WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service this past week released two major updates related to implementation of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), including temporary penalty relief for remittance transfer providers and annual inflation adjustments for the 2026 tax year.
On Tuesday, the Treasury Department and IRS announced guidance offering deposit penalty relief for remittance transfer providers subject to a new excise tax established under the OBBB. The measure, outlined in Notice 2025-55, applies to the first three quarters of 2026 and is intended to ease the transition to the new tax requirements taking effect January 1, 2026.
Under the new law, providers handling qualifying cash or physical remittance transactions must collect a 1% remittance transfer tax, make semimonthly deposits, and file quarterly returns. The IRS said penalty relief would apply to companies that make timely deposits, even if underpaid, provided the full amount due is paid by the filing deadline for Form 720, the Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return.
Officials said the decision reflects an understanding that remittance companies may face operational challenges implementing the new rules. Providers may also rely on existing “safe harbor” rules for deposits if they meet reasonable-cause standards for underpayments.
Separately, on Thursday, the IRS announced 2026 inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including standard deductions, marginal tax brackets, and credit thresholds, as required annually by law. The changes, detailed in Revenue Procedure 2025-32, incorporate amendments from the OBBB.
For 2026, the standard deduction will rise to $32,200 for married couples filing jointly, $16,100 for single filers and married individuals filing separately, and $24,150 for heads of households. The top marginal tax rate remains 37% for single taxpayers with incomes above $640,600, or $768,700 for married couples filing jointly.
The law also increases the basic estate tax exclusion to $15 million, up from $13.99 million in 2025, and raises the maximum adoption credit to $17,670. The OBBB significantly expands the employer-provided childcare tax credit, lifting the cap from $150,000 to $500,000 — or $600,000 for small businesses that qualify.
Other adjustments include higher limits for earned income tax credits, transportation benefits, health and medical savings accounts, and the foreign earned income exclusion, which will increase to $132,900.
Some provisions remain unchanged. Personal exemptions will continue to be zero, a policy made permanent by the OBBB, while the 2017 elimination of the limitation on itemized deductions remains in effect, with new restrictions applying only to top-bracket taxpayers.
The IRS said the adjustments will apply to returns filed in 2027. Full details on the penalty relief and updated tax provisions are available on IRS.gov.
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