Congress enters the fall needing to jumpstart negotiations over the extension of the 50-plus popular tax provisions that expired at the end of 2014. Each chamber has made progress on extensions, but movement toward a final compromise remains slow.

Most recently, the House Ways and Means Committee approved five bills on Sept. 17 that would make several expired provisions permanent, including bonus depreciation. The House and Senate may not be done with legislative maneuvering, but all that's really left is for leaders to agree on a compromise package. The most likely scenario remains a two-year retroactive extension of nearly all the provisions very late in the year, with a one-year retroactive extension as an absolute fallback. Lawmakers are discussing a bigger package that may make a few provisions permanent, but it is likely a long shot.

The expired provisions are very important to many clients, and these clients may be tracking the legislative process closely. Tax Legislative Update 2015-04A covers the legislative outlook in detail and has a full table describing how House and Senate legislation would address each expired provision. This update has not been distributed externally as a stand-alone alert, so please share directly with interested clients and prospects.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.