With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act now a part of history, the impact of the nearly 1,000-page legislation on the construction industry is still being studied.
One factor stands out, notes the Daily Commercial News:a provision mandating a “100% depreciation on qualifying machinery, equipment, and other short-lived assets in the first year of ownership.”
In a statement, J.P. Delmore, vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Home Builders, said the legislation’s most significant feature is the locking in of new tax rate cuts. “We haven’t had a permanent tax code since 2017. We’ve been living under this threat of a tax cliff for next year.”
Karen Swearingen, governmental affairs vice president with the Associated Builders and Contractors, said the tax reduction feature of the Big Beautiful Bill means “immediate relief to Main Street businesses and ensures the construction industry can continue to drive economic growth and opportunity nationwide.”
The legislation additionally makes the Opportunity Zone program permanent, notes the website grassiadvisors, “replacing the original sunset date of December 31, 2026 with rolling ten-year designation cycles beginning on July 1, 2026.”
The extended framework of the Opportunity Zone program may well lead to an increase in “project volume in designated areas, particularly in affordable housing, infrastructure, and commercial development, while offering investors long-term tax incentives that drive demand for construction services.”
“Certain qualified nonresidential real estate used in the manufacturing or production process may be eligible for full expensing,” reports the site cbq. “Construction companies that have a building for manufacturing or fabrication may benefit from this provision.”
Wind and solar construction projects, however, may prove more costly, with tax credits for those projects being phased out.
“Congress chose to raise energy prices, put at risk thousands of energy projects already under development,” asserts Jeff Cramer, chief executive officer of the Coalition for Community Solar Access, while adding that the Big Beautiful Bill will serve to “destabilize investor confidence in energy markets.”
The site Investopedia also notes that the bill will expand the “low-income housing tax credit for builders who create affordable rental properties.”
July 14, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
