§ IRS Tax Topics

IRC §199A · 26 U.S.C. §199A

IRC §199A: Qualified Business Income Deduction

By Paul D. Diaz, EA, MBA · Updated

IRC §199A is the 20% qualified business income deduction for pass-through owners — now permanent under OBBBA, not the 23% the House draft proposed. Wage and capital limits phase in at higher incomes, and specified service businesses face tighter rules.

What it governs

In the GuideFull treatment in Chapter 12 of the Guide (principal treatment) and Chapter 9 — THE TAX CUTTERY® Guide to Federal Income Taxation, Professional Edition (564 pages, 24 chapters).
From the practiceQBI: 20% permanent, not 23% →

Questions this section answers

Did the QBI deduction go to 23%?
No — 23% was the House OBBBA draft; the Senate stripped it. Enacted law kept 20% and made it permanent.
Do S-corp wages count as QBI?
No — only business profit qualifies, not W-2 wages. The reasonable-salary decision directly shrinks or grows the QBI base.
What is an SSTB?
A specified service trade or business — health, law, consulting, athletics, financial services, and similar skill-based fields — subject to tighter income phaseouts.
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