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Estate tax relief eyed in Illinois

Farmers in Illinois could soon see estate tax relief.         

Chris Davis, director of state legislation with Illinois Farm Bureau, says the re-introduced Family Farm Preservation Act would significantly change how estate taxes are calculated on farms.

“It would enable family farms to change the valuation of the farmland in order to reduce the value of the estate.”  He says, “Then it would adjust the $4 million threshold for those farm estates to a $6 million exemption.”

Currently, once assets top $4 million, the estate tax goes into effect on all assets.  Davis tells Brownfield that takes a toll on a farmer’s estate.

“The tax adds up quickly once you go back to dollar one and that’s creating an extreme burden on those families.”  He says, “It’s an extremely difficult time in their lives when they’re grieving the loss of a family member and being forced to make really tough decisions to potentially sell farmland.”

Despite the need for relief, Davis says the state’s well-publicized budget issues could make the bill a tough sell to lawmakers again this year.

Brownfield spoke with Davis at the Illinois Farm Bureau’s 2025 Governmental Affairs & Leadership Conference in Springfield.

AUDIO: Chris Davis – Illinois Farm Bureau