The Big Beautiful Bill. Furniture's Double-Edged Sword

Originally published July 16, 2025. This version was rebuilt from the House roll call, IRS guidance, Census and J.B. Hunt's results for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cleared Congress in early July 2025 by a razor-thin margin. For furniture makers and retailers it brought real tax relief, arriving alongside a housing market that still was not cooperating.

The short version

• The House passed the bill 218 to 214 on July 3.
• The law made 100% first-year depreciation permanent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
• Census put May new home sales at an annual rate of 623,000.
• J.B. Hunt's second-quarter revenue was flat at $2.93 billion.

The bill passes

The House agreed to the Senate's version of H.R. 1 by a vote of 218 to 214 on July 3, and the President signed it the next day.

Tax relief for equipment

The law made 100% additional first-year depreciation permanent for eligible property acquired after January 19, 2025. Manufacturers buying machinery and retailers buying delivery trucks or warehouse equipment could write off the full cost in the first year.

Housing still slow

Census reported May new home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000, down sharply from April. Mortgage rates near 7% kept many buyers out, and with them a share of furniture demand.

Freight holds flat

J.B. Hunt reported second-quarter revenue of $2.93 billion, flat with a year earlier, even with intermodal and truckload volumes up from a year earlier. More loads without more revenue pointed to a freight market where shippers, including furniture companies, still had pricing leverage.

Two edges

The tax changes rewarded investment, while tariffs and housing kept pressure on demand. Companies that planned to buy equipment had a reason to move sooner.

Related on FIN

• Move-In Furniture Tickets Are Drying Up
• The Freight Mafia's New Playbook

Sources

• Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Roll call 190, H.R. 1 (July 3, 2025)
• Internal Revenue Service, Guidance on the additional first year depreciation deduction under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
• U.S. Census Bureau, New residential sales, May 2025
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Second quarter 2025 results