Last updated on August 4th, 2025
The widely discussed One Big Beautiful Bill, officially signed into law earlier this month, extends many provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and imposes several new tax and spending policies. The bill’s policies affect nearly every sector of the U.S. economy, impacting individuals, businesses, and organizations in various ways. In general, the bill’s provisions are favorable for many U.S. businesses, extending and creating various business tax incentives, increasing access to capital, and encouraging investment and development. For the purposes of this article, we will explore the provisions of the OBBBA most pertinent to brewers, distillers, and distributors.
Please note that the following are federal provisions, and may apply differently depending on the state in which you operate.
Bonus Depreciation
The OBBBA makes permanent 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property placed in service as of January 19, 2025, reversing the planned phase-down of bonus depreciation. This provision will benefit brewers and distillers investing in new capital equipment, allowing these purchases to be written off immediately.
Depreciation for Qualified Production Property
The OBBBA introduces an elective additional first-year 100% depreciation deduction for “qualified production property,” that is, nonresidential real property used in manufacturing or production activities.
Increased Section 179 Deduction
The Section 179 deduction allows businesses to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year it is placed into service. The OBBBA increases the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million. This limit is reduced by the amount by which the cost of qualifying property exceeds $4 million (new phasedown threshold).
QBI Deduction
The OBBBA permanently extends the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction. This deduction allows eligible taxpayers to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income. The permanent extension includes additional modifications that expand the phase-in range of the wage and investment limitation and introduce a minimum deduction for businesses in which the taxpayer materially participates.
Immediate R&D Deductions Restored
Among the provisions of the OBBBA are changes to the tax treatment of research and development expenses, designed to encourage domestic research activity. U.S. research and development expenditures, previously required to be amortized over five years, can now be deducted in the year paid. Small businesses averaging $31 million or less in annual gross receipts may elect to apply the change retroactively for tax years beginning after December 31, 2021. All businesses that made domestic R&D expenditures between 2022-2024 may elect to accelerate the remaining deductions for those expenditures over one or two years. Unlike domestic expenditures, foreign R&D costs continue to require a 15‑year amortization under Section 174.
This provision will benefit brewers and distillers investing in research and development activities such as developing new flavors, experimenting with new ingredients, or exploring new production processes.
Removal of Clean Energy Incentives
The OBBBA terminates, phases out, or curtails many clean energy tax incentives, including the energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction, the commercial clean vehicle credit, and certain credits for wind and solar investments.
More to Come
Overall, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act presents expanded opportunities for breweries and distilleries to save on taxes, invest in new equipment, and innovate their products and/or processes. RBT CPAs will continue to provide updated information to our clients as more detailed guidance on the OBBBA is issued. In the meantime, if you have questions regarding the recent tax law changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our experts at RBT CPAs. And as always, RBT CPAs is here to support all of your accounting, audit, tax, and advisory needs. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can be Remarkably Better Together.