How the 2018 Tax Reform Bill Simplified the Filing Process, and Where It Stands Today

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (commonly called the TCJA) was signed into law in late 2017 and took effect for the 2018 tax year. It was the most significant overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than three decades. 

Most of its individual income tax provisions were originally set to expire at the end of 2025, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in 2025, permanently extended the majority of them while adding several new provisions of its own. What follows is a look at what the original reform set out to do, and where things stand for filers today.

When the Tax Reform Bill was introduced, the U.S. administration displayed postcard-size tax forms to media, along with the message that reforms, which were under way, would help make the filing process so simple that nine of 10 Americans could complete their tax returns with no more difficulty than it took to fill out a postcard. This would be accomplished through an almost doubled standard deduction, designed to discourage taxpayers from itemizing.

According to the Pew Research Center, more than half of Americans believed the tax code needs comprehensive reform. Journalist and NPR contributor, T.R. Reid, pointed out that Congress has passed significant tax reforms about every 32 years: 1922, 1954 and 1986, which put 2018 in line for the most recent overhaul.

For most Americans, the reform was good news. The complexity of the code has been well supported by the IRS’s own research, which has found that taxpayers and tax professionals complying with the tax code consumes nearly 6 billion hours each year.

In the process of passing the 2018 Tax Reform Bill, lawmakers suggested that tax filing season would no longer be unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming. “Millions of families will be able to keep more money by simply claiming the new standard deduction,” said Rep. Bill Flores, (R-Texas). “No longer will most American families have to keep boxes of receipts or try to keep up with changes to the existing complex code to see which purchases and expenses they can use to lower their taxes.”

With this reform, the standard deduction doubled, from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals, and from $12,700 to $24,000 for couples. One of the more polarizing changes included in this tax bill is the cap on the state and local tax deduction at $10,000. While this upset many people living in high tax states, the limitation on this deduction does help to accomplish the goal of simplification. The tax bill also made changes for pass-through businesses (so-called because the tax liability is “passed through” to the individual/owner). These changes reduce the tax burden on many small businesses but are viewed by some as further complicating the code.

“For some taxpayers, it will be a little simpler, for some it will be more complex, but overall it will be familiar and folks won’t think of it as some drastic change,” said Joseph Rosenberg, a senior researcher at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Many of the individual provisions in the original reform were enacted on a temporary basis and set to expire at the end of 2025. Congress addressed this in 2025 with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently extended most of the individual income tax provisions from the original reform. That means the larger standard deduction, the reduced marginal tax rates, the modified Child Tax Credit, and the SALT cap are no longer temporary. For most filers, the tax code that took effect in 2018 is now the permanent baseline. More on the current status of each provision can be found on the IRS website – here.

Where The TCJA Stands in 2026 and Beyond

For tax year 2025 (filed in 2026), the standard deduction increased further to $15,000 for single filers and $30,000 for married filing jointly. The Child Tax Credit increased from $2,000 to $2,200 per qualifying child. The SALT deduction cap was raised to $40,000 for 2025 through 2029, before reverting to $10,000.

The One Big Beautiful Bill also introduced several new deductions for 2025. 

Tip income is deductible up to $25,000 per taxpayer for eligible workers, with a phaseout beginning at $150,000 in modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 for married filing jointly). 

Overtime pay is deductible up to $12,500, subject to the same phaseout thresholds. 

Taxpayers 65 and older receive an additional $6,000 deduction through 2028, phasing out at $75,000 ($150,000 for married filing jointly). 

Interest on car loans for U.S.-assembled vehicles is deductible up to $10,000, with a phaseout beginning at $100,000 ($200,000 for married filing jointly).

While the tax code may remain complex, filing a tax return doesn’t have to be. E-file.com offers a simplified filing system that can easily handle most individual tax situations. When it comes time to file your taxes, our software will help walk you through the steps to figure out what you owe.

To read more on the 2018 Tax Reform please see our article here.

Note: Tax laws may change with little notice. We do our best to keep this information current, but it is provided on an “AS IS” basis. For more, see our terms.