As discussions on tax fairness for Americans abroad continue, an elective residence-based taxation bill (H.R. 10468) was introduced in December 2024 by Congressman Darin LaHood (R-IL), right before the end of the last congressional session.
More than 4,300 overseas Americans answered our call to complete a survey regarding the proposed bill and contact their congresspeople. The results overwhelmingly supported the bill, and you can discover many of the details in our blog post here.
Next Steps: A Brief Introduction to Scoring and Beyond
Like most bills with a potential impact on federal revenue, the Residence-Based Taxation for Americans Abroad Act must go through a process called scoring before it can move forward. Scoring is conducted by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT)—a nonpartisan committee in Congress responsible for estimating how a bill would affect government revenues (how much it would cost or save over time).
The purpose of scoring is to provide lawmakers with an estimate of the bill’s fiscal impact. This information helps Congress decide whether the legislation is financially viable and how it fits within broader budget priorities.
Because the JCT handles many requests, scoring can take several weeks or even months, depending on the complexity of the bill and the committee’s workload. We anticipate that the RBT bill will be in the queue for review in the coming weeks.
A Democratic co-lead sponsor, alongside Congressman LaHood, would significantly improve the chances of the bill being reintroduced with bipartisan support. The DA Taxation Task Force is planning a visit to Capitol Hill in June to meet with lawmakers and encourage bipartisan support and sponsorship for this bill, including securing a Democratic co-lead at its reintroduction.
Once we have bipartisan sponsorship in place, we’ll be calling on you—our grassroots advocates—to contact your representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the bill. The more co-sponsors we have, the more momentum the bill will gain in Congress.
This process will take time, but progress is underway. Please stay tuned and be ready to take action when the time comes!
What can you do to help pass the RBT bill now?
Tell your Members of Congress that the bill will be reintroduced soon, and ask they co-sponsor at reintroduction. Instructions here