TCJA 2026: What Expires and What Stays — Your Complete Guide

TCJA 2026: What Changes and What You Need to Do Now

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the tax landscape for nearly every American household. Now most of those changes are set to expire. Unless Congress acts before December 31, 2025, your 2026 tax bill could look dramatically different — and in most cases, higher.

I've been tracking the TCJA sunset closely because the numbers matter: a married couple earning $120,000 could see their federal taxes jump by $3,000–$5,000 in 2026 under current law. That's real money. Here's a clear breakdown of what expires, what stays, and how to think about the transition.

What Expires: The Provisions That Affect Most Households

The most significant expiring provision for most families is the standard deduction. Under TCJA it nearly doubled — from $6,350 to $12,000 for single filers in 2017, now indexed to $15,000 for 2025. When it reverts, a single filer loses roughly $6,000 in deductions. At the 22% bracket, that's $1,320 more in tax. For married couples the impact is roughly double.

The lower individual tax brackets matter even more at higher income levels. The top marginal rate returns to 39.6% from the current 37%. But the changes aren't limited to high earners: the 28% bracket that TCJA reduced to 24% returns, and the 33% bracket that became 32% reverts as well. Every bracket above 22% shifts upward.

The QBI Deduction: A Significant Hit for Self-Employed Filers

Section 199A — the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction — is one of the most valuable TCJA provisions for freelancers, sole proprietors, S-corp owners, and partnership interests. A self-employed consultant earning $150,000 in net business income currently deducts $30,000 before calculating their income tax. That deduction disappears entirely in 2026 unless extended.

For business owners in the 24% bracket, the QBI deduction is currently worth $7,200 per year. The return of the 28% bracket on top of losing the deduction is a compounding hit for pass-through business income.

What Stays: Corporate Rates and the $0 Mandate

The 21% corporate tax rate was made permanent under TCJA — it does not sunset with the individual provisions. Businesses structured as C-corporations won't see a rate change from the TCJA expiration itself (though proposed legislation could change this separately).

The individual mandate penalty — eliminated in 2017 — also does not return. ACA marketplace plans remain available without a federal penalty for going uninsured, regardless of what happens with the TCJA individual provisions.

How to Prepare Before December 31, 2025

The most actionable strategy for most households is income timing. If you have flexibility in when you recognize income — through deferred compensation, capital gains, Roth conversions, or business distributions — the calculus strongly favors accelerating income into 2025 at current lower rates rather than deferring to 2026 at potentially higher ones.

For Roth conversions specifically, 2025 may be the last year to convert at the current bracket thresholds. A $50,000 conversion at the 22% bracket costs $11,000 in tax today. In 2026, if that same income falls in the restored 28% bracket, the same conversion costs $14,000. Three thousand dollars is a meaningful difference on a single conversion — and many households are looking at six-figure Roth conversion strategies where the gap is $20,000+.

Watch Congress: This May All Change

The TCJA sunset is well-known on Capitol Hill. Multiple extension proposals are actively moving through Congress, though as of this writing no legislation has passed. The most common proposals include a full extension of the individual provisions, a partial extension targeted at middle-income brackets, or a modified extension with changes to the SALT cap and estate tax threshold.

The politically sensitive provisions — child tax credit, standard deduction, middle-class brackets — have bipartisan pressure for extension. The harder negotiations center on upper-bracket rates, SALT, and estate tax. The outcome will likely be a partial extension that passes some combination of these before year end.

Until legislation passes, however, the law on the books says these provisions expire. Planning should account for the sunset scenario while remaining flexible if Congress acts.

Use the Tax Cuts Calculator to model both scenarios — the TCJA extension and the sunset — for your specific income level, filing status, and deduction profile. The difference is often larger than people expect.