How is Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill changing US taxes and healthcare in 2026?
Residents in the United States are set to experience significant changes to the country’s tax code, healthcare system and government benefits at the start of 2026. That’s because, on Thursday, certain provisions of President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending package are scheduled to take effect. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the package was signed into law in July, amid bipartisan pushback. Fiscal conservatives feared it would add to the country’s deficit, while critics on the left warned that the changes it heralded would leave millions of US citizens without health insurance or food assistance. Notably, the OBBBA passed without extensions to the COVID-era healthcare subsidies that are slated to expire on Thursday. Democrats have warned that, without those subsidies, health insurance premiums purchased under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are set to skyrocket. What changes should Americans expect heading into 2026, and how will they be affected? We break down the new policies for the start of the new year. What is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act? Even before Trump took office for a second term in January 2025, he floated the idea of creating one sweeping bill that would capture many aspects of his platform. “Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before,” he wrote on January 5. That idea became the foundation for the OBBBA, which Trump signed into law on July 4, the Independence Day holiday. Advertisement It contains hundreds of provisions, ranging from policies that incentivise fossil fuel production to the permanent adoption of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. Democrats, including Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, rallied against the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act earlier this year, outside the US Capitol [Rod Lamkey, Jr/AP Photo] What changes are coming to the price of healthcare? Prices are set to increase for US citizens who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, an online exchange that helps connect households and small businesses with insurance plans. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not extend the ACA healthcare subsidies put in place as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, under then-President Joe Biden. Those subsidies expire on December 31. “The healthcare issue is a big one because people typically have their health insurance premium deducted from their account on the first, second, or third of the month,” said Daniel Hornung, the former deputy director of the National Economic Council during the Biden administration. “So, in the next few days, we’re likely to see people in many cases have their health insurance premiums double.” Why hasn’t Congress extended the healthcare subsidies? Congress has been in gridlock over the issue of whether to extend the ACA subsidies. Democrats refused to pass budget legislation in September until Congress acted to extend the healthcare subsidies. But Republican leaders said they would only vote on the subsidies after the budget legislation was signed. That impasse led to a 43-day government shutdown, the longest in US history. The gridlock ended when a handful of Democrats broke ranks with their party members to pass the budget legislation, on the understanding that there would be a December vote to extend the subsidies. But rival proposals from Democrats and Republicans to address the subsidies both failed earlier this month. The expiration takes effect on New Year’s Day, but Congress does not return from recess until January 5. How many people will be affected by the subsidies’ expiration? Approximately 2.2 million Americans are projected to lose healthcare coverage because of the increased cost, according to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. Hornung, the former Biden administration official, said that many more stand to be affected by healthcare premium increases. “We’re talking about roughly 20 million or so Americans who are on the ACA exchanges, either the national exchanges or the state exchanges, so that’s a major issue,” Hornung said. Critics fear changes in 2026 will reduce accessibility to programmes like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food to low-income households [File: Kaylee Greenlee/Reuters] What are the new work requirements for federal food assistance? Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, there are new work requirements to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) benefits, which help low-income households afford groceries. Advertisement Able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 64 must now work or participate in school or a training programme for at least 80 hours per month to remain eligible. The policy applies to new applicants and renewals, beginning on January 1. For current SNAP recipients, implementation timing varies by state. Some states have already notified existing beneficiaries of the pending changes, while others will begin enforcement later. In New York, for example, the new rules are not expected to take effect until March 2026. Critics have told Al Jazeera that the new rules may place an additional burden on service-industry workers, many of whom have irregular schedules that make it difficult to guarantee 80 hours every month. How will inheritances be affected? Among the changes is an expanded estate tax exemption. Under the new policy, individuals inheriting an estate worth less than $15m are exempt from the federal estate tax. For couples, that threshold is $30m. Prior to the 2017 law, the cap for untaxed estate inheritances was about $5.5m ($7.2m in 2025, adjusted for inflation) for individuals and $11m ($14m when adjusted for inflation) for couples. Critics point out that the higher thresholds allow significant generational wealth transfers without taxation. As a result of the new provision, fewer than 1 percent of taxpayers ever face the estate tax. How will deductions change during the US tax season? January 1 will make several provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term — permanent. Many of these provisions benefit higher-income households. One of the 2017 provisions that has
Four reasons why Benjamin Netanyahu may not want a Gaza ceasefire to hold
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached the end of his latest trip to the United States and appears to have gained what he wants from President Donald Trump. Trump hailed Netanyahu after their meeting on Monday, calling him a “hero” and saying Israel – and by extension its prime minister – had “lived up to the plan 100 percent” in reference to the US president’s signature Gaza ceasefire. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list That is despite reports emerging last week that US officials were growing frustrated over Netanyahu’s apparent “slow walking” of the 20-point ceasefire plan – imposed by the US administration in October – suspecting that the Israeli prime minister might be hoping to keep the door open to resuming hostilities against the Palestinian group Hamas at a time of his choosing. Under the terms of that agreement – after the exchange of all captives held in Gaza, living and dead, aid deliveries into the enclave and the freezing of all front lines – Gaza would move towards phase two, which includes negotiations on establishing a technocratic “board of peace” to administer the enclave and the deployment of an international security force to safeguard it. US President Donald Trump, right, called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘hero’ during his visit to Trump’s Florida estate on December 29, 2025, saying he had lived up to Trump’s ceasefire plan ‘100 percent’ [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] So far, Netanyahu has not allowed in all of the required aid that Gaza desperately needs and is also maintaining that phase two cannot be entered into until Hamas returns the body of the last remaining captive. He has also demanded that Hamas disarms before Israel withdraws its forces, a suggestion fully endorsed by Trump after Monday’s meeting. Advertisement Hamas has repeatedly rejected disarmament being forced upon it by Israel, and officials have said that the question of arms was an internal Palestinian matter to be discussed between Palestinian factions. So is Netanyahu deliberately trying to avoid entering the second phase of the agreement, and why would that be the case? Here are four reasons why Netanyahu might be happy with things just as they are: He’s under pressure from his right Netanyahu’s ruling coalition is, by any metric, the most right wing in the country’s history. Throughout the war on Gaza, the support of Israel’s hardliners has proven vital in shepherding the prime minister’s coalition through periods of intense domestic protest and international criticism. Now, many on the right, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, oppose the ceasefire, protesting against the release of Palestinian prisoners and insisting that Gaza be occupied. Netanyahu’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has also shown little enthusiasm for honouring the deal his country committed to in October. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the expansion of the latest of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Katz claimed that Israel’s forces would remain in Gaza, eventually clearing the way for further settlements. Katz later walked his comments back, reportedly after coming under pressure from the US. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz [Menahem Kahana/AFP] He doesn’t want an international force in Gaza Allowing an international force to deploy to Gaza would limit Israel’s operational freedom, constraining its military’s ability to re-enter Gaza, conduct targeted strikes or pursue Hamas remnants within the enclave. So far, despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 people in the enclave since agreeing to halt fighting on October 10. Politically, agreeing to an international stabilisation force, particularly one drawn from neighbouring states, would broaden what Israel has often seen as a domestic war into an international conflict with many of the strategic, diplomatic and political decisions over that conflict being made by actors outside of its control. It could also be framed domestically as a concession forced by the US and international community, undermining Netanyahu’s repeated claims of maintaining Israeli sovereignty and strategic independence. “If Netanyahu allows a foreign military force into Gaza, he immediately denies himself a large degree of his freedom to operate,” Israeli political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg said from Berlin. “Ideally, he needs things to remain exactly where they are but without alienating Trump.” Smoke rises from an Israeli strike on Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp on October 19, 2025, in one of the near-daily attacks Israel has carried out since the ceasefire went into effect [Eyad Baba/AFP] He wants to resist any progress towards a two-state solution While not explicitly mentioning a two-state solution, the ceasefire agreement does include provisions under which Israel and the Palestinians commit to a dialogue towards what it frames as a “political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence”. Advertisement Netanyahu, however, has been arguing against a two-state solution since at least 2015 when he campaigned on the issue. More recently, at the United Nations in September, he branded the decision to recognise a Palestinian state “insane” and claimed that Israel would not accept the establishment of a Palestinian homeland. Israeli ministers have also been at work ensuring that the two-state solution remains a practical impossibility. Israel’s plan to establish a series of new settlements severing occupied East Jerusalem – long considered the future capital of any Palestinian state – from the West Bank would make the establishment of a feasible state impossible. This isn’t just an unfortunate consequence of geography. Announcing the plans for the new settlements in August, Smotrich said the project would “bury the idea of a Palestinian state”. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map near the settlement of Maale Adumim showing a land corridor known as E1, in which Israel plans to build thousands of settler homes and which Smotrich says would ‘bury the idea of a Palestinian state’ [Menahem Kahana/AFP] A resumption of war would benefit him Netanyahu faces numerous domestic threats, from his own corruption trial to the potentially explosive issue of forcing conscription on Israel’s ultra-religious students. There is also the public reckoning he faces for his own failures before and during the Hamas-led attacks on southern
A marriage of three: Will Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso bloc reshape the Sahel?
“Bienvenue a Bamako!” The fixer, the minder and the men linked to the Malian government were waiting for us at the airport in Bamako. Polite, smiling – and watchful. It was late December, and we had just taken an Air Burkina flight from Dakar, Senegal across the Sahel, where a storm of political upheaval and armed violence has unsettled the region in recent years. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Mali sits at the centre of a reckoning. After two military coups in 2020 and 2021, the country severed ties with its former colonial ruler, France, expelled French forces, pushed out the United Nations peacekeeping mission, and redrew its alliances Alongside Burkina Faso and Niger, now also ruled by military governments backed by Russian mercenaries, it formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in September 2023. Together, the regional grouping withdrew from the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc, accusing it of serving foreign interests rather than African ones. This month, leaders from the three countries converged in Bamako for the Confederal Summit of Heads of State of the AES, the second such meeting since the alliance was formed. And we were there to cover it. The summit was a ribbon-cutting moment. Leaders of the three countries inaugurated a new Sahel Investment and Development Bank meant to finance infrastructure projects without reliance on Western lenders; a new television channel built around a shared narrative and presented as giving voice to the people of the Sahel; and a joint military force intended to operate across borders against armed groups. It was a moment to celebrate achievements more than to sign new agreements. Advertisement But the reason behind the urgency of those announcements lay beyond the summit hall. In this layered terrain of fracture and identity, armed groups have found room not only to manoeuvre, but to grow. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, has expanded from rural Mali, launching attacks across the region and reaching the coast of Benin, exploiting weak state presence and long-unresolved grievances. As our plane descended toward Bamako, I looked out at an endless stretch of earth, wondering how much of it was now under the control of al-Qaeda affiliates. From the airport, our minders drove us fast through the city. Motorbikes swerved around us, street hawkers peddled their wares, and Malian pop blared from speakers. At first, this did not feel like a capital under siege. Yet since September, armed groups have been operating a blockade around Bamako, choking off fuel and goods, the military government said. We drove past petrol stations where long queues stretched into the night. Life continued even as fuel grew scarce. People sat patiently, waiting their turn. Anger seemed to have given way to indifference, while rumours swirled that the authorities had struck quiet deals with the very fighters they claimed to be fighting, simply to keep the city moving. Motorcycles line up near a closed petrol station, amid ongoing fuel shortages caused by a blockade imposed by al Qaeda-linked fighters in early September, in Bamako, Mali [Stringer/Reuters] ‘To become one country, to hold each other’s hand’ Our minders drove us on to the Sahel Alliance Square, a newly created public space built to celebrate the union of the three countries and its people. On the way, Malian forces sped past, perhaps toward a front line that feels ever closer, as gunmen linked to JNIM have set up checkpoints disrupting trade routes to the capital in recent months. In September 2024, they also carried out coordinated attacks inside Bamako, hitting a military police school housing elite units, nearby neighbourhoods, and the military airport on the city’s outskirts. And yet, Bamako carries on, as if the war were taking place in a faraway land. At Sahel Alliance Square, a few hundred young people gathered and cheered as the Malian forces went by, drawn by loud music, trivia questions on stage and the MC’s promise of small prizes. The questions were simple: Name the AES countries? Name the leaders? A microphone was handed to the children. The alliance leaders’ names were drilled in: Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger. Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. Assimi Goita of Mali. Repeated again and again until they stuck. Advertisement Correct answers won a prize: a T-shirt stamped with the faces of the alliance leaders. Moussa Niare, 12 years old and a resident of Bamako, clutched a shirt bearing the faces of the three military leaders. “They’ve gathered together to become one country, to hold each other’s hand, and to fight a common enemy,” he told us with buoyant confidence, as the government’s attempt to sell the new alliance to the public appeared to be cultivating loyalty among the young. France out, Russia in While Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger went through separate political transitions, the paths that brought them into a shared alliance followed a similar pattern. Between 2020 and 2023, each country saw its democratically elected leadership removed by the military, the takeovers framed as necessary corrections. In Mali, Colonel Goita seized power after months of protest and amid claims that President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had failed to curb corruption or halt the advance of armed groups. In Burkina Faso, the army ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore in early 2022 as insecurity worsened; later that year, Captain Traore emerged from a counter-coup, promising a more decisive response to the rebellion. In Niger, soldiers led by General Tchiani detained President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023, accusing his government of failing to safeguard national security and of leaning too heavily on foreign partners. What began as separate seizures of power have since become a shared political project, now expressed through a formal alliance. The gathering in Bamako was to give shape to their union. One of the key conclusions of the AES summit was the announced launch of a joint military battalion aimed at fighting armed groups across the Sahel. This follows months of escalating violence, as regional armies assisted
Rajasthan police bust BIG explosive racket on New Year’s Eve! Cease 150 Kg Ammonium Nitrate, other items, check details
On New Year’s Eve, the Rajasthan police busted a major racket as they recovered more than 100 kg of explosives from a car. The police have detained two men who were travelling in the car and have been questioning them. The operation was led by the District Special Task Force (DST).
Karnataka govt makes arrangements for ‘heavily drunk’, safety this New Year’s Eve celebrations, check details
To prevent any untoward incident, chaos or danger, the Karnataka government has made required arrangements for the partygoers. G Parameshwara Rao said that 15 centres will be established for intoxicated people.
Nashik-Solapur-Akkalkot greenfield corridor in Maharashtra approved; check project cost, distance and more
The six-lane greenfield project corridor is to improve travel efficiency, and it is expected to cut travel time by 17 hours and reduce the travel distance by 201 km.
Will BNP reset India-Bangladesh ties after Jaishankar meets Tarique Rahman at Khaleda Zia funeral?
Will BNP soften its anti-India rhetoric after S Jaishankar met Tarique Rahman in Dhaka during Khaleda Zia’s state funeral? Can India-BNP ties shift ahead of Bangladesh Election 2026?
Who is IPS Ajay Singhal, 1992 batch officer and the new DGP of Haryana?
IPS Ajay Singhal has held several key operational and administrative positions during his career.
Bank Holiday on New Year 2026: Are banks closed on January 1? Know state-wise details here
Happy New Year: Not all offices are closed on the first day of the new year. All states have their own rules and so bank holidays differ statewise. They are different from nationwide bank holidays. Bank holidays on January 1, 2026 do not disrupt online and digital services like UPI, mobile banking.
Texas 2025: Year in Photos
Photojournalists document another year across Texas. Our photos illustrated the tense redistricting debate at the Capitol, the aftermath of the Hill County floods and more.