The Importance of Tax Reform and Its Impact on Taxpayers/税收改革的重要性及对纳税人影响

 

*** The U.S. Congress successfully passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 on December 22, 2017 and signed into law by President Trump. This is a major reform of the United States code in over 30 years. This tax reform will likely affect your 2018 and future financial plans. ***

 

Tax cut law will take effect in 2018. It will not affect the 2017 tax returns. Here, we will introduce some of the biggest changes of this tax reform and how they will affect you.

 

• First, home loans

Under the old tax law, you can deduct interest on your home mortgage, if your home mortgage is less than $ 1 million. However, from 2018, interest on home mortgage exceeding $ 750,000 will no longer be deductible. If the home mortgages are closed before December 15, 2017, it will be grandfathered.

The new law also eliminates the interest deduction to home equity and credit lines. As a result, you will no longer be able to deduct interest on these loans if you use family equity to consolidate your debt or make a large purchase.

 

• State tax and local tax deductions

Previously, you could deduct state tax, income tax, property tax and sales tax. Starting in 2018, the new law requires that your state and local taxes deductions cannot exceed $ 10,000.

 

• Standard deductions will cover your itemized deductions

The new law doubled the standard deduction, for year 2018, if you are single, your standard deduction will be $ 12,000. If you are married, your standard deduction will be $ 24,000. In many cases, you will find that you no longer need itemized deductions. In addition, the bill extends the child tax credit from $ 1,000 to $ 2,000 per child. The first of these child tax credits of $ 1,400 can also be refunded if you can’t use up your children’s tax credit. Remember, this is a tax deduction, so it directly reduces your taxes.

 

• Lower Income Tax Rates

The law keeps seven tax brackets, but it changes the applicable tax rates and taxable incomes that those brackets apply to.

The table below shows the comparison of the 2017 federal income tax rate with the 2018 tax rate.

 

As a result of these changes, your employer will adjust your withholding tax next year, so you should soon see a slight increase in your take-home paycheck.

 

• Corporation Income tax rates drop

If you own a company, then you will be greatly benefited next year, your company tax rates will decline significantly. The current corporate tax rate is 35%, down to 21% next year.

Cut tax rates are also designed to help small businesses, pass through entities. If you declare your business profits as your personal income on your tax return, you are most likely to deduct 20% of your business income. If you get married, the deduction can be phased out starting at $ 315,000, depending on your industry.

 

• Company investment deduction

If you own a business, investing can increase your productivity. If you invest next year to expand your business, you can be rewarded. The new law allows you to deduct the full cost of a short-term capital investment within five years. Therefore, it is reasonable to invest in new equipment as soon as possible.

 

• Estate tax exemption increase

Estate value less than $ 5.6 million is exempted under the old law. The new law changes the exemption to $ 11.2 million. This change means more estates, such as farms, will avoid the estate tax.

 

• Matters requiring attention

Most of the personal income tax changes are due in 2025, unless the Congress extends or levies these rates before then, tax rates and deductions may return to 2017 law at that point. Corporate interest rates are permanent, but deductions for short-term capital investment will go away in five years.

 

 

*** 美国国会在 2017 年十二月 22 日成功通过了“税收减免和就业法”。这是美国 30 年内的重大税收改革。 这税收改革将可能会影响您 2018 年及今后的财务规划 ***

税收减免和就业法将在 2018 年生效，它不会影响 2017 年的税收。在这里，我们将介绍一些税改革后的最 大变化，以及它们如何影响你。

 

• 房屋贷款

按照旧的税法，到目前为止，您可以扣除抵押贷款的利息，如果你的房屋贷款是 100 万美元以下的话。从 2018 年开始，超过 75 万美元住房贷款的利息将不再可扣除。如果房屋贷款在 2017 年 12 月 15 日之前得到 的话，还是按旧法执行。

新法案也消除了对房屋净值贷款（HOME EQUITY）和信贷额度的抵扣。因此，如果您利用家庭股权来合 并债务或进行大额购买，您将不再能够扣除这些贷款的利息。

 

• 州税和地方税收的扣除

以前，您可以扣除与所得税，财产税和销售税等相关的城镇税和州税。从 2018 年起，新法案规定您的州和 地方税的扣除不能超过$ 10,000。这对有州税的纳税人来说是不利的。

 

• 标准扣除将弥补您的逐项扣除

新法加倍了标准扣除额，如果你是单身的话，您的标准抵税额将是$ 12,000。如果你已经结婚了，您的标准 抵税额将是$ 24,000，。在很多情况下，你会发现你不再需要逐项扣除。此外，此项法案将儿童税收抵免额 度从每个小孩 1000 美元扩大到 2000 美元。如果您用不完儿童税收抵免，其中的第一笔 1,400 美元也可以退 还 （REFUNDABLE）。记住，这是一个低于线的税收抵免，所以它直接减少了你在税收方面的税款。

 

• 个人所得税率下降

该法保留了七个税率，但它改变了适用的税率和收入。

下表显示了 2018 年联邦所得税税率与 2017 年税率的对比情况。

 

由于这些变化，你的雇主会在明年调整你的预扣税，所以你应该很快就会看到你的实收工资略有增加。

 

• 公司收入税率下降

如果你拥有一家公司，那么您明年将会有很大的受益，您的公司税率会有显着下降。目前公司税率为 35％， 明年则下降到 21％。

削减利率也旨在帮助小企业。如果您将您的商业利润作为个人收入（PASS THROUGH ENTITY）申报在您的纳 税申报表上，那么您很有可能可以扣除 20％的商业收入。如果结婚，扣除可以从$ 315,000 开始逐步淘汰， 具体取决于您的行业。

 

• 公司投资费用回报

如果您拥有一个企业，那么投资可以提高您的生产力。如果您明年投资扩大您的生意，可以得到回报。新 法允许您在五年内扣除短期资本投资的全部成本。因此，尽早投资新设备是有道理的。

 

• 遗产税豁免增加

现在，低于 560 万美元的遗产可以免除遗产税，但是新法将这一豁免改为低于 1120 万美元的遗产。这种变 化意味着更多的遗产，如农场，将避免税收。

 

• 需要注意的事项

大部分的个人所得税变化都是在 2025 年到期的，所以除非国会在此之前延长或延长这些税率，否则税率和 扣除额可能会在这一点上回到 2017 年的法律。企业税率是永久性的，但五年内扣除短期资本投资将在五年 后取消。

 

 

永恒会计师事务所 LEGEND FINANCIAL SERVICES