The overhaul almost abolished the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, a complex and unpredictable parallel tax system. The purpose of the AMT is to limit tax breaks that are permitted under the regular tax system and to ensure that high earners can not avoid all taxes legally. Legislators ultimately retained the AMT, but with significant […]
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Significant changes were made to the “Kiddie Tax,” a special levy on the “unearned” income of a child above $2,100 in 2018 and $2,200 in 2019. It typically applies to investment income such as dividends, interest, and capital gains, and is not applicable to the earned income of a young person from newspaper delivery or […]
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At the end of the year, the overhaul doubled the maximum child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 for each child in a family under the age of 17. This credit is also eligible for many more families. For 2018, it begins to phase out at $400,000 of adjusted gross income for most couples and […]
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The tax overhaul contains new restrictions, both indirect and direct, on mortgage interest deductions. By the end of 2025, these changes expire. According to IRS, the number of tax returns with a mortgage interest deduction will fall to approximately 14 million in 2018 compared to 32 million in 2017. One reason for the change is […]
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The tax law did not changed the favorable rates for long-term capital gains and many dividends, and there is still a popular zero rate for these types of investment income. For 2018, the zero rate applies to jointly filed married couples who have a taxable income of up to $77,200 ($38,600 for singles). A rate […]
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For many people, the most significant changes in the tax overhaul are the almost doubling of the standard deduction and the abrogation of the personal exemption. The standard deduction is the amount filers subtract from income if they do not break deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes and other items in […]
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The tax overhaul retained the existing benefit for home sellers. Jointly filing married couples can exclude $500,000 from taxes on the sale of a primary home. The exemption for single filers is $250,000 in profit. For inflation, these amounts are not indexed. For example, say Sam and Suzan bought a home for $150,000 many years […]
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The abolition of the personal exemption is also a significant shift. This provision was a subtraction from income before the overhaul for each person included in a tax return-typically family members. The amount for 2018 was set to be $4,150 per person, and for higher earners it was phased out. Personal exemption was also essential […]
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The tax overhaul placed a limit on deductions for state and local taxes, known as SALT, in a landmark change. These deductions were previously unlimited for individuals, although many people who owed the alternative minimum tax lost some or all of their SALT write-offs. Taxpayers can deduct property and income taxes or sales taxes for […]
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When filing your taxes, you will often have to choose between itemizing your deductions and taking a standard deduction. You should determine the amount of your deductions using both methods, then select which option reduces the amount of tax you owe. The method that leads to the greatest deduction typically provides the greatest credit. How […]
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