🦍 OBBB Hack: How to Pay Your Spouse, Deduct Child Care, and Get the IRS to Pay Half

July 2025

Who says tax law can’t be a family business?

(Just ask the gorilla with a baby on his back doing payroll.)

The new One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) just turned one of the smartest family tax strategies into a win for nearly every small business.

Here’s how it works (and why you don’t need to run a daycare in your basement anymore):

🚀 What’s New?

• Child care credit is now 40% — or 50% if you’re under $25M in revenue

• Annual limit: Up to $600,000

• You can use any licensed child care provider (yes, even the fancy ones)

• DCAP (Dependent Care Assistance Plan) limit jumps to $7,500 tax-free per employee

• Your business gets the deduction and the credit

Basically, the IRS is now begging you to pay for child care the right way.

💡 The Gorilla Family Payroll Loop

Here’s how your gorilla family (or human one) can make this work:

Step 1: Put your spouse on W-2 payroll for real work (admin, ops, wrangling the little gorillas)
Step 2: Offer a $7,500 dependent care benefit through a legit Section 129 plan
Step 3: Your spouse gets the benefit tax-free — business deducts it
Step 4: IRS gives you back up to 50% as a tax credit — even if you use an outside provider
Step 5: File, relax, repeat

Hedgi tracks the payroll, tags the child care benefit, and flags the credit on your ledger, so you’re always ready to show your receipts — even if your accountant is on vacation in the jungle.

🧑‍⚖️ Is This Really Legal? (Or Gorilla Trickery?)

Totally legal, totally smart.

• OBBB says family employees are A-OK (if they do real work)

• Third-party child care now qualifies — no more in-house daycares

• Just document the work, wages, and benefits, and you’re golden

Compliance checklist:

• Your spouse actually works for the biz

• Wages are reasonable (not $1M for watering the office plant)

• You have a Section 129 plan doc

• Child care provider is licensed

• File the right tax forms (Form 5500 if required, and report the credit!)

🙌 Why SMBs Should Love This

This isn’t a loophole — it’s Congress saying, “Go ahead, help your family and your business at the same time.”
You keep more cash, your spouse gets benefits, and Hedgi keeps it all IRS-proof (and audit-ready).

Want to go next level? Pair with the classic “put your kid on payroll” strategy for even more OBBB juice.

🤝 Ready to Try This With Hedgi?

Let Hedgi automate the deductions, flag the credits, and keep your family tax win drama-free — so you and the gorillas can focus on what matters: growing the business (and maybe naptime).

Sign up for early access. The bananas — and the tax credits — are waiting.