When Congress returns from its August recess, farmers and ranchers need lawmakers to focus on tax reform in addition to the farm bill.

Many vital provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are due to end at the close of next year. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall said Congress must not lose sight of protecting those provisions.

“Our family farms are already burdened by inflation, increased supply costs and much, much more. These new tax burdens could put even more pressure on our farmers and ranchers and may even force them out of business,” Duvall said. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017 contains many temporary provisions that relieve some of the burdens faced by farmers and ranchers. Several of these provisions are set to expire at the end of next year, including a key estate tax exemption.”

The estate tax provision is what enables farmers to transfer the operation to the next generation. When the new Congress is sworn in, that’s when Duvall and Farm Bureau want them to focus on taxes.

“They must address tax provisions that are going to expire at the end of 2025,” Duvall said. “It’s important that we work with lawmakers now so that they understand how current tax provisions enables our farmers to remain in business and protect their farms, so that they can afford to pass them on to the next generation.”

Currently, Americans can claim an estate tax exemption of up to $11 million per person or $22 million per couple (indexed for inflation).

Those levels will expire in 2025 and exemptions will return to $5.5 million per person and $11 million per couple.

Knowledge about your own personal tax liabilities is key when advocating for reauthorization of these provisions.

“Arm yourself with information. Do some research or talk to your CPA to understand how these various provisions of the tax code are benefiting your operation and how your operation is utilizing the savings from the provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Dustin Sherer, AFBF director of Government Affairs, said. “And once you do that, talk to your elected officials. Tell them your personal story and tell them what the consequences would be if these options went away. Educating elected officials with personal stories is the best advocacy there is.”