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With more than 800 pages, the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) can seem overwhelming. In this blog series, we break down specific segments focused on retirement planning and how they affect your clients. If a topic piques your interest, consider researching it further or reaching out to our team to talk strategy.

First up: The Senior Bonus Deduction.

What is the Senior Bonus Deduction?

A temporary tax deduction available to eligible American taxpayers who are 65 and older. It is included as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump in July 2025.

The end of one’s life is never easy to talk about. However, many clients may not have an optimal plan to ensure their assets pass efficiently when they are gone. Outside of basic wills and POAs, many higher-net-worth families can take advantage of the higher estate tax exemption from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This current law is set to expire at the end of 2025.

The estate and gift limits are unified, meaning that gifting above the annual exemption amount ($18,000) counts towards the limit, as do certain assets passed to heirs at death. Before the passing of the TCJA, the lifetime exemption for estates and lifetime gifting went from 5.49 million to $11.18 million and currently sits at $13.61 million in 2024. That is the amount per person. Remember that for a married couple, each spouse gets a $13.61 million lifetime exemption, and any unused amount is portable to the surviving spouse, meaning if a spouse dies and has not used any of their lifetime exemption amounts, the surviving spouse's exemption amount would double to $27.22 million in 2024. Below are a few estate planning strategies you can utilize to help higher-net-worth families transfer their wealth more efficiently.