How did Trump’s ambitious tax bill get to where it is today?

Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is fast approaching the finish line, and has accumulated updates that not only set out to renew expiring portions of his landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but add new provisions to the Tax Code.

The legislation is currently under review in the Senate, and could be in for a host of new modifications before it comes to a final vote. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent estimated that a final version of the package could be signed by July 4.

One of the most contentious elements of the package has been the treatment of the state and local tax deduction. Currently, there is a tentative agreement in place among Republicans to increase the SALT deduction cap to $40,000 for roughly a decade.

Jason Smith, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, told attendees at an Economic Club of Washington, D.C., event that a previously proposed $30,000 limit was a “fair” figure and that those on the fence should accept it.

“It’s not everything that some of the SALT members want, but I have members of our conference that don’t even think that you should be able to deduct $1, let alone $30,000. … It’s a fair and balanced approach,” Smith said.

Other notable provisions that have been hotly debated center around Medicaid cuts, tax credits created under the Inflation Reduction Act and more.

Read more: SALT write-off, Harvard tax, Medicaid cuts: What’s in Trump’s bill

Not all are upbeat about Trump’s tax reconciliation bill however, as members of the American Institute of CPAs and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board call for drastic changes to provisions that greatly impact the accounting profession, such as eliminating the PCAOB and transferring its duties to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Furthermore, estimates from the Congressional Budget Office say that if passed, Trump’s tax and spending bill could see U.S. budget deficits grow by roughly $2.42 trillion over the next decade.

The prospect of this has seen once-ardent Trump supporter Elon Musk, former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, rally against the bill that “more than defeats all the cost savings achieved by the DOGE team at great personal cost and risk,” he said in a post on X.

Read more: The state of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ and more

Below is a timeline of noteworthy benchmarks in the legislative process to pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and insight into how its provisions would impact accountants.