Tax Law changes for 2018 will discuss differences in the tax filing for 2018, filed in 2019, compared to the prior year tax filing for 2017 due in 2018.
For specific tax advice consult a tax professional.
There are many changes to the IRS tax code for 2018 in comparison to the prior year. We will look at an overview of the big IRS tax law changes as an introduction to the topic of taxation.
We will start with a discuss of why we should learn tax and how we can approach the learning of tax law to get the best results.
6:36 Changes to form 1040
We will then discus the changes to form 1040. The form 1040 will look much different in 2018 then 2017, Form 1040 being much shorter in 2018. Forms 1040EZ and 1040A have been eliminated. There are new supporting schedules to the form 1040 however.
10:09 Elimination of Personal & Tax Exemption
We will then discuss the elimination of the personal and dependent exemptions for 2018. Exemptions acted similar to deduction in 2017 and we got an exemption for ourselves, our spouse, and dependents. The elimination of exemptions in 2018 will simplify the tax code and may be offset by the increase in the standard deduction and other changes for many taxpayers.
12:36 Increase in Standard Deduction
There has been a substantial increase in the standard deduction in 2018 tax code as compared to the prior year. Because taxpayers must decide to either take itemize deduction or standard deduction, whichever is larger, the increase in the standard deduction will result in less people itemizing. The elimination of the standard deduction is an attempt to simplify the tax code and will have a positive impact to many lower to middle income people.
15:39 Decrease In Tax Brackets
Tax rates have basically decrease is the simple method of describing the changes to the tax tables. Because we have a progressive tax system our taxes are taxed at multiple rates. Many were hoping we would have less tax brackets to simplify the tax code. We still have a complex tax calculation but we did see a decrease in many rates and positive changes that would lower taxes to most any tax payer if the taxable income was the same. In other words there are two factors for tax liability calculation, taxable income and tax brackets. Given the same taxable income the tax brackets would be less in 2018 then in 2017.
18:34 Child Tax Credit Increase
Child tax credit has increase substantially. The increase in the child tax credit will partially compensate or offset the loss of the exemptions for many tax payers. The child tax credit is up to 2,000 for 2018, up from 1,000 in 2017 and much of it is refundable in the 2018 tax changes.
20:40 Limit on state & local tax deductions
State and local taxes have been capped at 10,000, a very controversial change. State and local taxes are itemized deduction on schedule A and include state income tax or sales tax and property tax. Itemized deduction have already been marginalized with the increase in the standard deduction. The state and local taxes are one of the big factors, along with mortgage interest, that push most people into a point of itemizing instead of taking the standard deduction. This change in the tax law could result in many less people itemizing and could increase taxes for sum, especially those in state that have a high cost of living.
24:58 20% Pass-Through Tax Deduction
The 20% pass-through tax deduction tax law change could have a huge impact on individuals that have small business. The law is complicated however, so may not contribute to the simplification of the law, but could help small business save on their tax bill. Business entity types this law covers includes sole proprietors who report on schedule C, LLCs, S corps, and partnerships.
27:30 New Tax Credit For Other Dependents
There is tax credit up to 500 for non qualifying child dependents. After losing the exemption this credit could help compensate or offset the loss, taxpayers still getting tax savings for supporting a dependent.
29:00 Limitation On Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
The tax law changes have limited the amount of home loan for which the related interest can be deducted to 750,000. Most taxpayers will not have a loan over 750,000 but this change may hurt those who live in high cost of living states. We also loss the ability to write off interest for loans where the the house is used a collateral but the money was not spent on the home.
32:36 Elimination of 2% Misc. Deduction & Casualty & Theft Losses
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