This week (December 15-19)

Congress: The House and Senate are in session. The House may consider health legislation. The Senate is expected to vote on the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Last week (December 8-12)

Big picture: The Senate on December 11 failed to pass both the Democratic bill (S. 3385) to provide a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits (PTCs) expiring at the end of this month, and a Health Savings Account-based (HSA) Republican alternative (S. 3386) crafted by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The Democratic bill drew the support of four Republicans, but not enough to reach the chamber's 60-vote threshold for passage. With the Senate stalled on the issue, bipartisan negotiations could see an uptick, though with Congress set to depart for the holidays at the end of next week, any potential deal may need to wait until January. The House may vote next week on a GOP health bill with HSA and other provisions, but the ACA credits issue will persist. There are some House and Senate Republicans who insist that the credits be addressed, but if and how that can happen is currently unclear.

Ways and Means markup: The House Ways and Means Committee on December 10 approved tax and trade bills including the "Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act" (H.R. 6495), addressing third-party notice requirements, and the "Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act" (H.R. 6506), addressing collection due process proceedings. The trade bills approved by the Committee — to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA, H.R. 6500) and textile and apparel trade programs with Haiti retroactively from September 30, 2025, to the end of 2028 (H.R. 6504) — could provide momentum for an eventual bipartisan tax/trade/health bill. The outlook for such a package is obscured by the impasse over enhanced ACA credits and the uncertain status of the appropriations process ahead of the January 30 expiration of funding for 9 of 12 annual appropriations bills (three others were approved for the full duration of fiscal year 2026 in legislation to reopen the government on November 12). There are also, of course, tax extenders that members want to address including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), Section 181 100% deduction for film/TV production costs, and the 7-year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complexes that could be included in a bipartisan bill.

Cryptocurrency: Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) — who in July released a discussion draft on cryptocurrency tax issues addressing the same set of issues as Senator Cynthia Lummis' (R-WY) June bill (S. 2207), including a de minimis rule, staking, and wash sales — is aiming to introduce a bill on the issue in the new year with the support of some Democrats, Politico Inside Congress reported December 10. Reps. Miller and Steven Horsford (D-NV) said they wanted to act on the issue during a July Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee hearing. The Bloomberg Daily Tax Report December 10 reported on Rep. Miller saying at the Blockchain Association's policy summit in Washington on Tuesday that he is trying to line up Democratic support for the bill and hopes that it could be enacted by next summer. "We believe we can get this thing through by hopefully next August," he said. The report cited Rep. Horsford as saying he's "fine-tuning" the bill with Miller "and hopes to have something out very soon."

Disaster bill: The Senate passed by unanimous consent on December 11 the "Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act" (H.R. 1491), which requires IRS to treat the postponement of the federal tax return deadline due to a federally declared disaster or other event as an extension of the deadline for calculating the limit on a tax refund. It was passed by the House on April 1, meaning the Senate action sends the bill to the President.

IRS: On December 12, the IRS issued regulations on the Income of Foreign Governments and of International Organizations. The final rules (TD 10042) specifically address when a foreign government is engaged in a "commercial activity" and when an entity is a considered a "controlled commercial entity."

Treasury and IRS December 9 issued Notice 2026-05 providing guidance on new tax benefits for HSA participants under the OBBBA, including provisions on telehealth and remote care services.