Some of the most significant tax changes since the 1980s took effect in 2018.

Congress passed a new tax bill in late December 2017.

Here is a brief recap:

• Reduces income tax brackets. The bill retains seven brackets, but at reduced rates, with the highest tax bracket dropping to 37 percent from 39.6 percent.
• Doubles standard deductions. The standard deduction nearly doubles to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married filing jointly. To help cover the cost, personal exemptions and most additional standard deductions are suspended.
• Limits itemized deductions.

Many itemized deductions are no longer available, or are now limited. Here are some of the major examples:

• Caps state and local tax deductions. State and local tax deductions are limited to $10,000 total for all property, income and sales taxes.
• Caps mortgage interest deductions. For new acquisition indebtedness, mortgage interest will be deductible on indebtedness of no more than $750,000. Existing mortgages are unaffected by the new cap as the new limits go into place for acquisition indebtedness after Dec. 14, 2017. The act also suspends the deductibility of interest on home equity debt
• No more 2 percent miscellaneous deductions. Most miscellaneous deductions subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income threshold are now gone.
• Bumps up child tax credit, adds family tax credit. The child tax credit increases to $2,000 from $1,000, with $1,400 of it being refundable even if no tax is owed. The phase out threshold increases sharply to $400,000 from $110,000 for joint filers, making it available to more taxpayers. Also, dependents ineligible for the child tax credit can qualify for a new $500-per-person family tax credit.
• Reduces pass-through business taxes. Most owners of pass-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships will see their income tax lowered with a new 20 percent income reduction calculation. Be sure to discuss the specifics of your tax picture with your CPA to ensure you’ll be able to take advantage of the new opportunities.

Give Sean Dever, CPA & Associates a call if you’d like to review your 2018 tax plan and figure out if these changes will affect your situation.  Make appointments today at www.devercpa.com