Year-End Planning Moves for Individuals
With year-end approaching, now is the time to take steps to cut your 2018 tax bill. Here are some relatively foolproof year-end tax planning moves to consider, taking into account changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Game the Increased Standard Deduction Allowances. The TCJA almost doubled the standard deduction amounts. For 2018, the amounts are $12,000 for singles and those who use married filing separate status (up from $6,350 for 2017), $24,000 for married joint filing couples (up from $12,700), and $18,000 for heads of household (up from $9,350). If your total annual itemizable deductions for 2018 will be close to your standard deduction amount, consider making additional expenditures before year-end to exceed your standard deduction. That will lower this year’s tax bill. Next year, you can claim the standard deduction, which will be increased a bit to account for inflation.
The easiest deductible expense to accelerate is included in your house payment due on January 1st. Accelerating that payment into this year will give you 13 months’ worth of interest in 2018. Although the TCJA put new limits on itemized deductions for home mortgage interest, you are probably unaffected. Check with us if you are uncertain.
Also, consider state and local income and property taxes that are due early next year. Prepaying those bills before year-end can decrease your 2018 Federal income tax bill because your itemized deductions will be that much higher. However, the TCJA decreased the maximum amount you can deduct for state and local taxes to $10,000 ($5,000 if you use married filing separate status). So, beware of this new limitation.
Accelerating other expenditures could cause your itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction in 2018. For example, consider making bigger charitable donations this year and smaller contributions next year to compensate. Also, consider accelerating elective medical procedures, dental work, and vision care. For 2018, medical expenses are deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5 percent of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), assuming you itemize.
Warning. The state and local tax prepayment drill can be a bad idea if you owe Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for this year. That’s because write-offs for state and local income and property taxes are completely disallowed under the AMT rules. Therefore, prepaying those expenses may do little or no good if you are an AMT victim. Contact us if you are unsure about your exposure to the AMT.
Carefully Manage Investment Gains and Losses in Taxable Accounts. If you hold investments in taxable brokerage firm accounts, consider the tax advantage of selling appreciated securities that have been held for over 12 months. The maximum Federal income tax rate on long-term capital gains recognized in 2018 is only 15 percent for most folks, although it can reach a maximum of 20 percent at higher income levels. The 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) also can apply at higher income levels.
To the extent you have capital losses that were recognized earlier this year or capital loss carryovers from pre-2018 years, selling winners this year will not result in any tax hit. In particular, sheltering net short-term capital gains with capital losses is a sweet deal because net short-term gains would otherwise be taxed at higher ordinary income rates.
What if you have some loser investments that you would like to unload? Biting the bullet and taking the resulting capital losses this year would shelter capital gains, including high-taxed short-term gains, from other sales this year.
If selling a bunch of losers would cause your capital losses to exceed your capital gains, the result would be a net capital loss for the year. No problem! That net capital loss can be used to shelter up to $3,000 of 2018 ordinary income from salaries, bonuses, self-employment income, interest income, royalties, and whatever else ($1,500 if you use married filing separate status). Any excess net capital loss from this year is carried forward to next year and beyond.
In fact, having a capital loss carryover into next year could turn out to be a pretty good deal. The carryover can be used to shelter both short-term and long-term gains recognized next year and beyond. This can give you extra investing flexibility in those years because you won’t have to hold appreciated securities for over a year to get a preferential tax rate. Since the top two Federal rates on net short-term capital gains recognized in 2019 and beyond are 35 percent and 37 percent (plus the 3.8 percent NIIT, if applicable), having a capital loss carryover into next year to shelter short-term gains recognized next year and beyond could be a very good thing.
Watch out for the AMT. The TCJA significantly reduced the odds that you will owe AMT for 2018 by significantly increasing the AMT exemption amounts and the income levels at which those exemptions are phased out. Even if you still owe AMT, you will probably owe considerably less than under prior law. Nevertheless, it’s still critical to evaluate year-end tax planning strategies in light of the AMT rules. Because the AMT rules are complicated, you may want some assistance. We stand ready to help.
Don’t Overlook Estate Planning. The unified Federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2018 is a historically huge $11.18 million, or effectively $22.36 million for married couples. Even though these big exemptions may mean you are not currently exposed to the Federal estate tax, your estate plan may need updating to reflect the current tax rules. Also, you may need to make some changes for reasons that have nothing to do with taxes. Contact us if you think you could use an estate planning tune-up.
Final Thoughts
This only covers some of the year-end tax planning moves that could potentially benefit you, and not all the planning ideas will apply or make sense for your particular situation. To learn more, check out our comprehensive 2018 Year-End Tax Planning Guide. You can also read our Year-End Tax Planning for Small Businesses article. If you’d like to explore any of the suggestions above, or any other year-end planning options, please contact us. We can help in designing a year-end planning package that delivers the best tax results for your particular circumstances.