments for some school districts.
No tax on tips and overtime pay
This addition to the bill helps Trump fulfill one of his major campaign promises — exempting workers who receive tips from paying federal income taxes on them, as long as they make less than $160,000 a year. The tax break would expire at the end of 2028, after the next presidential election, according to the proposal.
Expanding Trump tax cuts
Makes tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent that fiscal hawks complain adds trillions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade; does not include a tax increase on the wealthiest earners. Trump posted last week that the proposal shouldn’t raise taxes on high-earners, “but I’m OK if they do!!!”
President Donald Trump, alongside Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the media after his meeting with House Republicans about his so-called ‘big beautiful bill’ in Washington, May 20, 2025.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Creation of MAGA savings account for children
The bill would create so-called MAGA savings accounts for parents to open for their children. The contribution limit for any taxable year is $5,000. It includes a pilot program to start the accounts with $1,000.
Raising the SALT cap
The current bill raises the deduction limit of state and local taxes from your federal income tax filing from $10,000 to $30,000 for joint filers making less than $400,000 per year.
Republicans from states such as New York and California are pushing House Republican leadership to further increase that cap to help their constituents. Hardliners warn increasing that limit would worsen the deficit.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to eliminate the SALT cap first imposed by the 2017 tax law he signed during his first term.
More money for border security enforcement
The legislation provides almost $50 billion to revive construction of Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and it makes changes to immigration policy.
The bill includes $4 billion to hire an additional 3,000 new Border Patrol agents as well as 5,000 new customs officers, and $2.1 billion for signing and retention bonuses.
There’s also funds for 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and investigators.
It includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum, which has never been done before in the United States.
The bill includes a $4 trillion increase to the statutory debt limit as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls on Congress to act by the end of July.