Is Donald Trump’s Big Bill Still Beautiful After Senate Makes Major Edits—What's Changed

US President Donald Trump's long-promised "big beautiful bill" inched one step closer to the finish line on Tuesday as it received a nod from the Senate. After days of negotiations and a plethora of amendments, the mega bill was passed through the Senate by the slimmest of margins, 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking final vote.

Congressional Republicans are hoping to send their sweeping tax and spending cuts package, or One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to Trump's desk by July 4. However, the President now appeared to leave room to extend his Independence Day deadline as he asserted that it seems "very hard now."

Holdup—The House, Again

The House passed its version of the bill in May, but the Senate’s changes mean the whole package must return to the House for another vote. A few of those changes were made to comply with the Senate’s complex rules for budget reconciliation—the process Republicans are using to pass the bill with a simple majority and avoid a Democratic filibuster.

House vs Senate Versions

Here’s a rundown of the main ways the House and Senate versions differ:

Healthcare: The Senate keeps most of the House’s tough stance on Medicaid and SNAP, including work or community service requirements for able-bodied adults. But it allows a bit more breathing room for parents—exempting those with kids under 14, compared to the House’s cut-off at age 7. The Senate also hits states harder if they fail to enforce these rules, adding stricter caseload penalties. While some Senate GOP (Grand Old Party) amendments aimed to deepen cuts — like ending funding for Planned Parenthood—many of those provisions were rolled back in the final text. For SNAP, exemptions are tighter too, applying only to parents of children under 7. One new Senate item: a $25bn bailout fund for rural hospitals.

Border Security: The Senate broadly mirrors the House’s priorities on border security, including funding for border barrier upgrades, surveillance technology, and Customs and Border Protection infrastructure. However, the key difference lies in the scale—while the core elements remain, the Senate proposes varying funding levels. It also supports investments in drug detection systems, additional Border Patrol hiring and training and enhanced law enforcement resources, though possibly with more restrained spending than the House's expansive allocations.

Immigration Policy: In a first-of-its-kind US measure, the House bill imposes a $1,000 fee on asylum seekers and aims to deport 1 million people annually. The Senate text signals support for ramped-up deportation funding, including more detention beds and removal flights. It has just altered certain fees–such as a new fee for asylum applicants–differ in amount.

Student Loans: The Senate version walks back some of the House’s more sweeping changes to student loans. Unlike the House, it leaves subsidised loans untouched, doesn’t cap annual federal aid, and steers clear of restricting Pell Grant eligibility. On repayment, both chambers back switching to a new Repayment Assistance Plan, though the Senate version shields current borrowers from the changes.

State and Local Tax Deductions: The Senate plan raises the SALT deduction cap to $40,000 — but only for this year and only for those earning $500,000 or less. After that, the cap gradually shrinks back down, returning to $10,000 by 2029. The House, by contrast, extends the higher cap through to 2034 and phases it down more slowly.

Clean Energy: Here, the Senate swings the axe harder. It scraps the EV tax credit by September and ends support for energy-efficient appliances and rooftop solar by next year. To qualify for any tax breaks, the Senate says that developers of wind and solar would have to get their projects up and running by the end of 2027, making it even tighter than the House's proposed deadline of 2028. However, nuclear, geothermal and hydropower projects get a bit more breathing room, with longer-lasting credits. While the Senate is more generous on credits for battery and clean energy manufacturing, it cuts off support for wind turbine makers after 2027.

Budget and Debt Ceiling: The Senate plan raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, registering a full trillion more than what the House pitches, aiming to avoid default and cover expanded tax cuts and spending. Senate Republicans argue the increase is needed to deliver on key policy goals. By comparison, the House version caps the debt limit hike at $4trn, with a lower long-term deficit of roughly $2.4trn.

Defence: On the defence front, the Senate's package is broadly aligned with the House but it puts more money on the table. Backing Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defence push, it allocates hundreds of billions for shipbuilding, munitions and hypersonic. Senate Leadership touted $150bn more for the military.

Business Tax Breaks: The Senate takes a broader view in this regard. The House wanted a full write-off on equipment and R&D costs only through 2029, but the Senate wants those to be permanent. As a result, firms could keep claiming deductions on these investments well beyond the decade. However, when it comes to writing off building costs — like upgrades to factories — the Senate keeps that benefit temporary, just as the House does. It’s a mix of certainty for innovation, but caution on construction.

Child Tax Credit: The Senate proposes a more modest but permanent bump to the child tax credit, setting it at $2,200 per child. In a shift from stricter ID rules, it would only require one parent—in the case of joint filers—to have a Social Security number. That’s a clear contrast to the House plan, which pushes for a bigger credit of $2,500 but only temporarily till 2028, and demands Social Security numbers from both parent and child to qualify.

Car Loan Interest Deduction: The Senate version keeps most of the House’s framework on car loan interest deductions—up to $10,000 a year for eligible taxpayers between 2025 and 2028, with income caps kicking in at $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples. But it tightens what counts: used cars, ATVs and recreational vehicles are out. Only new, US-assembled passenger cars bought with loans from 2025 onward would qualify.

Senior Citizens: Compared to the House’s $4,000 bump, The Senate boosts the standard deduction by $6,000 between 2025 and 2028. The income thresholds stay the same: the benefit starts to phase out above $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. But under the Senate version, the phase-out kicks in faster, meaning fewer high-earning seniors would see the full benefit.

Overtime Pay Deduction: From 2025 to 2028, Senate offers an above-the-line deduction of up to $12,500 for individuals and $25,000 for joint filers. The benefit starts to phase out once earnings hit $150,000 — or $300,000 for couples. The House version is broader, allowing a full deduction on qualified overtime income up to $160,000, with no phase-out, and applying it across the board whether or not you itemise.

Tip Income: From 2024 through 2028, qualifying workers could deduct up to $25,000 a year in reported tip income — but only if they fall under $150,000 in annual earnings, or $300,000 for joint filers. The Treasury will release a list of eligible tip-based jobs by the end of 2024. As with the earlier bill, the break only applies to tips reported to employers for payroll tax purposes.