Most individual-side tax rules in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) were written to expire after December 31, 2025 — meaning absent congressional action, roughly 200 million filers would face reverted rules on 2026 tax returns. HR-137 would strike those sunset clauses and make 22 TCJA provisions permanent, including the lower 37% top marginal rate, the nearly doubled standard deduction (~$15,000 single / $30,000 married), the $2,000-per-child tax credit, the $750,000 cap on mortgage interest, the raised Alternative Minimum Tax exemption, and the doubled estate-and-gift tax exemption (about $13.6 million per person in 2024). It would also permanently lock in the 20% pass-through business income deduction (Section 199A) — a provision used heavily by real estate operators, professional partnerships, medical practices, and hedge funds. Smaller provisions made permanent include the tax exclusion for student loans discharged due to death or permanent disability, combat-zone tax treatment for troops deployed to the Sinai Peninsula, and expanded ABLE-account rules for people with disabilities. The bill keeps in place the $10,000 cap on state-and-local-tax (SALT) deductions — which disproportionately raises federal taxes for filers in high-tax states — and the permanent repeal of the personal exemption. The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that making TCJA's expiring individual-side provisions permanent would reduce federal revenue by roughly $4 to $4.5 trillion over ten years, with the largest after-tax income gains concentrated among high-income households, pass-through business owners, and heirs of multi-million-dollar estates.
Corporate Benefits
- Top individual tax rate — Held at 37% instead of returning to 39.6%
- Pass-through deduction (Section 199A) — 20% deduction made permanent for partnerships, S-corps, real estate operators
- Estate-and-gift tax exemption — Roughly $13.6M per person made permanent instead of reverting to ~$6M
- Federal revenue — Joint Committee on Taxation estimates $4–4.5 trillion reduction over 10 years
Average Household Impact
- Standard deduction — Roughly $15K single / $30K joint made permanent instead of reverting to lower pre-TCJA levels
- Child tax credit — $2,000-per-child amount made permanent
- SALT cap — $10,000 limit retained, raising federal taxes for filers in high-tax states
- Personal exemption — Repeal made permanent
Transparency & Accountability
- Sunset clauses — Scheduled 2026 expirations removed for 22 TCJA provisions, ending mandatory re-examination by Congress
Congressional Summary
TCJA Permanency Act This bill makes permanent multiple federal tax provisions enacted in 2017 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.The bill makes permanent the individual tax rates of 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%;increased standard deduction;personal exemption allowance repeal;exclusion from income of student loans discharged due to death or disability;qualified business income tax deduction (199A tax deduction);allowance of ABLE account contributions in excess of the annual gift tax exclusion amount;base estate and gift tax exclusion amount of $10 million (adjusted annually); andalternative minimum tax exemption and phaseout amounts for noncorporate taxpayers.The bill makes permanent the child tax credit amounts of $2,000 per child and $500 for dependents, the $200,000 phaseout threshold ($400,000 for joint filers), and the refundable portion of the tax credit. The bill expands the expenses eligible for tax-free withdrawals from qualified tuition plans (529 plans) to include additional expenses associated with homeschool and elementary and secondary schools (e.g., instructional materials, tutoring, test and enrollment fees, and educational therapies). The bill permanently eliminates certain miscellaneous itemized deductions and makes permanent the state and local tax deduction limit of $10,000 ($5,000 for married individuals filing separately),mortgage interest tax deduction limit of $750,000 ($375,000 for married individuals filing separately),limit on the deduction of cash charitable contributions to 60% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, andcertain limits on casualty loss tax deductions. The bill also permanently eliminates the exclusion from income for employer-reimbursed bicycle commuting expenses.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-01-03
- Date Added
- 2026-04-22
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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