This is the fifth installment of our five-part series on the Budget Reconciliation Law—often called “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Our goal is to break it down and spotlight the key elements that matter most to business owners, helping you stay informed and empowered to drive growth.

Two of the most consequential elements of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are its aggressive push to expand domestic production capacity and its targeted strategy to catalyze rural economic growth. Using a mix of full-expensing, targeted credits, and place-based capital tools, the Act aims to re-center national growth on U.S. manufacturing and rural enterprise.

On the manufacturing front, the law authorizes full (100%) expensing for Qualified Production Property—new or expanded facilities used in manufacturing, refining, and tangible goods production—treating qualifying buildings as immediately deductible rather than depreciated over decades. Paired with permanent 100% bonus depreciation for machinery and equipment (see Part 1 of the series), this materially lowers after-tax capital costs, accelerates plant modernization and automation, and improves cash flow for expansion.

The Act also preserves the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit for strategic components (batteries, semiconductors, critical minerals) and creates a deduction for the premium portion of overtime pay—useful in shift-intensive production.

The law raises the cap in IRS Code Section 179 which determines the maximum amount you can immediately expense instead of depreciating. The new law increases the cap increases from $1.2M to $2.5 million, with a phase-out starting at $4 million of total §179 property placed in service. Both amounts are indexed for inflation starting in 2026 and apply to tax years beginning after Dec 31, 2024.

Combined with the restored EBITDA-based business interest limitation under §163(j) (see Part 4 of the series), these provisions create a favorable financing and investment environment for leveraged plant builds, reshoring, and supply-chain resilience.

For rural communities, the law enacts a new Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds (RQOFs) that enhances the Opportunity Zone (see Part 2 of the series) model with a 30% basis step-up after five years (triple the standard) and a reduced 50% substantial improvement threshold, making rural adaptive-reuse and industrial redevelopment more financeable. Rural and tribal housing development gains a 30% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) basis boost, helping communities add workforce housing that underpins employer retention.

The law provides approximately $56.6 billion over ten years supporting agriculture economies through commodity programs, crop insurance, conservation, and renewable energy initiatives. Increased eligibility for up to 30 million additional base acres and higher producer payment limits reinforces farm balance sheets, while the permanent 23% small-business (QBI) deduction (see Part 3 of the series) for family farmers and sole proprietors cuts their tax burden. A new federal income-tax exclusion for interest on agricultural and rural real-estate loans incentivizes lenders to expand credit in non-metro markets, and the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program stabilizes hospitals and telehealth access—critical infrastructure for sustained private investment.

The law expands the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) tax break, so investors who buy and hold stock in qualifying small companies can exclude more of their gains—making investments in rural startups and manufacturers more attractive. It also loosens 1099-K reporting rules (higher thresholds/fewer filings) for transactions processed by third-party payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, Square (Block), Stripe, Cash App, and marketplace processors like Etsy Payments or Shopify Payments—which reduces the number of 1099-K forms many small sellers receive and cuts compliance costs.

The law’s manufacturing and rural provisions are designed to work in tandem: investment incentives accelerate production capacity, while rural capital tools, housing, health, and lending measures anchor that growth in small towns and agricultural regions. The objective is to create an environment that rewards asset formation, lowers financing costs, and channels long-term private capital into communities positioned to drive America’s industrial and agricultural competitiveness.