Rep. Jodey Arrington Introduces House Bill to Amend IRS Code to Reduce Rate of Tax on Estates, Gifts, and Generation-Skipping Transfers 

H.R. 601 was introduced on January 22 and Referred to House Ways and Means, Budget Committees; Democrat Rep. Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA) is Co-Sponsor

House Member Rep. Jodey C. Arrington (R-TX) has introduced a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Service code of 1986 to reduce the rate of taxation on estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers.

The proposed amendment, H.R. 601 , was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and to the Committee on the Budget for review.  

The amendment is receiving bipartisan House support with co-sponsor Rep. Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA) . 

The timing for consideration for the proposed amendment will be determined by the Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) , and in each case the provisions of the amendment fall within the jurisdiction of each committee. The amendment was introduced on January 22, 2025.

The amendment comes at a time when the Trump Administration and Congress are reviewing changes and extensions to the Tax Cuts and Job Act (TCJA) of 2017, which expires at the end of this year.

In TCJA , the modified IRS tax code doubled the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption from $5.5 million per person to $11.2 million in 2018. 

Since then, the exemption has increased to its current level of $13.6 million per person. However, if changes are not made by Congress to the tax code the TCJA provisions will reset the Estate Tax, often referred as the “Death Tax,” to approximately $7 million, when it is indexed to inflation. 

Without changes to the tax code, any estate, gift, or generation-skipping transfers that exceeds the exemption amount will be taxed at the federal level of 40%, with some states additionally taxing those amounts up to 16%. 

With the introduction of H.R. 601 the rate of gift, estate and generation-skipping tax would be about the same rate as that of capital gains. So, if a business had to be sold to pay the estate tax, it would be somewhat equivalent to paying the same rate of tax if the business was sold during life.

“We applaud Rep. Arrington’s proposed amendment and other extensions to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act that will significantly help family businesses remain healthy and keep their hard-earned savings and business investments,” said Pat Soldano, President of the Policy and Taxation Group and Family Enterprise USA, advocates for family businesses, family offices, and successful individuals. “We see this amendment to the Estate Tax exemption as vital to keeping America’s number one private employer strong and healthy from generation to generation,” she said.

America’s multi-generational family-owned businesses contribute $7.7 trillion annually to the U.S. gross domestic product, according to research. Family businesses are the largest private employers in the country, accounting for 83.3 million jobs, or 59 percent of the country’s private workforce, research shows.

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