If you send money from the United States to family abroad, you have probably seen the headlines: there is now a federal tax on remittances. You may have seen a figure of 5%, or 3.5%, or 1%. You may have been told it applies to everyone, or only to non-citizens, or only to certain countries.
Most of what circulated during 2025 described versions of the bill that never became law. Here is what the law actually says, as it stands in 2026.