Budget & Taxes (Sales Tax)

HR 169, the Prevent Family Fire Act of 2025, creates a 10% tax credit for manufacturers selling qualifying safe firearm storage devices. The credit applies to the first retail sale of each device per year, capped at $400 per device, and excludes sales tax. A qualifying device must be designed to prevent unauthorized access or render firearms inoperable using an integrated combination, key, or biometric lock (excluding devices built into firearms or under recall). The credit is available for taxable years beginning after the bill's enactment through 2032, with annual reporting required by the Treasury.

This bill targets universities with endowments of $2.5 billion or more, imposing penalties based on student loan repayment rates. Institutions with high rates of defaulted, delinquent, or underpaid student loans (measured as the percentage of borrowers missing payments for 31-360 days) must pay penalties equal to 16-30% of outstanding loan balances, with rates phased in through 2030. It also adds a 25% tax on the net investment income of these institutions if their average tuition exceeds an inflation-adjusted base amount. The penalties and tax apply only to large endowment institutions that fail to meet specific repayment thresholds or raise tuition beyond inflation.

HR 1141 establishes federal funding to address gambling addiction through grants for states and research. It allocates 37.5% of annual gambling tax revenue (from IRS Section 4401) to states for treatment programs, using the same formula as existing substance abuse grants, and directs 12.5% to fund gambling addiction research via the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The bill requires states to apply for grants, with unclaimed funds redistributed proportionally, and mandates a 3-year report on program effectiveness to Congress. This directly affects states receiving funds and individuals seeking gambling addiction treatment or research services. The law authorizes funding for fiscal years 2025-2034.

This bill creates a tax credit for new vehicles with better fuel economy than the median for their model year, with a maximum credit of $5,000. It also imposes a fee on manufacturers of vehicles with fuel economy below the median for their model year. The credit amount is calculated based on how much a vehicle's fuel economy exceeds the median for its model year, using combined fuel-economy ratings expressed in miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent. Vehicle manufacturers must report fuel economy data annually, and the credit can be transferred to dealers who disclose the amount to customers. The bill applies to new passenger cars and light trucks starting with model year 2027.

HR 1940, the Tanning Tax Repeal Act of 2025, removes a federal excise tax on indoor tanning services. It directly affects tanning salons and businesses providing these services by eliminating the tax they previously paid. The bill repeals Chapter 49 of the Internal Revenue Code, which imposed the tax, and the change takes effect for services provided after the bill becomes law. This is a straightforward tax repeal with no new requirements or funding mechanisms.

HR 2014 modifies the tax code to change how certain stock purchases from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are counted toward a business's tax obligations. It treats stock bought from an ESOP (where employees participate) by the business itself as "outstanding voting stock" for tax calculations, but only if this doesn't push holdings above 49%. This specifically applies to stock purchased on or after January 1, 2020, from ESOP distributions, and excludes purchases during the first 10 years of an ESOP's existence. The bill directly affects businesses using ESOPs that repurchase employee-owned shares, altering how these transactions impact their tax liability under Section 4943.

This bill treats Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad as combat zones for purposes of determining eligibility for certain federal tax benefits available to members of the U.S. Armed Forces. (Conditions apply.) Specifically, under the bill, a qualified hazardous duty area is treated as a combat zone for purposes of determining the filing status of an individual whose spouse is missing in action; excluding compensation received by a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone from gross income and wages subject to withholding; forgiving the income tax liability of a member of the Armed Forces who dies in a combat zone; certain estate tax rules applicable to a member of the Armed Forces who dies in a combat zone or as a result of an injury, wound, or disease suffered while in a combat zone; the exemption from the federal excise tax imposed on certain telephone services for telephone calls originating from a combat zone by a member of the Armed Forces; and postponing certain federal tax deadlines (e.g., filing a tax return, paying taxes, and claiming a tax refund) for a member of the Armed Forces serving in a combat zone. The bill defines a qualified hazardous duty area as Kenya, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad if any member of the U.S. Armed Forces is entitled to special pay (e.g., hostile fire pay and imminent danger pay) for services performed in such locations.

HR 1494, the Sporting Goods Excise Tax Modernization Act, requires online marketplaces (like Amazon or eBay) to collect the federal excise tax on sporting goods sold through their platforms, rather than leaving this responsibility to individual sellers. It specifically targets platforms that host third-party seller listings and facilitate transactions for goods imported from outside the U.S. The bill treats these marketplaces as the "importer" for tax purposes, making them liable for the tax on qualifying sporting goods sales. This change applies to sales after a 60-day grace period following the bill's enactment, with no impact on taxes already owed by other parties.

HR 2925, the Maritime Fuel Tax Parity Act, extends an existing tax exemption for alternative motorboat fuels to small vessels operating exclusively between ports on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts of the United States. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include these single-coast vessels under the current exemption, ensuring they pay the same excise tax rate as other qualifying vessels. This change applies to fuel sales after December 31, 2023, directly affecting small maritime businesses that operate only along one coastal region. The key provision modifies Section 4041(g) to clarify that the tax exemption covers these specific vessels, promoting tax parity without creating new taxes or altering broader fuel regulations.

This bill provides tax relief for mobile mammography services by refunding federal excise taxes on fuel used in qualifying vehicles and exempting that fuel from retail taxation. Specifically, it requires the IRS to refund excise taxes paid on fuel used in highway vehicles exclusively designed for mobile mammography services, and it exempts such fuel from the retail excise tax under Section 4041. These changes directly benefit mobile mammography providers by reducing their operational costs for vehicle fuel. The provisions take effect upon the bill's enactment.