Sponsors (9)
The bill makes wildfire mitigation cheaper for property owners and supports local firefighting readiness—improving public safety—while reducing federal revenue and disproportionately favoring homeowners with capacity to pay or itemize, and creating some environmental and administrative risks.
Homeowners and nearby communities: lower net cost and stronger financial incentive to carry out wildfire mitigation (prescribed burns, thinning, clearing), which should raise uptake of risk-reduction activities and improve community safety.
Homeowners: grants, services, and certified hazardous-fuel reduction costs are excluded or deductible from federal taxable income, increasing the after-tax benefit of mitigation and lowering out-of-pocket expenses for property owners who undertake these measures.
Local governments and first responders: exclusion for installation/maintenance of firefighting access (trails/roads) and equipment supports local firefighting preparedness and can improve emergency response capability.
All taxpayers / federal budget: the exclusions and deductions reduce federal tax revenue, which could increase deficits or crowd out other spending priorities.
Low-income households and renters: benefits are likely skewed toward wealthier homeowners who can pay upfront and itemize or otherwise claim the tax changes, leaving renters and people without private land with little or no benefit.
Ecosystems and culturally important landscapes: poorly designed or overzealous fuel-reduction (excessive thinning, road expansion) enabled by incentives could damage habitats and cultural resources if environmental safeguards are inadequate.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Excludes grants for hazardous fuel reduction from income and creates a new deduction for qualified fuel-reduction costs on private property, effective after enactment.
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Darrell Issa · Last progress June 26, 2025
Creates a tax exclusion and a new tax deduction to encourage hazardous fuel reduction on private property. Grants, awards, or services received to carry out fuel reduction work would be excluded from a taxpayer's gross income, and taxpayers could deduct qualified out-of-pocket costs for fuel reduction activities on their property if those costs are not already excluded. Defines covered fuel-reduction activities and improvements (like fuel breaks, prescribed burns, mechanical thinning, installation of firefighting infrastructure, and road/trail work) and requires certification by a State, local, Tribal, or Federal fire management agency that the work will reduce hazardous fuels or aid firefighting, access, training, suppression, or evacuation. The tax changes apply to amounts received or paid after enactment.