House Ways and Means Committee Democrats support a one-year extension of current estate tax levels, a significant departure from plans laid out by House leaders and panel Chairman Charles B. Rangel .

During a meeting Wednesday morning, committee Democrats agreed to back a one-year extension and tie it to a broader overhaul of the tax code in 2010, said committee members John B. Larson , D-Conn., and Richard E. Neal , D-Mass.

That move would spare Democrats from endorsing a tax cut for the wealthiest few families during a time of double-digit unemployment.

But Rangel, D-N.Y., and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , D-Md., have been seeking a permanent extension of current law, which would cost $233.6 billion over 10 years but would not have to be offset under the budget framework backed by Democrats.

An estate tax bill is expected to reach the floor after the Thanksgiving recess.

Under current law, the tax includes a top rate of 45 percent and a per-person exemption of $3.5 million. If Congress does nothing, the tax disappears Jan. 1 and then returns, with a $1 million exemption and a 55 percent top rate, in 2011.

Rangel said that no final decisions had been made and that committee Democrats would meet again later Wednesday.

But Larson and Neal said the direction Democrats were heading was clear. A one-year extension would make the estate tax levels expire at the same time as many other provisions in the tax code, potentially giving members an opportunity for a broader rewrite of the revenue structure. It was unclear whether the estate tax measure would include specific language that would somehow trigger a broader tax measure.

A one-year bill could face some difficulty, however.

A leading Ways and Means moderate, Earl Pomeroy , D-N.D., warned that the push for a one-year extension might falter in the broader Democratic caucus.

“It’s not about that room,” he said, gesturing toward Rangel’s off-the-floor office, where Democrats met Wednesday morning.

He threatened to vote against the rule that would bring such a bill to the floor and said other members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Caucus might do the same.