Illinois Estate Planning – HB2601 — $8 Million Exemption? Will it REALLY happen??

Terry, Do you have more information on HB 2601 introduced to the Illinois General Assembly, but not voted on yet. How likely will this Bill successfully come to fruition – how likely will there be any increase in the Illinois Estate Planning Threshold? Chat GPT – gives me the following info, but doesn’t give me any “inside scoop” about likelihood that we can actually count on a change.
Chat GPT writes:
Illinois Estate Tax Bills — What’s Currently Happening
📌 HB2601 — $8 Million Exemption
• What it would do: Raise the Illinois estate tax exemption from $4 million to $8 million for deaths on or after January 1, 2026. Illinois General Assembly
• Current status:
• Introduced in the Illinois House on February 4, 2025. LegiScan
• Referred to the House Revenue & Finance Committee and then to the Tax Policy sub committee. LegiScan
• Most recently re referred to the House Rules Committee on March 21, 2025. LegiScan
• Progress: Only about 25 % complete, meaning it has advanced through early committee referral but has not been voted on by the full House yet. LegiScan
• Next steps to become law:
1. Move out of House Rules Committee to the full House for a vote.
2. If passed by the House, go to the Senate and committees there.
3. If the Senate passes it, go to the Governor for signature.
👉 Timing: There’s no scheduled floor vote yet. Because it’s still in committee, a vote could happen in the remainder of the 2026 legislative session (often Jan–May), but nothing is officially calendared yet. LegiScan

📌 HB0012 — $6 Million Exemption
• What it would do: Increase the exemption from $4 M to $6 M instead of $8 M. Illinois General Assembly
• Status: Similar committee progression — introduced and referred, then re referred to Rules. Illinois General Assembly
• Progress: Also early in the process with no floor vote yet.