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What we will cover today
ïź What changed retroactively on December 19,
2014 for the beginning of 2014 and what may be
extended or changed for 2015?
ïź Whatâs going on in Washington?
ïź What are some planning strategies and
opportunities your clients should be considering
for now and the future with unsure tax law?
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Update from Washington
Living in a state of uncertainty
ïźCongress currently is not able to agree with
administration regarding the pending fiscal cliff that
we have experienced.
ïźWe will have major conflicts with President, and
Supreme Court rulings that are pending
4. Update from Washington
ïź Current discussion with the President:
ï± We can expect him to push to extend most of the
technically expired 2015 tax provisions, but not the
tax cuts for higher-income taxpayers
ï± There will be fights with the administration
regarding raising capital gains tax rates and
increasing rates on the highest tax brackets or
decreasing deductions.
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5. Update from Washington
Looking toward the future
ïźIt seems certain that we will be looking at a temporary
extension of some expiring tax provisions
ïźA 12-month extension may be the likeliest scenario
ïźA temporary extension would buy time for Congress to
develop tax reform legislation in 2015 and future years
ïźItâs possible that this wonât be resolved until after the
summer or late fall which causes planning problems for
taxpayers
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2014 TAX UPDATE
Expiring Tax ProvisionsâŠ
âą Federal income, dividend, & capital gains tax rates
âą Itemized deductions & personal exemption phase-outs
âą Charitable contributions via retirement plan distributions
âą AMT exemption amounts
âą Social Security payroll tax reduction for employees
âą Qualified charitable IRA distribution exclusion
âą State and local sales tax deduction
âą Education credits & deductions eliminated or reduced
âą Earned income and child tax credits reduced
âą Estate & gift tax exemption amounts
âą Portability of estate tax exemption for surviving spousal
Note: The above list of items is not intended to be all
inclusive.
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2014 TAX UPDATE
Ordinary Income and Capital Gain Tax Rates:
âą Tax Bracket 10%, 15%, 25%, 33% and 39.6% rates are permanent:
âą Thresholds for highest brackets are :
âą $457,601 for married-filing-jointly and surviving spouses
âą $432,201 for head-of-households
âą $406,751 for single âQualifiedâ dividend rate will rise to match standard
income tax rates on January 1, 2013
âą Long-term capital gain rates:
âą Two lowest tax brackets pay 0%
âą 25% to 35% brackets pay 15%
âą Highest tax bracket pay 20%
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Affordable Care Act-The Tax
Impact
Additional Medicare Surcharge:
âą Applied to individuals with modified AGI greater than 200K for singles or 250K for married
âą Additional .9% of âearned incomeâ
âą Employers must withhold the additional tax from wages paid in excess of $200,000, without regard
to personâs filing status
âą Net Investment Income surcharge:
ïź Imposed on individuals, trusts and estates for tax years beginning on and after January 31, 2013
ïź Applies to the lesser of:
ï” Net investment income (NII), or
ï” MAGI over an applicable threshold amount (ATA)
ïź Included items
ï” Interest
ï” Dividends
ï” Rents
ï” Annuities
ï” Capital gains
ï” Royalties
ï” Passive activity income
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2014 TAX UPDATE
Health Care ReformâŠ
Health Care Reform (ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court)
In effect now:
âą Children canât be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions
âą Coverage required under parentâs plan for dependent children under age 26
âą Insurers canât impose lifetime caps on coverage and canât cancel or deny coverage if you are sick
Key provisions effective January 1, 2013:
âą Medical expense deduction threshold increases to 10% of adjusted gross income for those under age 65 (from 7.5%)
âą Increasing the self-employment tax rate by 0.9% on higher-income individuals (MAGI of $200K single, $250K married)
âą New 3.8% tax on some or all of the net investment income of these higher-income individuals
âą Interest, dividends, capital gains, royalties, rents, annuities, passive income from partnership/S corporation
âą Distributions from qualified retirement plans and IRAs would NOT count
Key provisions effective January 1, 2014: (new forms required in 2014 with individual mandate penalties)
âą All Americans must carry health insurance or face a penalty of up to 2.5% of household income
âą Employers with more than 50 employees must offer health insurance or be fined per employee
âą States must establish an exchange that facilitates the purchase of qualified health plans
âą Adults with pre-existing conditions canât be denied coverage or have their insurance cancelled
âą Tax credits will be available to qualifying families
âą Doctors and hospitals will receive less compensation from government sources
âą Taxes or fees imposed on health insurance providers and drug companies
Note: The above list of items is not intended to be all inclusive.
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Net Investment Income
ïź Items specifically excluded
ï” Self-employment income
ï” Non-resident aliens
ï” Active Trade or business income
ï” Gain on the sale of an active interest in
partnership or S corporation
ï” IRA or qualified plan distributions
ï” Trusts for charity (except Charitable lead trusts)
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Applicable Threshold
Amounts
ïź Married taxpayers filing jointly...........$250,000
ïź Married taxpayers filing separately....$125,000
ïź All other individual taxpayers.............$200,000
13. Phaseouts of
Deductions
Itemized Deduction & Exemption Phaseout:
Applies when AGI exceeds
ïź$305,050 (Married)
ïź$279,650 (Head of Household)
ïź$254,200 (Single)
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14. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
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ïź Bonus Depreciation & 179 deduction extended:
ïź 50% Bonus depreciation is now available for
qualified property
ïź 179 deduction was increased back to $500,000
for taxable income
ïź Qualified Leasehold available for was extended
for 15 year life rather than 39 years
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2014 Income Tax Planning
Opportunities
Gain Harvesting
Accelerating expenses and deferring income into
future years
Avoiding the 3.8% Medicare surtax
16. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
Other questions you may have
ïźDo I exercise stock options now or later?
ïźDo I deduct charitable gifts now or later?
ïźDo I defer income into future years?
ïźDo I accelerate deductions?
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17. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
Considerations
ïźHigher tax rates provide motivation to plan now
without fence sitting
ïźRule of thumb: Defer income when you can, and
accelerate deductions and losses
ï± With rates rising, the opposite might be a better
strategy
ï± Should we accelerate income into lower tax years,
and defer deductions and losses into higher rate
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18. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
Stock options and charitable deductions
ïźMay want to exercise nonqualified stock options
this year, since spread is taxed at ordinary income
rates
ïźCharitable deductions:
ï± Worth more to your client next year than this year
ï± If you have a large carry-forward, may want to
consider using this year (if he has a retirement or
IRA plan and wants to convert it to a Roth)?
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19. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
Two planning strategies to consider
ïźDirect a transfer to a qualified charity if you do not
itemize. (only to the extent of the required minimum distribution)
ïźDefer taking the RMD until late 2015, when there may
be greater clarity extension provisions
ï± If the law is revived, it could follow the sameâ special ruleâ
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20. 2014 Income tax
planning opportunities
Roth IRA conversions
ïźCan convert o a Roth IRA now with the flexibility to
unwind as late as October 15, 2015
ïźCan then make the Roth decision with hindsight, with
respect to not only investment outcomes but also tax
rates
ïźA Roth makes even more sense given the 3.8% surtax
ï± Distributions from a Traditional IRA do count as part of AGI,
which can push one over the threshold for surtax purposes
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AMT triggers
ïź 2014 exemptions $82,100 married, $52,800 Single
ïź State and local income tax deductions
ïź Real estate and personal property tax deductions
ïź Interest on home equity loan or line of credit not used
to buy, build or improve your principal residence
ïź Miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to
2% of AGI floor
ïź Long-term capital gains and dividend income
ïź Accelerated depreciation adjustments and related
gain or loss differences when assets are sold
ïź Tax-exempt interest on certain private-activity
municipal bonds
ïź Incentive stock option exercises
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Avoiding AMT or reducing
its impact
ïź Planning for AMT will be a challenge
until Congress passes long-term relief
ïź AMT system isnât regularly adjusted
for inflation
ïź Congress legislates adjustments,
typically as a âpatchâ which are currently expected
but is not regularly discussed
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Timing of income and
expenses is key
ïź Smart timing can reduce your tax liability
ïź Poor timing can unnecessarily increase it
ïź Tax rates changes are unsure for future
years without major changes in
Washington
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YEAR END PLANNING
Final ThoughtsâŠ
PLAN
P---Prepare
L---Layout an entire 3-5 year projection
A---Analyze with a professional
N---Navigate carefully what is happening in
Washington with law changes
25. Thank you
Please contact me with any question:
staylor@pbtk.com
Please visit www.pbtk.com.
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