Key Takeaways
- Republicans may get another chance to pass a major tax-and-spending bill.
- The opportunity comes as the party looks for ways to fund departments without Democratic help.
- House tax committee offering bipartisan tax measures including IRS reform.
- Lawmakers hope to release bill on crypto tax soon.
- Tax refunds for 2025 not living up to Trump OBBBA promise.
Last year, Republicans saw a once-in-a-decade chance to make long-lasting changes to the tax code through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Will they get another shot at it?
There’s been talk of passing a second Republican tax-and-spending bill since before the ink on the OBBBA was dry. But it was seen as a very long shot. The reconciliation process that Congress used to pass the bill without Democratic votes was very difficult, and nearly ran aground several times. It seemed unlikely that lawmakers could muster the determination another time, when the stakes weren’t nearly as high.
But events have conspired to change that calculus. Republicans and the Trump Administration have been looking to appropriate funds towards the military action in Iran, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Republican leadership has begun to look to reconciliation as a way forward, forgoing the usual appropriations process.
That would provide a vehicle to pass other items that couldn’t make the cut for OBBBA, or which have otherwise failed to move forward in Congress so far. It’s bound to include tax-related items, as reconciliation can only contain measures that have a budgetary effect.
It’s still early, and this is far from a sure thing. But while 2026 looked to be a relatively quiet year in Congress, it’s turning out to be anything but.
Bipartisanship
Despite the push towards a new partisan tax bill, bipartisanship isn’t dead in Congress. The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday approved five tax-related bills, without any opposing votes. They address a host of issues, from tax benefits for pre-school teachers to the standards of evidence domestic violence victims need to satisfy to avoid taxes on settlements or compensatory damages.
It also included many of the Internal Revenue Service administrative changes that were announced by Sen. Mike Crapo and Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Ways and Means added some further measures to boost IRS service, including a requirement that the agency provide an online dashboard to inform callers of wait times, and to allow a call-back option for waits longer than 5 minutes.
Recent Tax Pieces:
Bipartisan Crypto Tax Bill Expected This Spring, Drafters Say – Katie Lobosco, Tax Notes ($):
The draft calls for a $200 de minimis threshold for transactions made with stablecoins, a cryptocurrency that maintains a relatively stable value and is usually used to pay for goods and services. The draft doesn’t weigh in on whether other digital assets should also face a de minimis threshold.
“I feel like they’re trying to hit some of the major items quickly,” said Thomas M. Shea, a crypto and digital asset tax leader at EY. He said lawmakers could address a de minimis threshold for broader digital assets later.
Tax Refunds Up, But Falling Short of Trump’s $1,000 Promise – Caitlin Reilly, Bloomberg Tax ($):
Refunds averaged $3,623 through March 13, 11% higher than the same point last year, according to data the IRS released Friday. Nearly half of anticipated returns already have been filed.
GOP Tax Writer Floats Bill to Boost Business Interest Deductions – Chris Cioffi, Bloomberg Tax ($):
Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) is introducing legislation that would repeal the adjusted taxable income limitation that excludes some global income of US companies. The bill has about a dozen GOP cosponsors.
Companies Sweat Out Cross Border Remittance Tax as IRS Rules Lag – Erin Slowery, Bloomberg Tax ($):
The 2025 GOP tax-and-spending law created a new 1% excise tax on outbound money transfers from US accounts starting Jan.1. Providers like banks, credit unions, and money transmitters are tasked with collecting the tax from customers, and they’re required to start filing returns on the collections to the IRS by April 30.
Congress Considered Capital Gains Indexation, but Chose Something Else – Joseph Thorndike, Tax Notes ($):
Like many of the most interesting tax debates, this one is old. Indeed, it reaches back to the early years of the modern income tax, as the Justice Department noted in a pivotal 1992 opinion on Treasury’s authority — or lack of authority — to index gains for inflation.
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