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Expiration of Tax Cut and Jobs Act could significantly impact family farms

The American Farm Bureau Federation says tax reform in 2025 could be more complicated if Congress fails to pass a farm bill this year.

Managing Director of Government Affairs Ryan Yates tells Brownfield, “We’re not looking forward to having those two issues overlap in the next Congress, but if that’s what Congress chooses to do, so be it,” “We’ll be there to tell our story,” he says.

Tax policy could return to 2017 levels if the Tax Cut and Jobs Act expires.

Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance says he wants to protect farmland succession from the Death Tax.

“I think a lot of the debate about the death tax is fundamentally, are you trying to force family farms to liquidate in order to pay their taxes, or do we want to preserve this family farm dynamic where one generation supports the next generation and really builds it a tradition of farming?” he says.

A new USDA Economic Research Service report estimates total federal estate taxes for farms could more than double to $1.2 billion without updated provisions.

ERS says total federal estate taxes for all taxable farm estates are protected at $572 million in 2026.

Farm Bureau says farmers will face a more than $9 billion tax increase in 2026 between increased income tax liability and the increased estate tax liability.

Brownfield interviewed both Yates and Vance during the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s County President’s Trip in Washington D.C.