Federal Tax Extenders “Compromise” Bill introduced

On Tuesday, the chief tax writers in Congress announced a framework of a compromise tax bill that would temporarily expand individual tax credits and revive several business tax breaks.  

The legislation, H.R. 7024, is titled the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. Below are brief highlights of the bipartisan bill, but available is a comprehensive summary here.  

The roughly $80 billion package would be paid for by ending the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) earlier than planned.   A Joint Tax score ahead of a scheduled Ways & Means Committee markup says the plan comes within $262 million of balancing over 10 years. 

Individual: (1) enhances the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, (2) increases the maximum refundable Child Tax Credit amount from $1,600 per child in the 2023 tax year to $1,800 in 2023, $1,900 in tax year 2024 and $2,000 in tax year 2025, along with adjusting it for inflation in tax years 2024 and 2025.  

Business: (1) revives immediate expensing to deduct the cost of domestic R&D investments instead of over five years, (2) revives full interest expense deductibility, and (3) revives 100% bonus depreciation to restore full and immediate expensing for investments in machines, equipment, and vehicles.  

Pay-for: ends additional applications for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) on January 31, 2024 — originally intended to be allowed through April 15, 2025.  

Congress has several hurdles to overcome to get H.R. 7024 enacted, so the announcement comes with plenty of questions about how they intend to get it to President Biden’s desk, especially prior to the Jan. 29 start to tax filing season.