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A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plans to transfer the country’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration.
For now, borrowers’ federal student loans will still be held by the Education Department.

People walk past the headquarters of the U.S. Small Business Administration in the Southwest Federal Center area on March 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. 
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

A federal judge’s recent order may foil President Donald Trump’s plans to transfer the country’s more than $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio from the U.S. Department of Education to the Small Business Administration.
Judge Myong J. Joun of U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote in his May 22 preliminary injunction that the Trump administration was required to reinstate more than 1,300 Education Department employees and was blocked from carrying out Trump’s directive “to transfer management of federal student loans and special education functions out of the Department.”

In other words, federal student loans will stay with the Department of Education, for now.
Trump had announced on March 21 a plan to transfer more than 40 million student loan accounts to the SBA.
“They’re all set for it,” the president said of the SBA at the time. “They’re waiting for it.”
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Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Education Department, slammed the judge’s decision.

“Once again, a far-left Judge has dramatically overstepped his authority, based on a complaint from biased plaintiffs, and issued an injunction against the obviously lawful efforts to make the Department of Education more efficient and functional for the American people,” Biedermann wrote in a statement to CNBC on Thursday.
The Trump administration requested the order be stayed pending an appeal of the decision.

Transfer would have ‘increased confusion’

The development that student loans will remain in the Education Dept. for now is good news for borrowers, said Sarah Sattelmeyer, a project director at New America and senior advisor under the Biden administration.
“Instead of increasing efficiency, the movement of the Department’s core functions would have increased confusion and decreased the effectiveness of programs that students depend on to access education,” Sattelmeyer said.
Consumer advocates are worried that a mass transfer of accounts between federal agencies could trigger errors, or compromise federal student loan borrowers’ privacy. Those problems have occurred during much smaller transfers between loan servicers.
Advocates also raise concerns about how a change in agency might affect borrower protections and programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The Small Business Administration has no experience relevant to the management of federal student loans, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.  

It would ultimately require an act of Congress to move the loan portfolio to the SBA, Kantrowitz said. The Higher Education Act of 1965 spells out that the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office is responsible for the debt, he said.
Adding to advocates’ criticism over Trump’s proposed transfer was his administration’s announcement in March that the SBA’s workforce would be reduced by 43% — leaving fewer people to manage this new responsibility.

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Circle, the issuer of the popular USDC stablecoin, has launched its initial public offering, looking to raise about $624 million at a $5.65 billion valuation
The company plans to sell 24 million shares of Class A common stock at an expected price range of $24 to $26 apiece
Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) has roughly $62 billion in circulation, according to CryptoQuant, and its market cap has grown 40% this year.

Launched in 2018 by crypto firm Circle, USDC is now the second-biggest stablecoin globally, with more than $30 billion worth of tokens in circulation.
Nurphoto | Getty Images

Circle, the issuer of the popular USDC stablecoin, has begun its long-awaited initial public offering process, looking to raise about $624 million at a valuation around $6 billion.
The company, led by CEO Jeremy Allaire, said Thursday in a filing that it plans to sell 24 million shares of Class A common stock in total – 9.6 million to be sold by the company and another another 14.4 million by existing shareholders – at an expected price range of $24 to $26 apiece, valuing the company at around $5.65 billion. It would have a valuation of about $6.7 billion when including outstanding options and other stock, according to Reuters.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management has indicated interest in purchasing up to $150 million of the shares, per the filing. Circle also said it will grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3.6 million additional shares.
Shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CRCL. Circle’s IPO prospectus was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the beginning of April.
Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) has roughly $62 billion in circulation and makes up about 27% of the total market cap for stablecoins, behind Tether’s 67% dominance, according to CryptoQuant. Its market cap has grown 40% this year, however, compared with Tether’s 10% growth.
The stablecoin sector specifically has been ramping up as the industry gains confidence that the crypto market will get its first piece of U.S. legislation passed and implemented this year, focusing on stablecoins. Last week, the Senate voted to advance the first crypto legislation, which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Trump has said he wants to see crypto regulation on his desk and ready to sign by August before Congress goes into recess.
Circle’s IPO could have investment implications for Coinbase, a cofounder of USDC and major distribution vehicle for the stablecoin. The crypto services company and exchange has a 50% revenue sharing agreement with Circle and also makes 100% of the interest earned by USDC products on the Coinbase platform. 

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has said Coinbase has a “stretch goal” to make USDC the number 1 stablecoin in the world.
Historically, stablecoins have been used primarily for trading and as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi), and crypto investors watch them closely for evidence of demand, liquidity and activity in the market. More recently, their ability to move dollars quickly and cheaply across borders has become more popular with banks and fintech companies.
Additionally, rhetoric around their ability to help preserve U.S. dollar dominance – by exporting dollar utility internationally and ensuring demand for U.S. government debt, which backs nearly all dollar-denominated stablecoins – has grown louder.
This story has been updated with further detail on Circle’s valuation.
—CNBC’s Nick Wells contributed reporting

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Idrees Abbas | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The rising U.S. budget deficit is on the forefront of investors’ minds, weighing on stocks. However, sell-offs can present a buying opportunity — for those who know where to look.
The recommendations of top Wall Street analysts can help investors pick out the right stocks for their portfolios, as their ratings are backed by a thorough analysis of a company’s financials and growth potential.

With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

Uber Technologies

Ride-hailing and delivery platform Uber Technologies (UBER) is this week’s first stock pick. The company recently held its Go-Get 2025 event and revealed its new products and solutions to attract users.
Following the event, Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney reiterated a buy rating on UBER stock with a price target of $115. The analyst noticed several new products, features and services, which he thinks are incremental to the company’s existing offerings. In particular, Mahaney noted the launch of Price Lock, Uber’s competitive offering to rival Lyft’s well-received feature at the same price point of $2.99 per month. Uber also launched its Prepaid Pass offering, which allows users to buy trip bundles for 5, 10, 15 and 20 trips at a discount beginning this summer.
“We view the announcement of Price Lock and Prepaid Pass as the most material new products for UBER,” said Mahaney.
Further, the analyst believes that Uber’s Shared Autonomous Rides offering has the potential to enhance the utilization of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Additionally, he views the announced launch of Volkswagen AVs on the Uber platform in Los Angeles in 2026 as a positive signal for the company, with similar deals with AV technology providers expected in the long term. Meanwhile, Mahaney sees the other launches like Route Share, Savings Slider and Dine Out as slightly incremental.   

Despite the solid year-to-date rally, Mahaney said that Uber remains one of Evercore’s top “Longs,” as its valuation continues to be reasonable for a company that he believes can sustain about 30% earnings growth.
Mahaney ranks No. 150 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 59% of the time, delivering an average return of 17.3%. See Uber Technologies Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks.

CyberArk Software

Next on this week’s list is CyberArk Software (CYBR), a cybersecurity company that specializes in identity security. The company delivered better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2025 and highlighted that its subscription annual recurring revenue reached $1.028 billion.
In reaction to the Q1 print, Baird analyst Shrenik Kothari reaffirmed a buy rating on CYBR stock and increased the price target to $460 from $450. The analyst highlighted that the company reported strong results and surpassed ARR, revenue and free cash flow (FCF) expectations.
Kothari added that Q1 results aligned with his preview and checks and reflected identity’s criticality and CyberArk’s solid execution. He noted that CyberArk’s extensive identity security platform continues to attract customers, with Venafi and now Zilla seeing robust early traction.
The analyst stated that despite macro pressures, CYBR indicated zero disturbance to deal flow and steady demand, with the company not seeing any impact on its business, as identity security remains a top priority within IT budgets.
“While confident in current momentum, CYBR acknowledged a prudent posture embedded in FY25 outlook assumptions, reflecting general macro caution without seeing impact to date,” noted Kothari.
Kothari ranks No. 43 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 77% of the time, delivering an average return of 27.8%. See CyberArk Software’s Ownership Structure on TipRanks.

Palo Alto Networks

We will look at another cybersecurity stock, Palo Alto Networks (PANW). The company posted market-beating earnings and revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, but its adjusted gross margin lagged expectations.
Reacting to the Q3 FY25 results, TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal reiterated a buy rating on Palo Alto stock with a price target of $230. The analyst stated that the company delivered strong results at the top range of its guidance on most metrics, including revenue, operating margins, earnings per share and remaining performance obligations (RPO).
He noted PANW’s significant product revenue growth and next-generation security (NGS) tailwinds. Eyal also pointed out the accelerated adoption of the company’s platformization strategy. Notably, PANW had about 1,250 platformization customers in Q3 FY25, with 90 net new platformization deals in the quarter.
“PANW remains focused on its LT [long-term] $15B ARR target through the expansion of its platform strategy targeting 3,000 at mid-pt to reach its FY30 $15B ARR goal,” said Eyal. He also mentioned the robust adoption of AI solutions and a solid Q4 FY25 pipeline, which would drive a strong finish to the year.
Overall, Eyal’s investment thesis is based on his expectations that Palo Alto will remain the market leader in next-gen firewalls and the rapidly growing secure access service edge market. He also expects the company to expand into adjacent security markets, including cloud security and security operations, with its vast installed base of more than 70,000 customers presenting massive cross-sell opportunities.
Eyal ranks No. 12 among more than 9,500 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 69% of the time, delivering an average return of 25.9%. See Palo Alto Technical Analysis on TipRanks. More

FILE PHOTO: A banner celebrating Rocket Companies Inc., the parent company of U.S. mortgage lender Quicken Loans, IPO is seen on the front facade of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., August 6, 2020.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Company: Rocket Companies Inc (RKT)
Business: Rocket Companies is a financial technology company consisting of mortgage, real estate and personal finance businesses. Its segments include Direct-to-Consumer and Partner Network. In the Direct-to-Consumer segment, clients can interact with Rocket Mortgage online, as well as with the company’s mortgage bankers. Rocket markets various brand campaigns and performance marketing channels to clients through its Direct-to-Consumer segment. It also includes title insurance, appraisals, and settlement services. Partner Network segment leverages its client service and brands to grow marketing and influencer relationships, and its mortgage broker partnerships through Rocket Pro third-party origination (TPO). The company’s personal finance and consumer technology brands include Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Amrock, Rocket Money, Rocket Loans, Rocket Mortgage Canada, Lendesk, Core Digital Media and Rocket Connections.
Stock Market Value: $25.4B ($12.68 per share)

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Rocket Companies in 2025

Activist: ValueAct Capital

Ownership: 9.99%
Average Cost: $12.37
Activist Commentary: ValueAct has been a premier corporate governance investor for over 20 years. ValueAct principals are generally on the boards of half of ValueAct’s core portfolio positions and have had 56 public company board seats over 23 years. Additionally, the firm is a long-term, thoughtful and diligent investor known for creating value behind the scenes. ValueAct has previously commenced 106 activist campaigns and has an average return of 52.60% versus 21.27% for the Russell 2000.
What’s happening
ValueAct has taken a position in Rocket Companies (RKT).
Behind the scenes
Rocket Companies is a financial technology company consisting of mortgage, real estate, and personal finance businesses. In a highly fragmented industry, Rocket has steadily gained market share and is now the No. 1 originator of mortgages in the United States. This position has primarily been driven by a technology-first, assembly-line approach to mortgage processing. Unlike industry legacy methods where people and technologies are stretched over the entire process, Rocket has broken down the workflow into distinct stages and has dedicated people and technologies at each step. As a result, the company can originate a loan at about one third of the cost of peers and close loans in an average of 21 days versus 45 days for its competitors. However, the company’s share price has yet to reflect this clear competitive advantage, as shares are down over 29% since its initial public offering in August 2020.

While Rocket is a great company, it is not a great stock. The primary reasons for this are its small float, controlled ownership and unnecessarily convoluted share class structure. Rocket’s founder Dan Gilbert retains over 80% of voting power through a preferred share class. The current public float of the company is only about 7% of the total voting power. Further complicating matters is that Rocket’s ownership has been spread across four different share classes – though in March, the company said it would reduce its share classes to two. These factors made the stock difficult to buy, leaving its investor base absent of many long-only institutional investors that are typically sought after by companies of this size and stature. The valuation gap that has resulted from this is clear, while Rocket trades at a single digit price-earnings multiple, comparable businesses like Schwab trade closer to 20 times.
The float issue is in the process of being remedied, however. Rocket’s public float is set to increase to 35% from 7%, because of the company’s pending acquisitions of Redfin and Mr. Cooper. Additionally, the company will be collapsing its share structure from four to two. This will still leave it a controlled company with Dan Gilbert owning approximately 65%, but controlled companies do not scare ValueAct. On the contrary, the firm has delivered strong returns investing in many controlled companies such as Liberty Live Group, Meta Platforms, Martha Stewart Living, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Spotify and KKR. In these situations, ValueAct has delivered an average return of 96.15% vs. 21.12% for the relevant benchmark. While the significantly increased float and simpler capital structure should attract the broader base of long-term institutional investors who have thus far been sidelined, this is just a tailwind for stockholders, not a value-creator. Likewise, declining interest rates are a tailwind for Rocket as it accelerates mortgage refinancing. 
But the real value creator is for Rocket to continue its technological leadership which could be greatly accelerated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. There are two kinds of AI beneficiaries – the technology enablers (such as Nvidia, Amazon and Salesforce) and consumer class companies with business models that can be fundamentally improved through AI integration. As the market and technological leader in a highly fragmented industry, Rocket is well positioned to supercharge its already best-in-class mortgage assembly-line process by integrating AI to boost operational efficiency, profitability, and further expand its current pricing and timeline advantages over peers. Traditional banks should also have an easier time using AI to close the gap, as they have vastly more room for improvement than Rocket. However, AI is much more likely to be quickly adopted by companies like Rocket – companies that have embraced technology and the digital age – as opposed to older institutions that have historically been reluctant to adopt any sort of technological innovation. Throughout the AI revolution, we have observed across other consumer-based industries that the businesses that are already tech native (such as Tesla, Amazon and Spotify) are far better equipped to integrate AI in ways that meaningfully transform their businesses, and Rocket is in the driver’s seat to be this player in the mortgage industry. Moreover, Rocket has a relatively new CEO who wants to dominate the mortgage industry and is not afraid of technology, previously working at Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft. If these value levers are properly executed, Rocket’s high single-digit share of the mortgage market should be able to grow to 15% to 20% organically and potentially higher if coupled with some accretive mergers and acquisitions. In the longer term, there’s no reason why this industry should remain so fragmented. Most digital consumer business markets eventually consolidate to a few major players with the winners commanding 30%-plus market share, and Rocket has a clear path to victory.
This is not ValueAct taking a “flyer” on AI. First, ValueAct is a very thoughtful and diligent investor and doesn’t take “flyers.” Second, ValueAct has extensive experience from both sides of AI. The firm has been in the boardroom at companies like Microsoft and Salesforce, two of the largest developers of AI. And ValueAct has been active shareholders at companies like Spotify, The New York Times, Expedia and Recruit (Indeed.com) – some of the largest users and beneficiaries of AI. So, when ValueAct invests in AI, it isn’t just spitballing. Rather, the firm thoroughly understands AI and how its customers can use it. ValueAct makes investments like this because it likes the company for all of the reasons stated above. The firm takes board seats in approximately half of its core positions but does not go into an investment “needing a board seat” or even necessarily wanting a board seat. Moreover, as a sub $200 million investment, this is very small for ValueAct. But as the float increases and it grows its position – and as management gets to know the company better – we think with ValueAct’s financial expertise and AI experience, it would be natural for the firm to be invited on to Rocket’s board.  
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. More

If you just bought a house, it may be a good time to check the accuracy of your property tax assessment, experts say. 
If there’s inaccurate information, you likely already have most of the necessary documents on hand to get the appeal started.
“You’ve gotten a wealth of information about your house, whether you realize it or not,” said Sal Cataldo, a real estate lawyer and partner at O’Doherty & Cataldo in Sayville, New York. 

Morsa Images | Getty

If you just bought a house, it may be a good time to check the accuracy of your property tax assessment, experts say. 
Your property tax assessment is the way officials determine the value of your property for tax purposes. Inaccuracies about your home that factor into that formula could mean that you’re overpaying.

If it’s inaccurate, you likely have most of the essential documents you need to appeal, as part of your recent home purchase, according to Sal Cataldo, a real estate lawyer and partner at O’Doherty & Cataldo in Sayville, New York. 
The title report, for instance, is going to tell you the age of the house, Cataldo said. You might have a home inspection report on hand that details the property’s flaws, as well as an appraisal and your mortgage, which show the value of the house and the comparable value in the neighborhood. 
“You’ve gotten a wealth of information about your house, whether you realize it or not,” Cataldo said. 
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A home sale will typically trigger a property tax reassessment because the property is changing hands, with the new market value applied to the assessment. But the specific rules of when the new value is applied and the frequency of reassessments will depend on your area. 

Here’s why it may be valuable to add reviewing your property tax assessment to your to-do list as a newly minted homeowner:

Property taxes on the rise

In addition to your mortgage payment, home insurance and maintenance costs, property taxes are another factor to consider as you assess your housing expenses.
In recent years, property taxes have climbed because of rising home values and tax rates.
The median property tax bill in the U.S. in 2024 was $3,500, up 2.8% from $3,349 in 2023, according to an April report by Realtor. 

How much you pay varies widely depending on where you live, and some areas see higher bills and price hikes.
As of 2023, the median property tax for homeowners in New York City was $9,937, LendingTree found in a recent report. The city ranks first among the metropolitan areas with the highest median property taxes. Rounding out the top three are San Jose, California and San Francisco, where homeowners paid a median $9,554 and $8,156, respectively.

Inaccuracies may be costing you

It’s not uncommon for properties to be over-assessed, meaning you end up paying more taxes than you should be, said Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation: “It pays to check.”
Sometimes it’s because details in your assessment were never corrected over the years, such as an incorrect square footage of livable space or the amount of bathrooms that are actually in your home.
NTUF estimates 30% to 60% of taxable property in the U.S. is over-assessed, based on reports from individual state tax assessors.

Success in the appeal can lead to savings for several years as the change becomes the basis for the next assessment, said Sepp. While some state or local governments reassess annually, others have less-frequent cycles with gaps of several years. Some have no set schedule at all.
Over 40% of homeowners across the U.S. could potentially save $100 or more per year by protesting their assessment value, with median savings of $539 a year, per Realtor.com estimates. More

House Republicans’ massive bill grants tax perks primarily to the wealthy while slashing funding for programs for low-income Americans such as Medicaid and SNAP.
“Bottom line is, a lot of people will lose benefits,” one expert said.
Changes required by the bill could take away food assistance for millions of people, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

A “Save Medicaid” sign is affixed to the podium for a House Democrats’ press event to oppose the Republicans’ budget, on the House steps of the Capitol, Feb. 25, 2024.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Historic spending cuts to Medicaid health coverage and to SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, are included in the budget package passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Now, it is up to the Senate to consider the changes — and to perhaps propose its own.

As it stands, the legislation — called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — would slash Medicaid spending by roughly $700 billion and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by about $300 billion, the largest cuts in the programs’ histories.
“Bottom line is, a lot of people will lose benefits, including people who are entitled to these benefits and who are not the target population of this bill,” said Jennifer Wagner, director of Medicaid eligibility enrollment at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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The reconciliation bill would add roughly $3 trillion to the nation’s debt including interest over the next decade, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated.
To help pay for a variety of tax perks, primarily for the wealthy, that are included in the bill, House Republicans have targeted Medicaid and SNAP for savings.

“We don’t want any waste, fraud or abuse,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday on Newsmax when asked about prospective Medicaid changes. “Other than that, we’re leaving it.”
One way House Republicans are seeking to curb the programs’ spending is through new work requirements.

New Medicaid work requirements to get earlier date

Under the House proposal, new Medicaid work requirements will apply to people who are covered through the Affordable Care Act expansion.
To be eligible, those individuals will need to participate in qualifying activities for at least 80 hours per month unless they can prove they have an approved exemption, according to Jennifer Tolbert, deputy director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF, a health policy research nonprofit.
In last-minute negotiations, House Republicans moved the date for implementing those work requirements to no later than Dec. 31, 2026, up from a previously proposed effective date of Jan. 1, 2029 — around two years earlier than the original version, CBPP’s Wagner noted.
Notably, it also gives states permission to start implementing the work requirements earlier than that date.
“On the Medicaid side, the work requirement is arguably the harshest provision,” Wagner said. “It will lead to the greatest cuts of enrollment in Medicaid.”

The new accelerated timeline also doesn’t allow time for rulemaking, a process by which the public can submit comments, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may respond to those submissions, Wagner noted.
Instead, the legislative proposal calls for guidance to be issued by the end of 2025, which she said is a “big deal” because it eliminates the opportunity for adjustments to be made in response to public comments.
Moving up the effective date also limits the ability to conduct public outreach to notify individuals of the coming changes, Tolbert said. States will also have less time to adjust their systems to track whether individuals are working the required number of hours or engaging in other necessary activities, she said.

Within the work requirements, the House also moved to limit the original version’s discretion to determine other medical conditions that may make someone exempt, Wagner said.
Notably, the proposal also calls for states to conduct more frequent eligibility redeterminations for adults who are eligible for Medicaid through Affordable Care Act expansions. Starting Dec. 31, 2026, states will be required to conduct redeterminations every six months, compared with current rules that require eligibility reviews within 12 months of changes in a beneficiary’s circumstances, according to KFF.
The increased frequency of the redeterminations is “likely to have a big impact,” Tolbert said.
Ultimately, the work requirements may make it difficult for people to access the health coverage they need, she said.
“What this may end up doing is having the opposite of the intended effect,” Tolbert said. “They may lose access to the very treatments and services that are enabling them to work.”

SNAP work requirements would be expanded

Changes required by the House Republican bill could take away food assistance for millions of people, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Under the bill, work requirements would be expanded for SNAP benefits.
People ages 18 to 54 who have no dependents and are able to work already face SNAP benefit limitations based on work requirements of 80 hours per month.

The proposal would extend those requirements to people ages 55 to 64, as well as households with children, unless the children are under age seven. In addition, states would also have limited flexibility in providing waivers of the work requirements or discretionary exemptions, according to the Urban Institute.
In addition, federal funding cuts would require states to contribute more toward benefits and administration of the program. More

Premium tax credits under the enhanced Affordable Care Act were not included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that House Republicans passed on Thursday.
Without action from Congress, the subsidies are on track to expire by the end of 2025.
“Pretty much everyone, almost everybody who’s buying their own health insurance, now would see their costs go up,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the program on the ACA at KFF.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at left, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., talk while attending an event to mark the 14th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, March 21, 2024.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

The multitrillion-dollar tax and spending package House Republicans passed Thursday contains a multitude of changes that may affect consumers’ finances.
But the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is missing something health care advocates hoped to see: an extension of the insurance premium tax credits under the enhanced Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year. The credits’ absence is notable as the bill includes other proposed changes to the ACA marketplace, experts say.

The ACA’s enhanced premium credits help make health insurance policies through the marketplace more affordable. Eligible applicants can use the credit to lower insurance premium costs upfront or claim the tax break when filing their return. 
Instead of a lower-income person paying 2% of their income on their premium, they pay nothing, according to KFF, a health policy research nonprofit. Higher income people, who were originally ineligible for credits, currently pay no more than 8.5% of their income on their premium.
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Without the extension, nearly all subsidized ACA enrollees can expect their monthly premiums to rise, said Cynthia Cox, vice president and director of the program on the ACA at KFF.
For example, a family of four making $85,000 would have to pay an additional $313 in premiums for coverage in 2026 and face a $900 increase in their out-of-pocket maximum, according to an April report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“Pretty much everyone, almost everybody who’s buying their own health insurance, now would see their costs go up,” Cox said.
Here’s what to know if you buy health insurance through the federal marketplace.

Tax credits boosted ACA marketplace enrollment

The extended subsidies were passed via the American Rescue Plan Act during the pandemic, and covered plans in 2021 and 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act extended the benefit until the end of 2025. 
The premium tax credits made health insurance purchased through the marketplace much more attractive and affordable for people, Cox said.
Since the extended tax credits have been in place, the enrollment in the ACA marketplace grew from 12 million in 2021 to a record 24.2 million in 2025, according to a February report by the Commonwealth Fund. 
But if the benefits expire, “we’re basically back to the same Affordable Care Act that existed the last time Trump was president,” Cox said. 

Some consumers may lose eligibility

If premium tax credits aren’t extended, some people may see their costs rise high enough that they can’t afford coverage. Under the original version of the ACA, middle-income households were often priced out of the health-care subsidies.

If we go back to earlier thresholds, those who earn more than four times the federal poverty level — $62,000 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four with 2026 coverage — would lose eligibility for subsidies and would have to pay the full cost for their health plans, according to KFF.
Researchers at KFF anticipate that between the potential lapse of the credits coupled with the proposals, enrollment could shrink by one-third, leaving about 8 million uninsured in the U.S.
One change in the House GOP tax bill would increase by 4.5% the share of people’s income that they pay for premiums after tax credits in 2026, according to Gideon Lukens, senior fellow at the CBPP. It would also increase the maximum out-of-pocket limit by 4.5% in 2026, he said.

‘An issue of contention’

The premium tax benefits have been “an issue of contention” among lawmakers, as Republicans have not indicated an interest in extending the enhanced premium credits any further, said Jonathan Burks, executive vice president of economic and health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Yet, at least two GOP senators have said they are interested in extending the credits, KFF’s Cox said.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has said she supports extending the enhanced subsidies to help people afford premiums. “I think we’re going to need to continue these premium tax credits,” she said in an interview with the Alaska Beacon in January. 
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., expressed interest in extending the premiums in an interview with AxiosPro in March.
Neither Murkowski nor Tillis responded to CNBC’s requests for comment.
It’s possible that the ACA premium tax credits could be addressed in a different piece of legislation later in the year, Cox said.
“But at least right now, that’s not in this bill that’s being debated right now,” she said. More

If you own mutual funds, year-end payouts can trigger a surprise tax bill, even when you haven’t sold the underlying investment.
Those distributions can incur capital gains taxes for assets held in a brokerage account.
Some lawmakers want to defer those taxes until the underlying shares are sold.

Artistgndphotography | E+ | Getty Images

If you own mutual funds, year-end payouts can trigger a surprise tax bill — even when you haven’t sold the underlying investment. But some lawmakers want to change that.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, this week introduced a bill, known as the Generate Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding, or GROWTH, Act. If enacted, the bill would defer reinvested mutual fund capital gains taxes until investors sell their shares.

Bipartisan House lawmakers introduced a similar bill in March.

Why mutual funds incur capital gains tax

When you own mutual funds in a pre-tax 401(k) or individual retirement account, growth is tax-deferred. But if you hold assets in a brokerage account, capital gains distributions and dividends incur yearly taxes.
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Depending on performance, some mutual funds can spit off substantial gains during the fourth quarter. In 2024, some paid double-digit distributions, Morningstar estimated.
These payouts are subject to long-term capital gains taxes of 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your taxable income. Some higher earners also pay an extra 3.8% surcharge on investment earnings.

About $7 trillion of long-term mutual fund assets held outside of retirement accounts could be impacted by the legislation, according to the Investment Company Institute, which represents the asset management industry.

Bill would ‘provide parity’ for mutual funds

In a statement Wednesday, Cornyn described the mutual fund proposal as a “no-brainer” that would “help provide parity with other investment options.”
If enacted, the proposal would “incentivize Americans to save and invest for their long-term goals” without the stress of an “unexpected tax bill,” Eric Pan, president and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, said in a statement following the bill’s introduction.
However, it’s unclear whether the bill will advance amid competing priorities. Lawmakers are wrestling over President Donald Trump’s multi-trillion-dollar tax and spending package, which passed in the House on Thursday, and could face hurdles in the Senate.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has also asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling before August to avert a government shutdown.

Switch to exchange-traded funds

While deferring yearly taxes could benefit some investors, you could also make portfolio changes, financial experts say.
You can avoid mutual fund payouts by switching to similar exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which typically disburse less income, Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida, previously told CNBC.
Of course, the trade could also trigger taxes if the mutual fund has embedded gains, which may require some planning, he said.
Alternatively, investors could opt to keep mutual funds in tax-deferred accounts, such as pre-tax 401(k)s or IRAs. More