Vermont · 2027 and beyond
Vermont in 2027 and beyond: what is already law, and what is still open
No tax question on the ballot. Vermont conformed to the 2025 federal code; a larger research credit starts in 2027. 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 Vermont Department of Taxes sources and the unofficial November 3 election returns, November 12, 2026 · not yet reviewed by a Vermont practitioner
No tax question on the ballot. Vermont conformed to the 2025 federal code; a larger research credit starts in 2027. 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 Vermont. Nothing voted on that day changes a Vermont return.
This return, next year, and later
| When | What applies |
|---|---|
| The 2026 return, filed in early 2027 | Act 164 moved Vermont’s link to the federal code to December 31, 2025, retroactive to 2025. |
| Gain on small business stock that the federal return excludes is taxed in Vermont. | |
| The estate tax filing threshold is $5,000,000. | |
| Starting with tax year 2027 | The research and development credit rises from 27% to 75% of the federal credit. |
| The renter credit is larger for claims filed in 2027, for one year. | |
| 2028 and later, or conditional | The mobile home sales tax base drops in 2028. |
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 Vermont articles.
The 2025 federal law and the Vermont return
Vermont starts from federal AGI. The Department says that for most taxpayers the conformity changes “will not impact your filing”; what changed is narrower, a few business depreciation and research items Vermont decoupled from.
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 Vermont return. The federal side is in The new deductions for tips, overtime and seniors.
What to watch
The Property Tax Credit ceiling for 2027 claims, to come. When something on this page changes, the change is logged on the updates page with its date.
What to bring
- Your 2026 federal and Vermont 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 Vermont 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.
Vermont, after the election
No tax question on the ballot. Vermont conformed to the 2025 federal code; a larger research credit starts in 2027.
Written by Charles Trautman, EA, editor · Need to Know Tax, Lone Tree, Colorado
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Sources and where to check
- Vermont Department of Taxes: Federal conformity, Act 164 and the 2025 federal law
- Department of Taxes: Supplemental instructions for tax year 2025 filers (June 22, 2026)
- Department of Taxes: Estate Tax (filing threshold change effective June 18, 2026)
- Department of Taxes: Tax Rate Schedules and Tables (final 2026 schedules will post here)
- Department of Taxes: Free Tax Preparation Assistance