We have received text from H.R. 8538: Save America’s Family Forests Act of 2026. This bill was received on 2026-04-28, and currently has 7 cosponsors.
Here is a short summary of the bill:
This bill, titled the Save America’s Family Forests Act of 2026 , proposes amendments to the Internal Revenue Code to facilitate reforestation efforts through tax incentives. The key components of the bill include:
Increased Expensing for Reforestation Expenditures
The bill aims to raise the amount of money that a taxpayer can expense in relation to reforestation activities. Specifically:
- The base expensing amount will increase from $10,000 to $30,000 for certain expenditures.
- Another limit currently set at $5,000 will be raised to $15,000 .
Additionally, starting in 2026, these limits will be adjusted each year to align with inflation, ensuring that they reflect rising costs over time.
New Tax Deduction for Disaster-Related Reforestation
The bill introduces a new section that allows taxpayers to deduct certain reforestation expenditures incurred due to qualified natural disasters. The main features include:
- A deduction of up to $500,000 for disaster-related reforestation expenditures for each qualified timber property.
- A cap of $1,000,000 on total deductions for all properties affected by a disaster.
Taxpayers must make an election to apply this deduction, and the deduction amounts will also be subject to inflation adjustments starting from 2026.
Qualifications and Conditions
For the deductions to apply, several conditions must be met:
- The expenditures must relate to uncut timber that was damaged in a disaster defined as a "qualified natural disaster." This includes events recognized by the President under the Stafford Act.
- Taxpayers who have received government reimbursements for their reforestation costs may have limitations on what can be deducted.
- There are special provisions regarding how deductions are allocated if a business is part of a controlled group or operates as a partnership or S corporation.
Recapture Provisions
If a taxpayer disposes of any qualified timber property within a specific period after claiming a deduction, they are subject to recapture rules that may require them to report the deduction as income. This applies for a period of 10 years from the tax year in which the deduction was claimed.
Regulations and Administration
The Secretary of the Treasury will have the authority to create necessary regulations to implement these provisions properly, ensuring transparency and compliance with overall tax laws.
Effective Date
The adjustments to the expensing amounts and the new tax deduction for disaster-related reforestation expenditures will apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxable years starting after December 31, 2026 .
Relevant Companies
- PLNT - Planet Fitness, Inc.: While not directly related to timber or reforestation, companies with ties to land management or environmental sustainability could see impacts from increased demand for reforestation initiatives.
- WMT - Walmart Inc.: Retailers may experience shifts in supply chain sustainability strategies, particularly if partnering with reforestation efforts for sourcing products.
Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter Bill Proposals
Here are some bills which have recently been proposed by Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter:
- H.R.8678: Zero Tolerance for Political Violence Act of 2026
- H.R.8538: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for limited full expensing of certain reforestation expenditures.
- H.R.7686: Rural and Underserved Health Care Staffing Act
- H.R.7528: GAP Supply Act
- H.R.7462: Farmers’ AID Relief Act
- H.R.7423: No Sanctuary Cities Act of 2026
You can track bills proposed by Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Carter.
Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter Net Worth
Quiver Quantitative estimates that Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter is worth $28.5M, as of May 12th, 2026. This is the 45th highest net worth in Congress, per our live estimates.
Carter has approximately $4.1M invested in publicly traded assets which Quiver is able to track live.
You can track Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter's net worth on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Carter.
Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter Stock Trading
We have data on up to $28.1M of trades from Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter, which we parsed from STOCK Act filings. Some of the largest trades include:
- A July 18th, 2024 sale of up to $250K of $ABCB. The stock has risen 44.37% since then.
You can track Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter's stock trading on Quiver Quantitative's politician page for Carter.
2026 Georgia's 1st Congressional District Election
There has been approximately $6,516,430 of spending in Georgia's 1st congressional district elections over the last two years, per our estimates.
Approximately $1,341,302 of this has been from outside spending by PACs and Super PACs. Some of the groups who are spending money in this race include:
- AMERICAN MISSION ($960,428)
- CLUB FOR GROWTH ACTION ($234,271)
- GEORGIA FIRST ACTION PAC ($101,038)
- CONSERVATIVES FOR AMERICAN EXCELLENCE INC. ($50,564)
The rating for this race is currently "Solid R".
You can track this election on our matchup page for the 2026 Georgia's 1st congressional district election.
This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information.
