A Republican bill with 2 Democratic cosponsors · See all 10 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Save America's Family Forests Act of 2026 aims to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 regarding reforestation costs. It increases the base amounts for certain reforestation expenditures and introduces an inflation adjustment mechanism for those amounts. Additionally, the bill creates a new section for treating reforestation expenditures specifically related to qualified natural disasters. This includes allowing deductions for reforestation of uncut timber damaged by disasters determined by the President. These changes are intended to apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.
Yes· 3 of 9
- Scored +6
Would business owners be better off under this?
The bill offers increased tax expensing and substantial disaster-related deductions for those owning timber property.
- Scored +6
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?
By incentivizing reforestation, the bill supports the regrowth and preservation of forest ecosystems.
- Scored +5
Would farmers be better off under this?
The bill provides economic relief and incentives for land owners involved in timber and forestry.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Expensing Limits: The bill increases the base amounts for certain reforestation expenditures, raising the limit in one clause from $10,000 to $30,000 and in another from $5,000 to $15,000 (Section 2(a)).
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Inflation Protection: A new provision allows for dollar amounts to be increased based on cost-of-living adjustments, ensuring that the limits keep up with inflation for taxable years beginning after 2026 (Section 2(b) and Section 3(a)(4)).
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Disaster Recovery Support: Taxpayers can claim a deduction for reforestation expenditures related to uncut timber damaged by a qualified natural disaster, such as those determined by the President (Section 3(a)(1)).
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High Deduction Caps for Disasters: For qualified timber property affected by a disaster, a taxpayer may be allowed a deduction of up to $500,000 per property, or an aggregate of $1,000,000 for all such properties (Section 3(a)(1)(A)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Recapture of Deductions: If a taxpayer disposes of qualified timber property within 10 years of claiming a disaster-related deduction, they may have to pay back the deduction as ordinary income (Section 3(c)(1)).
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Deduction Limits for Married Filers: Married taxpayers filing separately are subject to lower deduction limits for disaster-related reforestation, capped at $250,000 per property and $500,000 in the aggregate (Section 3(a)(1)).
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Group Allocation Constraints: For controlled groups of corporations or businesses, the limitations on disaster-related deductions must be allocated among the members of the group (Section 3(a)(5)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — The bill offers increased tax expensing and substantial disaster-related deductions for those owning timber property. Would farmers be better off under this? — The bill provides economic relief and incentives for land owners involved in timber and forestry. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The bill supports the forestry and timber industries which are foundational to rural economies.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — By incentivizing reforestation, the bill supports the regrowth and preservation of forest ecosystems. Does this improve help for people hit by a disaster? — The bill provides a specific tax deduction mechanism for reforestation following Presidentially-declared natural disasters. Does this invest in rural communities? — The bill supports the timber industry, which is a vital economic component of many rural areas.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill provides significant tax relief for reforestation costs, which benefits small timber owners and businesses. Does this cut taxes for small businesses? — The bill increases expensing limits for reforestation and provides substantial disaster-related deductions for timber property. Is this likely to grow the economy? — Increasing reforestation deductions encourages investment in timber lands and forest management.
- 8/31/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 8/17/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/22/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/29/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 4/28/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- 6 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
2 bills Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Brian BabinRepublican · Texas
Aaron BeanRepublican · Florida
Gregory MurphyRepublican · North Carolina
Nathaniel MoranRepublican · Texas
John RoseRepublican · Tennessee
Pete SessionsRepublican · Texas
Terri SewellDemocrat · Alabama
W. SteubeRepublican · Florida
Mike ThompsonDemocrat · California
Glenn ThompsonRepublican · Pennsylvania