President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican party clarified one aspect of the uncertainty surrounding taxes with a resounding victory in the election.

That means that the many expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — which Trump signed into law in his first term — are much more likely to remain in force after their potential sunset date at the end of next year. Financial advisors and tax professionals can act without worrying that the rules will shift underneath them to favor much higher income duties.  

However, the result also presents Trump and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana with a series of thorny tax policy questions that have tricky, time-sensitive implications, according to Anna Taylor, the deputy leader, and Jonathan Traub, the leader, of Deloitte Tax’s Tax Policy Group. Once again, industry professionals and their clients will be learning the minutiae of House and Senate procedures. Taylor and Traub spoke on a panel last week, following Trump’s victory and their release of a report detailing the many tax policy questions facing the incoming administration.

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Considering the fact that the objections of former Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee “slowed down that process for a number of weeks in 2017” before Republicans “landed” on a deficit increase of $1.5 trillion in the legislation, Taylor pointed out how the looming debate on the precise numbers and Senate budget reconciliation rules will affect the writing of any extensions bill.

“They’re going to have to pick their budget number on the front end,” Taylor said. “They’re going to have to pick that number and put it in the budget resolution, and then they’ll kind of back into their policy so that their policies will fit within their budget constraints. And once you get into that process, you can do a lot in the tax base, but there are still limits. I mean, you can’t do anything that affects the Social Security program. So they won’t be able to do the president’s proposal on getting rid of taxes on Social Security benefits.”

Individual House GOP members will exercise their strength in the negotiations as well, and the current limit on the deduction for state and local taxes represents a key bellwether on how the talks are proceeding, Traub noted. 

The president-elect and his Congressional allies will have to find the balance amid the “real tension” between members from New York and California and those from low-tax states such as Florida or Texas who will view any increases to the limit as “too much of a giveaway for the wealthy New Yorkers and Californians,” he said.   

“You will need almost perfect unity — more so in the House than the Senate,” Traub said. “This really gives a lot of power, I think, to any small group of House members who decide that they will lie down on the train tracks to block a bill they don’t like or to enforce the inclusion of a provision that they really want. I think the place we’ll watch the most closely at the get-go is over the SALT cap.”

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Estimates of a price tag for extending the expiring provisions begin at $4.6 trillion — without even taking into account the cost of President-elect Trump’s campaign proposals to prohibit taxes on tips and overtime pay and deductions and credits for caregiving and buying American-made cars, Taylor pointed out. In addition, the current debt limit will run out on Jan. 1. 

The Treasury Department could “use their extraordinary measures to get them through a few more months before they actually have to deal with the limit,” she said. 

“But they’re going to have to make a decision,” Taylor continued. “Are they going to try to do the debt limit first, maybe roll it into some sort of appropriations deal early in the year? Or are they going to try to do the debt limit with taxes, and then that’s going to really force them to move really quickly on taxes? So, I don’t know. I don’t know that they have an answer to that yet. I’ll be really interested to see what they say in terms of how they’re going to move that limit, because they’re going to have to do that at some point — rather soon, too.”

Looking further into the future at the end of next year with the deadline on the expiring provisions, Republicans’ trifecta control of the White House and both houses of Congress makes them much more likely to exercise that mandate through a big tax bill rather than a temporary patch to give them a few more months to resolve differences, Traub said.

READ MORE: 26 tips on expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions to review before 2026 

Both parties have used reconciliation in the wake of the last two presidential elections. A continuing resolution-style patch on a temporary basis would have been more likely with divided government, he said.

“Had that been what the voters called for last Tuesday, I think that the odds of a short-term extension into 2025 would have been a lot higher,” Traub said. “I don’t think that anybody in the GOP majority right now is thinking about a short-term extension. They are thinking about, ‘We have an unusual ability now to use reconciliation to affect major policy changes.'”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Donald Trump’s plan to end income tax on tips would have to be paid for, injecting a note of caution into one of the president-elect’s key campaign pledges.

“This is one of the promises that he wants to deliver on,” Johnson said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “We’re going to try to make that happen in the Congress. You’ve got to do the math.”

Johnson paired his comment with pledges to swiftly advance Trump’s economic agenda once the newly elected Congress is in place with Republican majorities in the House and Senate. The former president rolled out a series of tax-cut proposals during his successful bid to return to the White House, including rescinding taxes on overtime, Social Security checks and tips.

Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg

“You have got to make sure that these new savings for the American people can be paid for and make sure the economy is a pro-growth economy,” said Johnson, who was among allies accompanying Trump to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Congress faces a tax marathon next year as many of the provisions from the Republicans’ 2017 tax bill expire at the end of 2025. Trump’s declared goal is to extend all of the personal income tax cuts and further reduce the corporate tax rate.

A more immediate challenge may be ahead as Trump seeks to install loyalists as cabinet members for his second term starting in January, including former Representative Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. 

Gaetz was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, which he has denied. RFK Jr. is a vaccine skeptic and has endorsed misleading messages about vaccine safety.

Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s son who has been a key player in the cabinet picks, said he expects many of the choices will face pushback.    

“Some of them are going to be controversial,” Trump Jr. said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “They’re controversial because they’ll actually get things done.”

‘Because of my father’

Trump Jr. suggested the transition team has options if any candidate fails to pass Senate muster.

“We’re showing him lists of 10 or 12 people for every position,” he said. “So we do have backup plans, but I think we’re obviously going with the strongest candidates first.”

Trump Jr. said incoming Senate Majority leader John Thune owes his post to the president-elect.

“I think we have control of the Senate because of my father,” he said. “John Thune’s able to be the majority leader because of my father, because he got a bunch of other people over the line.”

The American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy expanded access to its pilot program helping accounting students complete the 150-credit requirement for CPA licensure.

The Experience, Learn & Earn program, which has thus far focused on participants recruited directly by firms, companies, not-for-profits and government entities, now allows accounting graduates who are unaffiliated with a participating firm or employer to sign up, as long as they are employed full time.

“While we designed the program for accounting graduates and entry-level professionals, it’s gratifying to see participants from a diverse range of states, age groups, gender and ethnicities,” Mike Decker, vice president of CPA examination and pipeline at the AICPA, said in a statement. “That’s a testament to the enduring value of the CPA credential, from the newest graduates to mid-career professionals.”

The program currently has 105 students enrolled. Registration for the spring 2025 semester is currently open until Jan. 1, 2025. Participants can earn up to 30 college credits through online courses through Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement at discounted rates. 

“In a time where we are all working on ways to provide flexibility and increase accessibility to candidates in all stages of their journey to becoming a CPA, it is encouraging to see the continued interest and support of the ELE program from both candidates and employers,” NASBA executive vice president Wendy Garvin said in a statement. “An expanded offering to individuals not associated with a participating employer is an exciting evolution of the program.”

To learn more about the ELE program, visit experiencelearnearn.org, which includes information for students, firms and other organizations that want to sponsor candidates. Send questions or comments to [email protected].