The Department of Taxes has published its annual legislative highlights, summarizing the legislative initiatives that the Department followed closely and which became law this session.
Select the tax type or topic to see more information and available resources pertaining to these important changes.
Referred to as the “Miscellaneous Tax Bill,” this Act amends multiple sections of statute which pertain, mostly, to taxation.
Among other things (see Corporate Taxes, below), Act 148 enables Vermont to adopt federal tax laws, basing the Vermont tax code on Federal law.
Act 148 represents a significant shift in Vermont’s taxation of corporations. It comprises four elements that change the way multi-state companies apportion income to Vermont and restructures the corporate minimum tax.
Sec. 12 of Act 138 changes the annual renewal fee paid by investment companies doing business in Vermont.
Act 177 defines and creates rules regarding taxation of both ready-to-drink spirit beverages (RTDs) and hard ciders.
This Act clarifies the current practice to allow municipalities to retain 0.225 of one percent of the property tax collected when making timely education property tax payments to the Education Fund or to school districts. It also looks to create a new State Appraisal and Litigation Assistance program within the Department of Taxes, Division of Property Valuation and Review (PVR). The latter is intended to aid in valuation of complex or unusual properties.
Sec. 2 of this Act approves a charter change for Barre City, adding a 1% Local Option Tax for sales to the existing Local Option Taxes for rooms, meals, and alcoholic beverages.
Amends the town charter to include a 1% Local Option Tax on sales, meals, rooms, and alcohol sales.
Act M-10 creates the City of Essex Junction and approves the adoption of the City Charter.
Act 138 provides tax and other financial relief to Vermont families with young children or dependents or both via a refundable Vermont Child Tax Credit and an increase to the Vermont percentage of the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, as well as support to lower income Vermonters with earned income via an increase to the Vermont percentage of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Other provisions of this bill create a deduction for interest paid on student loans, provide income exclusions for Social Security beneficiaries as well as military and civil service retirees, and allocates money to support childcare worker retention and the Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled program.
Referred to as the “Yield Bill,” this Act sets the property dollar and income dollar equivalent yields for the purpose of setting the homestead property tax rates and the nonhomestead property tax rate. It also sets aside funds intended to make Vermont schools environmentally safer for students via removal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Act 90 exempts all property owned by Vermont-recognized Native American tribes or owned by a nonprofit organization that is organized for the benefit of and controlled by the tribes from the statewide education property tax and the municipal property tax. To be eligible for the exemption, the property must be used for purposes of the tribe and may not be leased or rented for profit.
Households in Vermont may volunteer to host families or individuals who are refugees, asylum seekers, or asylees on a temporary basis, and from whom they often receive little or no remuneration. This bill amends the definition of household for the purposes of the homestead Property Tax Credit, for which a taxpayer is required to complete the Household Income Form HI-144, excluding the income of such individuals from the calculation of income that the household is required to report.
Act 127 makes changes to Vermont’s education financing system by adjusting and/or adding differing pupil weights for grade levels, students from economically-deprived backgrounds, English learners, low population density districts, and small schools. It also establishes categorical aid of $25,000 each for school districts with one to five English Learning (EL) students enrolled, and categorical aid of $50,000 for school districts with six to 25 EL students enrolled. Changes to these weights are made effective for FY 2025. Because these updated weights will impact schools’ tax rates differently, there is a transition provision that limits a district’s tax rate annual increase to five percent over a maximum of five years.
Referred to as the “Miscellaneous Tax Bill,” Act 179 amends multiple sections of statute which pertain to taxation, including manufacturing inputs.
Among other things, this Act pertains to taxation of land and products used in the cultivation of cannabis.
This Act requires several reports:
Act 163 requires two actions by the Department of Taxes:
Sec. 6 of Act 148 requires that the Department of Taxes:
Sec. 18:
Sec. 19:
This Act creates an income-based education tax study committee, which requires the assistance of the Department of Taxes, though the Department is not officially a member of the committee.
This Act authorizes enrollment of reserve forestland in the Use Value Appraisal Program (UVA) as a new category of managed forestland where active growing and harvesting of forest crops would not be required. The purpose of adding the Reserve Forestland subcategory is to encourage attainment of old growth forest conditions for the purposes of biodiversity and to mitigate the impact of climate change by making additional parcels and acreage eligible for UVA.
