Congress rewrites tax brackets, introduces 39.6% top rate for highest earners
H.R. 4280 — Bipartisan Tax Fairness Act of 2025 · Filed by Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 2, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill rewrites federal income tax brackets for all filing categories (married joint, head of household, single, married separate, and estates/trusts) and introduces a new top marginal rate of 39.6% on income over $2 million for married couples filing jointly. It makes these rates permanent and ties future bracket adjustments to inflation using 2017 as the base year instead of 2016. The bill benefits higher earners by establishing a new top bracket while restructuring lower and middle brackets; it affects all taxpayers by changing the tax tables they use.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to replace the existing federal income tax bracket structure with new thresholds and rates across all filing categories. While it introduces a new top rate of 39.6%, the operative mechanism is a comprehensive rewrite of tax tables, not a simple rate increase.
What the text implies
- The shift from 2016 to 2017 as the base year for inflation adjustments may affect the pace at which brackets expand in future years, potentially altering the real tax burden over time.
- The bill eliminates prior subsections (a) and (f) of IRC §1 without restating their content; the full effect depends on what those subsections contained in current law.
- Conforming amendment to IRC §3402 changes withholding calculations from 'third lowest' to 'fourth lowest' bracket, which may alter paycheck withholding amounts for employees.
- The effective date (taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025) means the new brackets apply to 2026 tax returns and beyond, creating a gap between enactment and implementation.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a new top marginal rate (39.6%) that increases taxes on the highest earners, a potential public benefit; however, it simultaneously restructures all other brackets in ways that may reduce taxes for middle and upper-middle earners depending on the specific income level and filing status. The net distributional effect on ordinary citizens cannot be determined from the text alone without detailed comparison of current law to the new brackets.
Named in the bill
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, IRC Section 1, IRC Section 3402, Married individuals filing joint returns, Heads of households, Unmarried individuals, Married individuals filing separate returns, Estates and trusts
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jul 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $30,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Brian Fitzpatrick, the sponsor, reported $2,362,211 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Real Estate Roundtable — $30,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 19, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,272 characters) on Jul 6, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 19, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress rewrites tax brackets, introduces 39.6% top rate for highest earners” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr4280 Report an error
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