The Trump tax cuts expire on December 31, 2025, unless Congress extends them

Most of the tax cuts passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to end on December 31, 2025. This means your tax rates, standard deduction, child tax credit, and other deductions will revert to what they were before 2018 unless lawmakers vote to extend them. The expiration date was built into the original law — it was not an accident or a surprise announcement.

What actually expires depends on which part of the tax code you are looking at. Individual income tax rates, the standard deduction, and most personal credits and deductions expire at the end of 2025. Business tax provisions, including the corporate tax rate, were made permanent and do not expire. This split means your personal taxes could change significantly while business taxes stay the same.

Congress has not yet voted on whether to extend these provisions. That vote will likely happen in late 2024 or early 2025, but the outcome is not certain. If no action is taken, the tax code will automatically revert to 2017 rules on January 1, 2026.

Key Takeaways

  • Individual income tax rates, the standard deduction, and personal tax credits expire December 31, 2025, unless Congress extends them.
  • The corporate tax rate of 21 percent was made permanent and will not change when the individual provisions expire.
  • Congress must vote to extend these provisions; they do not extend automatically.
  • If provisions expire, your tax bill could increase because tax rates will rise and deductions will shrink.
  • You will not know the final outcome until Congress votes, likely in late 2024 or early 2025.

Which tax provisions expire and which stay permanent

The 2017 tax law split its changes into two categories: temporary and permanent. The temporary provisions — the ones that expire — include individual income tax rates, the standard deduction amount, the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and most itemized deductions. These were written to sunset on December 31, 2025.

The permanent provisions include the corporate tax rate, which was lowered to 21 percent and stays there. The alternative minimum tax rules also remain changed. Pass-through business deductions (for sole proprietors, partnerships, and S corporations) expire at the end of 2025, but the corporate rate does not.

The reason for this split was procedural: the law was passed using a budget process that allowed temporary provisions but required permanent ones to meet stricter rules. Lawmakers chose to make business taxes permanent and individual taxes temporary, which means individuals face uncertainty while corporations do not.

What your tax rates and deductions look like if provisions expire

If Congress does not extend the provisions, your tax brackets will widen and your tax rates will increase. The current tax brackets (in effect through 2025) have seven rates ranging from 10 percent to 37 percent. When the law expires, those brackets will shrink and rates will rise. The exact new rates depend on inflation adjustments, but the lowest rate will remain 10 percent while higher rates will increase.

The standard deduction will also drop. For 2025, the standard deduction is $14,600 for single filers and $29,200 for married couples filing jointly. When the law expires, these amounts will fall to roughly what they were in 2017, adjusted for inflation — lower than current levels. This means more of your income will be subject to tax.

The child tax credit will shrink from $2,000 per child to $1,000 per child. The earned income tax credit will become less generous. Deductions for state and local taxes, student loan interest, and other items will either disappear or shrink. The combined effect means most households will owe more in federal income tax.

How Congress decides whether to extend the provisions

Congress must vote separately to extend these provisions. There is no automatic renewal. The vote will likely happen in late 2024 or early 2025, before the December 31, 2025 expiration date. However, Congress sometimes waits until the last minute or even lets provisions expire temporarily before voting to reinstate them retroactively.

The outcome depends on which party controls Congress and the White House at the time of the vote. Lawmakers who favor lower taxes generally support extension. Lawmakers concerned about federal deficits or who want to raise revenue for other programs may oppose extension or propose extending only some provisions. The debate will likely center on cost — extending all provisions costs the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue over ten years.

Congress could also choose a middle path: extend some provisions but not others, extend them for a shorter period (such as five years instead of permanently), or extend them with modifications. There is no requirement that the extension look exactly like the original law.

What you should do now to prepare

You cannot control whether Congress extends the provisions, but you can plan for the possibility that they expire. If you have flexibility in your income — for example, if you are self-employed or can choose when to take bonuses or retirement distributions — consider whether you want to accelerate income into 2025 while tax rates are lower. Conversely, if you have large deductions available, you might use them in 2025 before they shrink.

If you itemize deductions, review whether you will still itemize after 2025 if the standard deduction drops. Some households that itemize now will switch to the standard deduction if it becomes much lower. If you are planning major charitable donations or large medical expenses, timing them before 2026 might make sense.

Keep in mind that tax planning based on an uncertain future is risky. Congress could extend the provisions, modify them, or let them expire. The safest approach is to focus on your actual financial situation — your income, expenses, and goals — rather than betting on a particular tax outcome. Your tax preparer can help you think through scenarios if you have significant income or deductions.

How the expiration affects different types of filers

Families with children will see the child tax credit drop from $2,000 to $1,000 per child, which is a significant change if you have multiple children. Single parents and married couples with children are affected most directly by this change.

Self-employed people and business owners will lose the 20 percent deduction for pass-through business income (the may have access to business income deduction). This deduction currently allows may be able to access business owners to deduct up to 20 percent of their business income, reducing their taxable income. When it expires, this deduction disappears entirely.

Married couples filing jointly will see the standard deduction drop more in dollar terms than single filers, but the percentage change is similar. High-income earners will face higher marginal tax rates, which affects how much of each additional dollar they earn goes to federal income tax. Low-income earners will see the 10 percent bracket shrink, pushing more of their income into higher brackets.

The difference between expiration and repeal

Expiration and repeal are not the same thing. Repeal means Congress votes to end a provision when ready. Expiration means a provision was always written to end on a specific date, and it ends automatically unless Congress votes to extend it. The 2017 tax cuts expire — they do not require a repeal vote to go away.

This matters because expiration is the default. If Congress does nothing, the provisions expire. If Congress wants to keep them, Congress must vote to extend them. This is the opposite of most tax provisions, which stay in place unless Congress votes to change them. The expiration date was a deliberate choice by the lawmakers who wrote the 2017 law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Congress extend the tax cuts after they expire?

Yes. Congress can extend provisions retroactively, meaning they can vote to extend them in 2026 or later and make the extension effective back to January 1, 2026. This has happened before with other tax provisions. However, retroactive extensions create uncertainty for taxpayers who filed returns under the expired rules.

Will my tax refund change if the provisions expire?

Possibly. Your refund depends on how much tax you paid during the year through withholding or estimated payments, compared to what you actually owe. If tax rates rise and deductions shrink, you may owe more tax, which could reduce your refund or turn it into a balance due. The exact change depends on your income and situation.

Do state taxes change when the federal tax cuts expire?

No. State income taxes are separate from federal taxes. The expiration of federal provisions does not automatically change your state tax rate or deductions. Some states have their own tax provisions that expire on different dates, but that is a separate issue from the federal expiration.

What happens if Congress extends the provisions only partially?

Congress could extend some provisions but not others — for example, extending the child tax credit but not the income tax rate cuts. Congress could also extend provisions for a limited time, such as five years instead of permanently. If this happens, you would see some changes to your taxes but not all of the changes that would occur if everything expired.

Should I change my tax withholding now to prepare for expiration?

Not yet. Your withholding should be based on your current tax situation and the tax law in effect now. Once Congress votes on extension, you can adjust your withholding if needed. Changing withholding now based on an uncertain future could result in too much or too little tax being withheld, leaving you with a large refund or a large bill.