Recently, an updated tax reform proposal was released by the House Ways and Means that would make major changes to taxation of individuals. The below provisions are proposed (but not finalized) to go into effect for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017. If you have any questions or concerns how this might effect your tax planning, please contact us to set up a consultation. Changes to Tax Rates & Brackets New brackets & … Read more
A “unified framework” for tax reform has been released from the Trump Administration and select members of Congress. Although the document provides much detailed information it still leaves many specifics to be worked out by the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The table below shows a summary of the tax provisions mentioned in the agreed framework. [table id=3 /] What’s next? The most important thing to keep … Read more
Most of the talk about possible tax legislation this year has focused on either wide-sweeping tax reform or taxes that are part of the Affordable Care Act. But there are a few other potential tax developments for individuals to keep an eye on. Back in December of 2015, Congress passed the PATH Act, which made a multitude of tax breaks permanent. However, there were a few valuable breaks for individuals … Read more
IRS had announced annual inflation adjustments for more than 50 tax provisions for tax year 2017, following are items of greatest interest to most taxpayers: Standard deduction for married filing jointly rises to $12,700 for tax year 2017, up $100 from the prior year. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $6,350 in 2017, up from $6,300 in 2016, and for heads of … Read more
The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States could result in major tax law changes in 2017. Proposed changes spelled out in Trump’s tax reform plan released earlier this year that would affect businesses include: Reducing the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 15%, Abolishing the corporate alternative minimum tax, Allowing owners of flow-through entities to pay tax on business income at the proposed 15% … Read more
Recently, the IRS has proposed new regulations that would close certain estate and gift tax loopholes that deal with the transfer of business interest among family. If approved this would mean increased estate taxes on the death of owners of family businesses. The anticipated timetable for these tax regulations could come as early as January 1, 2017. Currently taxpayers are able to structure these types of transfers so that the individual … Read more
Contribution Limits: No changes to retirement plan contributions for 2016 Retirement plan contribution limits are indexed for inflation, but with inflation remaining low, the limits remain unchanged for 2016: Nevertheless, if you’re not already maxing out your contributions, you still have an opportunity to save more in 2016. And if you turn age 50 in 2016, you can begin to take advantage of catch-up contributions. However, keep in mind that … Read more
Congress passes “extenders” legislation reviving expired tax breaks for 2015 Many valuable tax breaks expired December 31, 2014. For them to be available for 2015, Congress had to pass legislation extending them — which it now has done, with the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act), signed into law by the President on December 18. The PATH Act not only revives expired breaks for 2015 but … Read more
When will Congress pass “extenders” legislation to revive expired tax breaks for 2015? With Congress returning from its August recess, this is the question on tax-savvy Americans’ minds. Many valuable tax breaks aren’t permanent, so Congress has to pass legislation extending them to keep them in effect. Unfortunately, Congress often waits until the last minute to do so. For example, Congress didn’t pass 2014 extenders until December 2014, making the … Read more
