Government funded until Dec. 20

Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government until Dec. 20, 2024, before adjourning until after the election. General IRS funding remained static under the resolution, and the special allocation of IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act was not addressed by the legislation.

Congress will be forced to return for a lame-duck session after the election to negotiate further government spending. A lame-duck spending bill could be a vehicle to carry other legislative priorities, though there will be major hurdles to moving any tax provisions.

With so many other built-in changes to the tax code looming in 2025, it will be very difficult to resurrect legislation restoring the expensing of research and experimentation costs under Section 174, 100% bonus deprecation, or the more favorable calculation for the limit on deducting interest under Section 163(j).

Smaller bipartisan tax provisions may have better odds, such as a bill increasing the threshold for payment reporting on Form 1099-K, a disaster relief tax package, or provisions conferring tax treaty like benefits on Taiwan. 

Separately, the IRS has extended 2023 return filing deadlines for Hurricane Helene-affected individuals and businesses that previously filed for extensions. See our Tax Insights for more information.

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