Updates

In the book. The 2026 bracket tables, the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint and $24,150 head of household) and the 0, 15 and 20 percent capital gain lines^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}, plus the 2026 trust brackets that tax an IRA’s business income^8,9,10.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in one revenue procedure each fall; the 2026 figures came out October 9, 2025¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. For 2026, the excess business loss threshold is $256,000 single and $512,000 joint¹². The AMT exemption is $90,100 single and $140,200 joint¹³. It starts phasing out at $500,000 single and $1,000,000 joint and is gone at $680,200 and $1,280,400¹³. The 28 percent AMT rate starts at $244,500 for most filers¹⁴. The $500,000 and $1,000,000 lines, held flat for 2026, adjust for inflation from 2027, and the 50-cent phase-out rate stays¹⁵.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in the same revenue procedure¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. The 2026 limit is $2,560,000, and it shrinks dollar for dollar once more than $4,090,000 of property is placed in service in the year¹⁶.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in the same revenue procedure¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. For 2026: $19,000 a recipient¹⁷, $194,000 for a spouse who isn’t a U.S. citizen¹⁸, $1,460,000 for special-use valuation of farm or ranch land¹⁹ and $15,000,000 for the estate and gift exclusion, with the same amount for the generation-skipping exemption²⁰. The $15,000,000 adjusts for inflation for the first time for 2027, and the generation-skipping exemption moves with it²¹.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in the same revenue procedure¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. Anyone with at least $1,000 of active qualified business income gets a deduction of at least $400²². Both amounts adjust for inflation for tax years beginning after 2026²³.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, with its other inflation-adjusted figures¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. For qualified small business stock acquired after July 4, 2025, the exclusion caps excluded gain at $15 million per company, and the company’s gross assets can’t top $75 million when the stock is issued^24,25. Both limits adjust for inflation from 2027²⁶.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, with its other inflation-adjusted figures¹¹.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026¹¹.

In the book. $85 a metric ton with the prevailing-wage and apprenticeship rules met and $17 without, for facilities placed in service after July 4, 2025²⁷. Both amounts adjust for inflation for tax years beginning in 2027²⁸.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in a separate notice.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026.

In the book. $184,500 for 2026, up from $176,100 in 2025²⁹.

Who publishes 2027. The Social Security Administration, which announces the base with each year’s cost-of-living adjustment; the 2026 base was announced October 24, 2025³⁰.

Status. Not announced as of October 6, 2026.

In the book. For 2026, the stripper-well (marginal production) depletion rate sits at its 15 percent floor³¹, the marginal well credit is $0.81 per thousand cubic feet of gas and zero for oil^32,33 and the enhanced oil recovery credit is 8.73 percent of qualified costs³⁴.

Who publishes 2027. The IRS, in separate notices built on 2026 reference prices; its 2026-2027 guidance plan schedules them for 2027³⁵. The 2026 notices came out between June and August 2026^31,32,34.

Status. Not out as of October 6, 2026; they wait on 2026 prices³⁵.

In the book. The Key Numbers use California’s 2026 schedule, where the 12.3 percent rate starts over $768,213 single and $1,536,426 joint³⁶. Chapter 6 works one example on the 2025 schedule and says so³⁷.

Who publishes 2027. The Franchise Tax Board, which published the 2026 schedule in October 2026³⁶.

Status. No 2027 schedule as of October 6, 2026.

The no-tax-due line stays $2,650,000 of revenue for the 2027 report, the same as for 2026; the Comptroller resets it every two years³⁸. The rates stay 0.75 percent for most entities and 0.375 percent for retailers and wholesalers for 2026 and 2027 reports³⁹.

For 2027 the cap is $40,804. It shrinks by 30 percent of modified adjusted gross income over $510,050 but never below $10,000, and it drops back to $10,000 for tax years after 2029⁴⁰.

Several EPA requirements for new and modified wells and equipment, and its Super Emitter Program, take effect January 22, 2027; state plans for existing wells are due the same day⁴¹.

From January 1, 2027, the recycled-water completion exemption opens to any well that otherwise qualifies, and the property-tax exemption that comes with the production tax spells out flowlines, gathering lines and disposal systems^42,43.

The 2024 to 2026 suspension for taxpayers with $1 million or more of business income or modified adjusted gross income ends after 2026, so 2027 returns can use the carryovers again⁴⁴.

Existing bonds on federal onshore leases must meet the $150,000 lease and $500,000 statewide minimums by June 22, 2027⁴⁵. A June 2026 proposal would undo this; it’s listed under rules and bills below⁴⁶.

The 3.8 percent tax on net investment income and the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax start at $250,000 joint, $125,000 married filing separately and $200,000 for everyone else, amounts fixed in the statute with no inflation adjustment^47,48,49,50. The 15 percent depletion rate and the 1,000-barrel daily cap are set in the statute too^51,52. These stay the same for 2027 unless Congress changes them.

H.R. 383 and the End Polluter Welfare Act (S. 2444 in the Senate, H.R. 4714 in the House) would end IDC expensing, percentage depletion, the working-interest exception and the marginal well and enhanced recovery credits; the End Polluter Welfare Act would spread IDC over 84 months instead^53,54. S. 4222 would repeal the enhanced recovery credit⁵⁵.

Status, as of October 6, 2026. All were referred to committee, with no further action^53,54,55.

If one became law. Chapters 4, 5, 7, 18 and 19 and the Key Numbers would change.

H.R. 8034 and S. 4604 would raise the price trigger for the higher stripper-well depletion rate from $20 to $70 a barrel and the daily depletion cap from 1,000 to 2,000 barrels, for tax years beginning after 2026⁵⁶.

Status, as of October 6, 2026. Both were referred to committee⁵⁶.

If it became law. The depletion lines in Chapters 4 and 18 and the Key Numbers would change.

As of October 6, 2026, the test is net worth over $1,000,000, not counting your home, or income over $200,000 ($300,000 joint) in each of the last two years with the same expected this year^57,58. On September 30, 2026, the SEC asked for comment on new ways to qualify, including an exam and credentials such as a CPA license, the CFA charter or the CFP certification; comments are due December 4, 2026⁵⁹. The House passed the INVEST Act, which would write the dollar tests into law, on December 11, 2025. It went to the Senate Banking Committee four days later⁶⁰.

Status, as of October 6, 2026. Neither is final^59,60.

If either changes the rules. Chapters 13, 14 and 16, where the book describes who can buy a private deal, would change.

On June 24, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management proposed cutting the minimums back to $10,000 a lease bond and $25,000 statewide and dropping the phase-in⁴⁶.

Status. No final rule as of October 6, 2026⁴⁶.

If it’s finalized. The federal bond lines in Chapters 17 and 20 and the June 22, 2027, deadline in the Key Numbers would change.

In 2026 two federal appeals courts tied the limited-partner exclusion from self-employment tax to whether the partner runs or manages the business. The Fifth Circuit did it on August 12, 2026, in K Alain, replacing its January 2026 opinion, which it withdrew⁶¹. The Second Circuit applied a similar test on September 17, 2026, in Soroban⁶². Neither decided whether LLC members qualify^61,62.

Status, as of October 6, 2026. The statute and regulations hadn’t changed, and the Treasury and IRS guidance plan had no project defining “limited partner”⁶³.

If a court or Treasury settles it. Chapter 6’s LLC passage, its sorting-table row and item 2 of What’s still unsettled would change. The full story, with sources, is on this site’s cases page.

As of October 2026, the United States had no federal universal basic income⁶⁴. H.R. 5830 would run a three-year guaranteed-income pilot that pays 10,000 people⁶⁴.

Status, as of October 2026. Introduced October 24, 2025, and sent to the House Ways and Means Committee⁶⁴.

If it became law. The status line in Chapter 37 would change.

The American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act would tax AI companies with more than $200 million a year of gross receipts from AI, paid in their own stock, to build a national AI wealth fund⁶⁵. Its findings point to the oil-funded public funds of Alaska and Texas⁶⁶.

Status. Introduced in the Senate on June 18, 2026⁶⁵.

If it became law. The status line in Chapter 37 would change.

None as of October 6, 2026.