Seminar Series: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 

On December 22, 2017 the 115th Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). This new law is one of the most substantial reforms to tax legislation in recent history and will have a significant impact on both individual and corporate taxation.

On Thursday, February 1st, Strothman and Company will be hosting a seminar dedicated to unpacking and pinpointing key changes brought on by the TCJA and identifying the impact these changes will have on your personal and business taxation. Details and registration information are below.  Please invite business friends and associates to attend this conference with you. This program is designed to qualify for two (2) hours of continuing professional education (CPE) for CPAs.

Register Now! 

The TCJA introduces a great deal of reform, here is a brief look at some relevant topics that will be addressed at our Tax Reform seminar on February 1st:

Tax change related to businesses:

• For C Corporations - replacement of graduated corporate tax rates ranging from 15% to 35% with a flat corporate rate of 21%
• New tax credit for employer-paid family and medical leave - through 2019
• New disallowance of deductions for net interest expense in excess of 30% of the business's adjusted taxable income (exceptions apply)
• Doubling of bonus depreciation to 100% and expansion of qualified assets to include used assets - effective for assets acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023
• Doubling of the Section 179 expensing limit to $1 million and an increase of the expensing phaseout threshold to $2.5 million
• Other enhancements to depreciation-related deductions
• New limitations on excessive employee compensation
• New limits on net operating loss (NOL) deductions
• Elimination of the Section 199 deduction, also commonly referred to as the domestic production activities deduction or manufacturers' deduction -effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, for noncorporate taxpayers and for tax years beginning after December 31, 2018, for C corporation taxpayers
• New rule limiting like-kind exchanges to real property that is not held primarily for sale
• Repeal of the corporate AMT
• New limitations on deductions for employee fringe benefits, such as entertainment and, in certain circumstances, meals and transportation

Tax change related to individuals: 

• Drops of individual income tax rates ranging from 0 to 4 percentage points (depending on the bracket) to 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% - through 2025
• Doubling of the gift and estate tax exemptions, to $10 million (expected to be $11.2 million for 2018 with inflation indexing) - through 2025
• Elimination of personal exemptions - through 2025
• Near doubling of the standard deduction to $24,000 (married couples filing jointly), $18,000 (heads of households), and $12,000 (singles and married couples filing separately) - through 2025
• Doubling of the child tax credit to $2,000 and other modifications intended to help more taxpayers benefit from the credit - through 2025
• Elimination of the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act requiring taxpayers not covered by a qualifying health plan to pay a penalty - effective for months beginning after December 31, 2018
• Reduction of the adjusted gross income (AGI) threshold for the medical expense deduction to 7.5% for regular and AMT purposes - for 2017 and 2018
• Reduction to the mortgage debt limit for the home mortgage interest deduction, to $750,000 ($375,000 for separate filers), with certain exceptions - through 2025
• Elimination of the deduction for interest on home equity debt - through 2025
• Elimination of the personal casualty and theft loss deduction (with an exception for federally declared disasters) - through 2025
• Elimination of miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor (such as certain investment expenses, professional fees and unreimbursed employee business expenses) - through 2025
• Elimination of the AGI-based reduction of certain itemized deductions - through 2025
• Elimination of the moving expense deduction (with an exception for members of the military in certain circumstances) - through 2025
• Expansion of tax-free Section 529 plan distributions to include those used to pay qualifying elementary and secondary school expenses, up to $10,000 per student per tax year
• AMT exemption increase, to $109,400 for joint filers, $70,300 for singles and heads of households, and $54,700 for separate filers - through 2025
• New 20% qualified business income deduction for owners of flow-through entities (such as partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations) and sole proprietorships - through 2025
• New $10,000 limit on the deduction for state and local taxes (on a combined basis for property and income taxes; $5,000 for separate filers) - through 2025

If you have any questions regarding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act before our seminar, please feel free to contact your Strothman and Company tax professional. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you on February 1st!