Indiana
Gas Tax Holiday Extended Again — Now Through November 4
The pump-price jump expected in early October has moved to November 5 at the earliest. Distributors should update their filing dates.
Governor Braun announced on September 30 that Indiana’s suspension of the Gasoline Use Tax and Gasoline Excise Tax will keep going, this time through November 4, 2026. That makes it the latest in a string of roughly 30-day extensions, which the governor can keep issuing under the energy emergency that took effect August 7. Alongside the extension, he signed an order letting farmers and timber harvesters run off-road diesel in their trucks this year without the fuel being taxed.
DOR’s instructions for distributors carry forward unchanged with the new end date. Gas use tax gallons sold through November 4 go on the GT-103 as exempt, and no gasoline excise tax is accrued on gallons received through November 4. If tax was collected from a retailer during the suspension anyway, DOR says that gets settled directly with the retailer rather than through a refund claim.
Source: Indiana DOR — Gasoline Use Tax
Farm & Ag
Selling Farmland to a Farmer? The Tax Can Be Paid Over Four Years
If a family farm sale is on the table, the buyer and the deed restriction now matter for when the tax is due, so plan the structure before closing.
On September 28 Treasury and the IRS proposed regulations under new Section 1062, a 2025 law provision that lets a seller pay the federal income tax on a qualifying farmland sale in four equal annual installments rather than all at once. The first 25% is due with the return for the year of the sale (determined without extensions), and the rest follows on the next three years’ due dates. It applies to sales in tax years beginning after July 4, 2025, so 2026 calendar-year sales are eligible.
The conditions are strict. The land must have been farmed by the seller, or leased to a qualified farmer, for substantially all of the prior 10 years. The buyer has to be an individual actively engaged in farming, and the land must carry an enforceable restriction keeping it in farm use for 10 years after the sale. Partnerships, S corporations, trusts, and estates can use it, with owners generally electing for their own share of the gain. Comments are due November 30, 2026.
Source: IRS Newsroom (IR-2026-115)
Families
Trump Accounts Go Automatic for Tens of Millions of Kids
Your child may already have a Trump account even if you never signed up for one.
In a reversal from the March proposal, Treasury and the IRS issued temporary and proposed regulations on September 29 that open Trump accounts automatically. On or about October 1, 2026, the IRS was to set up an “auto account” for each eligible child with a Social Security number who didn’t already have one. The money is held in a master group trust: each child has a separate account, but assets are pooled and invested together so the trustee can trade without handling individual tax data.
Treasury estimates the change could add more than 60 million accounts in 2026 and reach about 73 million children in 44 million families. The practical upshot is that families who never filed the election can still end up with an account, along with the $1,000 federal pilot contribution for eligible children. Parents who want to choose where the account sits or add money should still take a look rather than assume it’s all handled.
Source: Journal of Accountancy
Washington
Senate Unanimously Passes a 65-Provision IRS Reform Bill
This is a promising service package, but it still needs a House vote, so don’t plan around it yet.
On September 30 the Senate unanimously passed the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, a bipartisan package of 65 provisions aimed at modernizing the IRS and strengthening taxpayer rights. The provisions include broader electronic access to taxpayer information, digitized correspondence and returns, better online accounts, more callback technology to cut phone waits, and more transparency about processing backlogs. Sen. Wyden also pointed to provisions aimed at predatory preparers who target low-income families.
The AICPA, which backed the bill, called it a significant achievement, and the National Taxpayer Advocate supports it as well. It isn’t law yet. The bill goes to the House, which is in recess and not expected back until November, so nothing changes for the coming filing season until the House acts.
Source: Journal of Accountancy
Looking Ahead
The K–12 Scholarship Credit Indiana Opted Into Gets Its Rules
Indiana is in, and the credit starts with 2027 gifts. And October 15 is still the deadline for extended 2025 returns here in Tippecanoe County.
On October 1 Treasury and the IRS proposed regulations for the new Section 25F federal scholarship credit, called the Education Freedom Tax Credit. Starting January 1, 2027, a donation to a qualifying scholarship-granting organization can earn a federal credit of up to $1,700 per person, or $3,400 for a married couple filing jointly. The credit only works in states that opt in. Governor Braun opted Indiana in back in January, so Hoosiers will be eligible.
The proposed rules cover which organizations qualify. A scholarship-granting organization has to be a 501(c)(3) public charity, keep the contributions separate, and appear on its state’s approved list, and multistate organizations get a safe harbor. The credit is nonrefundable, and unused amounts carry forward for up to five years. Because it starts in 2027, gifts made this year won’t qualify, so donors thinking about it should plan for next year.
Source: IRS Newsroom (IR-2026-117)