Possible Trump Administration Tax Changes
Any change in Presidential Administration brings the possibility of tax law changes, and the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States is no exception. During the campaign, President-elect Trump outlined a number of tax proposals for individuals and businesses. Keep in mind that a candidate’s proposals can, and often do, change over the course of a campaign and also after taking office. This letter is based on general tax proposals made by the President-elect during the campaign and is intended to give a broad-brush snapshot of those proposals.
CAMPAIGN PROPOSALS
Some of the more significant Trump proposals include:
- Lowering the number of individual income tax rate brackets and eliminating the top two brackets (rates of 12%, 25% & 33 proposed).
- Repealing the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), which if fully repealed would result in the elimination of the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax.
- Repealing the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
- Substantially increasing the standard deduction while reducing or eliminating some of the current itemized deductions.
- Repealing the federal estate tax.
- Lowering the corporate tax rate to 15%.
- Increasing the Code Sec. 179 small business expensing election to $1 million.
Many of Trump’s proposals are similar to ones proposed by House Republicans earlier this year. The following chart is a side-by-side comparison of the tax positions taken by President-elect Donald Trump and the House Republican Blueprint for Tax Reform, which was released in June 2016 by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady (R-TX). Many speculate that the tax bill introduced will be a compromise between these two proposals.
SIDE-BY-SIDE, TRUMP TAX POSITIONS AND HOUSE REPUBLICAN BLUEPRINT
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Considering that these numerous and varying proposals are only possibilities, the only conclusion we can make at this time is that there will be changes. As you plan for 2016 year-end and 2017, it is important to be aware of the proposed changes and the general direction of these changes. For example, it is anticipated that ordinary income tax rates will be reduced in 2017, as such you may want to consider accelerating deductions into 2016 or deferring income into 2017. However, there are consequences of these two actions on 2016 Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). If you would like to explore these possibilities in greater detail and calculate any possible benefits please contact our office.
As always, we are here for any questions you may have and will be in touch as things develop.