Perhaps the best-known campaign promise made by President Donald Trump is extending the tax cuts that started during his first term.
A federal law created in 2017, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, lowered federal income taxes in various ways. But most were temporary, set to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acted.
Congress did end up acting on some: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law in July, extended several key tax breaks that otherwise would have expired. One example is the significantly higher standard deduction.
But not all of the temporary tax breaks created by the 2017 law got extended. The new law ended some of them for good.
Here’s a look at tax breaks that the new law effectively repealed.
1. Personal exemptions
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: Personal exemptions were a type of tax break that lowered your taxable income by a set amount. If eligible, you generally could claim a personal exemption for yourself, your spouse and each of your dependents.
For example, for 2017, the last time personal exemptions were available, each exemption that you were eligible to claim reduced your taxable income by up to $4,050.
The 2017 law temporarily suspended personal exemptions, making them unavailable for 2018 through 2025.
What the new law did: It permanently repealed personal exemptions. So, they will not become available again in 2026 — or ever.
2. The higher cap on mortgage balances for interest deduction purposes
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: People who itemize their tax deductions (as opposed to claiming the flat-amount standard deduction) have the option to deduct the interest on all or part of their mortgage balance.
Prior to the 2017 law change, that balance was limited to $1 million (or $500,000 for married taxpayers filing separate returns). The 2017 law lowered the limit to $750,000 (or $375,000 for married people filing separately) for 2018 through 2025.
What the new law did: It permanently capped the limit at $750,000, meaning the $1 million limit is not coming back in 2026 — or ever.
3. The tax breaks for moving expenses
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: In the past, workers generally could deduct certain moving expenses if they relocated for job-related reasons. Or, if their employer reimbursed them for such moving expenses, they could exclude the reimbursement from their taxable income. This was the case regardless of whether a worker claimed the standard deduction or itemized their deductions.
The 2017 law temporarily suspended the deduction for work-related moving expenses and the exclusion for reimbursed work-related moving expenses, making them unavailable for 2018 through 2025. The only exception during that period was for active-duty military members who were ordered to a new station.
What the new law did: It effectively eliminated the deduction and exclusion for work-related moving expenses for everyone except active-duty military members. It also created a new exception for members of the national intelligence community who are required to relocate for a change in assignment.
So going forward, only active-duty military members and national intelligence workers will qualify for a tax break for work-related moving costs.
4. The deduction for theft and casualty losses
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: In the past, people who itemized their deduction had the option to deduct losses from:
- Theft — meaning money or property that someone took illegally, through such means as burglary and robbery as well as blackmail, embezzlement, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.
- Casualty — meaning losses resulting from an unexpected event. Such events included everything from hurricanes, floods and earthquakes to car accidents, shipwrecks and sonic booms.
The 2017 law limited the scope of this deduction for 2018 through 2025, making it available only to people who suffered personal casualty losses resulting from federally declared disasters.
What the new law did: It permanently limited this itemized deduction to casualty losses caused by federally declared disasters. It also made an exception for losses caused by state-declared disasters.
So going forward, theft losses are not deductible whatsoever, and casualty losses are not deductible unless they were caused by federal- or state-declared disasters.
5. The deduction for employees’ unreimbursed work expenses
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: People who itemize also used to be able to deduct so-called “miscellaneous” expenses to the extent that those expenses exceeded 2% of their adjusted gross income.
Perhaps the most notable type of miscellaneous expense was certain work-related expenses that were not reimbursed by an employer — such as required uniforms that can only be worn while on the job, required protective gear and dues to professional organizations.
The 2017 law suspended the itemized deduction for miscellaneous expenses, including work expenses, for 2018 through 2025.
What the new law did: It effectively eliminated the itemized deduction for miscellaneous expenses, including unreimbursed work expenses. It added an exception for educators’ and coaches’ work-related expenses.
So going forward, educators and coaches are the only type of employee who will qualify to deduct unreimbursed work expenses if they itemize their tax deductions.
Note: Don’t confuse this itemized deduction for unreimbursed educator expenses with the non-itemized deduction for unreimbursed educator expenses. Both still exist. The former is only available to educators who itemize and has no limit. The latter is available to those who claim the standard deduction — i.e., it does not require itemization — but it’s limited to $300 per year.
6. The exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements
How the 2017 law changed this tax break: Let’s say you ride a bicycle to work and your employer reimburses you for associated costs, such as the cost of purchasing, repairing or storing your bike.
Prior to the 2017 law, you could exclude up to $20 of those reimbursements per month from your taxable income, sparing you from having to pay taxes on them. This was the case regardless of whether you claimed the standard deduction or itemized your deductions.
The 2017 law suspended the exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements for 2018 through 2025.
What the new law did: It permanently eliminated the exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements.
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