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Private foundations assessing the impact of the tax reform legislation (HR1) signed into law on December 22, 2017 should look beyond the private foundation-specific proposals that were not included and assess the impact of provisions affecting all tax-exempt organizations. For some private foundations, the list of key items may include the new excise tax on organizations with highly compensated employees, segmentation of unrelated business taxable income (UBTI), and changes to employer provisions for qualified transportation fringe benefits.

Congress on December 20, 2017 gave final approval to the House and Senate conference committee agreement on tax reform legislation (HR 1 or the Act).

On December 19, 2017, the House and then the Senate approved HR 1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” which was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The major tax overhaul includes a reduction in tax rates for most individuals, a reduction in the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, and a reduction in the tax rate on individual business income. Generally, HR 1 leaves retirement savings tax incentives untouched, and that is (for the most part) good news. In this article, we consider some key elements of the bill bearing on retirement savings tax policy.

Estate planners have heard the list of complaints surrounding the Subtitle B, Chapter 13 of the IRC, also known as the generation-skipping transfer tax’s (GST) introduction into the Code—it is nonsense, too complicated, and frightening. The naysayers, however, are missing that the GST tax is rich and nuanced in its applications—but often misunderstood. Knowledge about gift and estate tax concepts can produce erroneous conclusions if applied to certain aspects of the GST.

Financial planning is essential to helping secure the future of you and your loved ones, yet it is easy to delay tackling it. Creating a customized financial plan helps define your individual investment goals, identify potential obstacles and allows you to adjust strategies as circumstances change. This article addresses the commonly asked questions about family financial planning, including philanthropic giving, estate planning and gifting strategies, and how to select a financial advisor and estate planning attorney.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The Act brings about immediate, sweeping changes to the federal income tax laws—especially relating to the commercial and residential real estate industries. Highlights of the Act relating generally to U.S. real estate businesses and their owners also include 20 percent deduction for qualified business income of individuals, business interest deduction limitation, and modification of the net operating loss deduction.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the largest tax overhaul since the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and there are numerous and significant changes. The changes generally go into effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and most changes affecting individuals sunset on December 31, 2025. Lawmakers have promised to extend the provisions before the expiration date. A high-level summary of the changes for the taxation of individuals and businesses outlines what these changes mean for you.

U.S. House and Senate Republicans have reached a deal on tax reform plans, paving the way for passage of tax reform by Christmas. The tax reform plan is certain to make profound changes to the tax code that will affect all U.S. taxpayers. This article describes some of the key provisions of the House and Senate bills that are likely to be included in some form in the final legislation, and how they will affect individuals and businesses in 2017 and beyond.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) is currently proceeding through Congress. The House and Senate recently passed different versions of the legislation, and a conference committee has been working to reconcile them. While additional steps must be completed after a final bill emerges from the conference committee there is a strong likelihood that this will be enacted by the end of 2017. The TCJA appears to be the most sweeping tax legislation that would be enacted in the past several decades, so it carries a number of tax planning ideas in its wake.

The IRS announced increases to the annual gift tax exclusion, and the U.S. estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions for 2018. The increases provide high net worth families favorable opportunities for tax-efficient transfers of wealth to their children and other descendants. In addition, the annual gifting can be a simple and effective tool for reducing the size of one’s estate without incurring any gift or estate tax, or reducing one’s estate and gift tax exemption amount.