Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.
Key claim: Public Law 119-78 nullifies the DC Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025, reinstating District conformity with 2025 federal reconciliation tax provisions including higher standard and senior deductions, tip/overtime/car-loan interest deductions, bonus depreciation, and full R&E expensing.
Abstract
(HJRES142 · 119th Congress) This joint resolution reinstates provisions of District of Columbia (DC) tax law to conform with federal tax law. As background, DC generally automatically adopts changes to federal tax law (known as rolling conformity). Therefore, upon enactment of the 2025 reconciliation act (commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), many of its tax provisions became DC law. DC subsequently enacted its own legislation (the DC Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025) that decoupled DC tax law from these federal provisions. This joint resolution nullifies the DC legislation, thereby generally realigning DC tax law with the tax provisions of the 2025 reconciliation act. Specifically, the joint resolution reinstates for DC provisions that • increase the higher basic standard deduction; • increase deductible charitable cash contributions (for taxpayers who take the standard deduction); • establish a $6,000 tax deduction for taxpayers 65 years and older; • allow a tax deduction of qualified tips, qualified overtime pay, and qualified car loan interest; • authorize an elective 100% depreciation allowance for nonresidential real property; and • authorize businesses to deduct 100% of research and experimental costs retroactive to tax year 2022. The DC legislation also amended several other provisions of DC tax law, including restoring the DC child tax credit. The joint resolution negates these changes. Latest action (2026-02-18): Became Public Law No: 119-78.
Why this matters
Congressional disapproval of a DC tax act is a rare exercise of federal authority over local fiscal policy, and it directly determines which taxpayers in the District pay more or less by reinstating federal conformity to the 2025 reconciliation tax package. DC filers benefit from expanded standard, senior, tip, overtime, and car-loan-interest deductions plus business bonus depreciation and R&E expensing, while lower-income DC families lose the Council’s proposed decoupling measures including a restored DC child tax credit. The action illustrates how federal-DC conformity mechanics translate national tax policy shifts into immediate local revenue and distributional effects.