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Rhode Island · 2027 and beyond
Rhode Island in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open
No tax question on the ballot. The big changes start in 2027: a $330 child credit and a surtax over $1 million. What is on the 2026 return, what starts with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled or conditional after that.
By Charles Trautman, EA, editor
Need to Know Tax · written from Rhode Island Division of Taxation (Department of Revenue) sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026 · not yet reviewed by a Rhode Island practitioner
No tax question on the ballot. The big changes start in 2027: a $330 child credit and a surtax over $1 million. This page keeps apart three things that get mixed together in the news: what is on the 2026 return you file in early 2027, what begins with tax year 2027, and what is scheduled, conditional or still undecided after that. Election figures are the unofficial November 3, 2026 returns and are not final until the state certifies them.
What the voters decided on November 3, 2026
No statewide tax measure was on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Rhode Island. Nothing voted on that day changes a Rhode Island return.
This return, next year, and later
| When | What applies |
|---|---|
| The 2026 return, filed in early 2027 | The 2026 return is last year’s return with indexed numbers. |
| The federal deductions for tips, overtime, seniors and car-loan interest do not reach the RI-1040. | |
| A tax amnesty runs December 3, 2026 through February 15, 2027 for periods ending by December 31, 2025. | |
| Starting with tax year 2027 | A refundable credit of $330 per child begins, phasing out above $88,500 single and $110,640 joint. |
| The Social Security subtraction no longer requires full retirement age; the income limits remain. | |
| A 1% surtax applies to taxable income over $1,000,000. | |
| Rhode Island decouples from the federal business interest rule and the small-business-stock exclusion. | |
| 2028 and later, or conditional | The surtax rises to 2% for 2028 and 3% for 2029 and after, with the threshold indexed. |
Items under 2027 and later do not change the 2026 return. They matter for 2027 withholding, estimated payments and planning. The detail behind each line is in the other Rhode Island articles.
The 2025 federal law and the Rhode Island return
The RI-1040 starts from federal AGI and Rhode Island conforms on a rolling basis, so the federal business provisions would have flowed in automatically. The June 2026 budget decoupled from them on a staggered schedule.
That is the reason a change on the federal return, such as the deductions for tips, overtime and people 65 and older, may or may not show up on the Rhode Island return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.
What to watch
Withholding and estimated payments for 2027 for anyone near the $1 million line. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.
What to bring
- Your 2026 federal and Rhode Island returns, once filed, to set 2027 withholding and estimated payments against them
- Your last pay stub of 2026 and the first of 2027, to see whether withholding changed
- Any notice from the state about a 2027 rate, credit or filing change
Questions people ask
Does anything here change the Rhode Island return I file in early 2027?
Only what is listed under the 2026 return. Everything listed under 2027 or later affects withholding, estimated payments and planning, not the return for 2026.
How will I know if this page changes?
Every change is logged on the updates page with its date and the article it affects. State legislatures meet in early 2027 and some act before the filing deadline.
Rhode Island, after the election
No tax question on the ballot. The big changes start in 2027: a $330 child credit and a surtax over $1 million.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
Questions about this article in Rhode Island are answered by [your practice name] · [your phone] · [your email address]. We’re looking for an EA or CPA in each Rhode Island city to hold that city’s seat and take this spot — is that you?
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These Rhode Island pages were written by the editor from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation (Department of Revenue)’s own publications, and they need a Rhode Island practitioner’s eye. One enrolled agent or CPA in each Rhode Island city holds that city’s seat: reads these pages before the filing season and is credited as a reviewer, is named on every page of their city’s edition, and answers its readers’ questions. $1,000 for the 2026 season, the charter price. Take your city’s seat (a two-minute form and a card), tell us you’re interested, write to editor@needtoknowtax.com, or read how it works.
Sources and where to check
- Division of Taxation, Advisory 2025-22: Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
- Division of Taxation, 2025 Tax Rate Schedule, Standard Deduction and Exemption Worksheets
- Division of Taxation, Summary of 2026 Legislative Changes (July 2026)
- Rhode Island General Assembly, 2026-H 7127 Substitute A, Article 6 as amended (amnesty, child tax credit, Social Security modification, surtax)
- Division of Taxation, Advisory 2026-02: Tax Changes Effective January 1, 2026
- Division of Taxation, Advisory 2025-20: H.R. 1 Rhode Island Decoupling Guidance
- Sales Tax Institute: Rhode Island launches tax amnesty program