The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the federal gift and estate tax exemption amount from $5 million to $10 million, adjusted annually for inflation. Combined with the unlimited marital deduction and other estate tax provisions, including portability of the exemption, a married couple can easily shelter more than $20 million from federal estate tax. (more…)
Beware of the New Tax Law’s Impact on Trust and Estate Income
In this podcast, Chris Madrid from our Family Wealth and Individual Tax Planning Group discusses important modifications the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made to the income taxation of trusts and estates for 2018 and beyond.
Tax Reform…. Not in California
Taxpayers are beginning to work on their 2018 business entity income tax returns and are discovering the impacts and opportunities created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as most of the Act’s provisions are first effective in 2018 (here’s a summary: Tax Reform Has Wide Ranging Impact). Since California is a rather independent state it should not be surprising to know that California has conformed to essentially none of the federal tax law changes created by TCJA. This will create many tax preparation and planning challenges. Currently, conformity is not a major issue to our governor or state legislature so nonconformity will likely be with us for a while. (more…)
Beware of the New Tax Law’s Impact on Trust and Estate Income
By Christine Collins Madrid, CPA, Tax Director
ASL Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning Group
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in December 2017, made important modifications to the income taxation of trusts and estates for 2018 and beyond. Trust and estate income tax rates and brackets changed, along with deductibility of some estate and trust administrative expenses. Also, a new qualified business income deduction is available, under certain circumstances, that could be as much as 20% of qualified business income. (more…)
Estate Planning Pitfall - You’re Not Paying Enough Attention to State Estate Tax Laws
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides greater flexibility in estate planning for many taxpayers. Under the TCJA, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is increased from $5 million to $10 million, subject to inflation indexing. The indexed amount for 2018 is $11.18 million.
The exemption is effectively doubled to $22.36 million for a married couple. Thanks to the portability provision, the estate of a surviving spouse can use the unused portion of the exemption from the estate of the first spouse to die. (more…)
Charitable Giving in a Post-TCJA World - What You Need to Know in the Wake of the New Tax Law
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) represents the biggest overhaul of the tax code in more than three decades. Tax experts are still sorting out all the intricacies. But this much is clear: The TCJA will have a significant impact on estate planning and related aspects, such as charitable giving.
Even though the TCJA reduces tax incentives for making charitable donations for some people, it encourages contributions for others. Let’s take a closer look at the new tax landscape and how it relates to charitable giving. (more…)
Payroll Withholding Confusion – Are You Withholding Enough from Your Paycheck?
By Sheila Foley, Accounting Consultant
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted in late December, 2017 and it significantly altered the tax laws applicable to individual taxpayers. The significant changes included: reduction in tax rates and modification of brackets, increase in the standard deduction, repeal of personal exemptions, limitation on deductions for state and local taxes, mortgage interest, home equity loan interest and elimination of deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions. (more…)
New Tax Law Still Offers Incentives for Use of Tax Havens
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in December of 2017, was aimed at dissuading U.S. companies from moving profits offshore. However, it may make shifting earnings to tax havens more beneficial for some companies.
Before the TCJA, companies that offloaded profits linked to sales, research or production were taxed at a 35% rate when the profits were brought to the United States. The TCJA moved the U.S. to a “territorial” system, which was meant to reduce or eliminate the incentive for companies to invert to avoid U.S. taxes on foreign income. (more…)
Estate Planning Pitfall - You’re Not Taking Advantage of Your Lifetime Gift Tax Exemption
Even though the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doesn’t include many revisions to estate tax laws, it does provide one major enhancement. Under the TCJA, the unified gift and estate tax exemption of $5 million, which is indexed for inflation, is doubled to $10 million. The indexed figure for 2018 is $11.18 million ($22.36 million for married couples). This means that only the wealthiest families run a risk of federal estate tax liability (although state taxes may offer additional challenges). Given the substantially increased exemption amount, consider re-examining your lifetime gift-giving strategies. (more…)