It is a great day. Tyranny has been repealed.
F U Obama.
F U Roberts.

The only thing I am worried about is not being able to write off my wife's business expenses, which are substantial. However, I think the child tax credit will offset that. I have no idea how this bill will impact my taxes to be honest. I am hoping for the best as we usual get a 5 figure return.

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:
The only thing I am worried about is not being able to write off my wife's business expenses, which are substantial. However, I think the child tax credit will offset that. I have no idea how this bill will impact my taxes to be honest. I am hoping for the best as we usual get a 5 figure return.

Holy crap, you lend the federal government five figures at zero percent interest? You should adjust your withholding.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:
The only thing I am worried about is not being able to write off my wife's business expenses, which are substantial. However, I think the child tax credit will offset that. I have no idea how this bill will impact my taxes to be honest. I am hoping for the best as we usual get a 5 figure return.

Holy crap, you lend the federal government five figures at zero percent interest? You should adjust your withholding.

Only because I owed one year which made me a little gun shy, and we were bad at saving money in our youth so the tax return was like a savings account. I might look into adjusting our witholdings in the future.

I came back to this thread to add that I just realized the 529 expansion was included in this tax bill. I am happy beyond belief as we send all 3 of our children to private school and now we can start saving for high school using their 529s. This is the best Christmas present I have ever gotten!

How the tax overhaul will affect alimony deductions:


NEW YORK — Congress’ giant tax overhaul will affect a number of deductions — even the one for alimony.

Republicans delivered their sweeping plan to an exultant President Donald Trump, who signed it into law Friday. One provision scraps a 75-year-old tax deduction for alimony payments. The new rules won’t affect anyone who divorces or signs a separation agreement before 2019.

Many divorce experts worry that the change will make negotiations tougher and lead to less spousal support as cash goes to taxes instead. Congressional tax writers say it’s only fair to married couples.

A look at the details:

WHAT’S CHANGING? HOW DOES IT WORK NOW?

Currently, the spouse paying alimony can deduct it from their taxes and the spouse receiving it has to pay income taxes on it.

In any divorce commenced after Dec. 31, 2018, the spouse paying alimony can’t deduct it, and the spouse receiving the money no longer has to pay taxes on it.

Divorce lawyers say the current setup tends to preserve more money overall to allocate between spouses, helping them afford living separately.

“This is something that was very helpful in settling divorce cases,” says Jef Henninger, a New Jersey matrimonial lawyer.

SHOW ME THE MATH?

Imagine high-earning Spouse A now pays and deducts $30,000 a year in alimony. Spouse A’s income is federally taxed at 33 percent, so the deduction saves him $9,900.

Lower-earning Spouse B owes taxes on the alimony at a 15-percent rate, paying $4,500 instead of the $9,900 that would be due at Spouse A’s rate. The two have saved $5,400 between them, and Spouse A got a break that makes the payments more affordable.

Tom Leustek estimates the deduction saves him about $5,000 a year — “not a trivial amount to me,” the New Jersey plant biology professor says.

“The person actually getting the money should be the one who pays taxes on it,” he says.


https://www.pbs.org/newshour/p...t-alimony-deductions

More fun comin'.

From the front page of today's New York Times, blue state and local strategies to (snigger) fight back!

- Sue, arguing that the feds are treating high state and local tax jurisdictions differently than localities with low or no income taxes and lower housing costs

- Shift personal state income taxes to employer payroll taxes, which the employer can still deduct

- (My personal favorite) Offer state income tax payers the option of making "voluntary donations" to the state as an alternative to paying state income taxes, since "voluntary donations" to the state's coffers are deductible as "charity"

Oh, we're in for some fun, fun times, folks!

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
More fun comin'.

From the front page of today's New York Times, blue state and local strategies to (snigger) fight back!

- Sue, arguing that the feds are treating high state and local tax jurisdictions differently than localities with low or no income taxes and lower housing costs

- Shift personal state income taxes to employer payroll taxes, which the employer can still deduct

- (My personal favorite) Offer state income tax payers the option of making "voluntary donations" to the state as an alternative to paying state income taxes, since "voluntary donations" to the state's coffers are deductible as "charity"

Oh, we're in for some fun, fun times, folks!

Sorry Democrates....

Revised withholding tables are in place at my employer resulting in an increase of $42 in my weekly take home pay. Thank you President Trump. MAGA!

All this effort over this Reform and no love for The Fair Tax. That would eliminate a great many problems, mostly self inflicted.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
All this effort over this Reform and no love for The Fair Tax. That would eliminate a great many problems, mostly self inflicted.

Ya, but The Fair Tax would be too.... Fair.
It would eliminate all of the need for special incentives and provisions written by lobbyists for the benefit of their clients.
An entire industry would go extinct overnight!

Furthermore, if there were no need for lobbyists, they wouldn't be there to 'donate' so much money to the politicians. Then they would have to seek funding for re-election from the little people.... and we can't have that!

No, they'be be busy pushing loopholes to it. This would be exempt, that would be exempt, etc.

And you don't think huge black markets would develop to evade it? To replace the income tax dollar for dollar (and to be intellectually honest about it, it has to provide the same revenue), it would have to be a pretty stiff sales tax (they're talking 23%.) That would provide a pretty good incentive to evade.

And there would be another way of evading that wouldn't be illegal. Do your earning in the US, do your spending outside. There would be a huge boom in the sales of big expensive houses near, but outside US borders. Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, etc, would all she huge development to cater to US tax avoiders, who'll maintain US citizenship, likely have small cheap residences in the US, but will spend their big money outside the US. Given how so much work can be done remotely now, this would be a huge issue. Lower to middle class people who have to work at a physical location in the US couldn't do this (but would likely actively participate in the black markets.)

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
All this effort over this Reform and no love for The Fair Tax. That would eliminate a great many problems, mostly self inflicted.

Ya, but The Fair Tax would be too.... Fair.
It would eliminate all of the need for special incentives and provisions written by lobbyists for the benefit of their clients.
An entire industry would go extinct overnight!

Furthermore, if there were no need for lobbyists, they wouldn't be there to 'donate' so much money to the politicians. Then they would have to seek funding for re-election from the little people.... and we can't have that!