This week we will take a look at some other parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed in December. Medical Expenses — Under the new law, for 2017 and 2018, medical expenses are deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for all taxpayers. Previously, the AGI “floor” was 10% for most taxpayers. State and Local Taxes — The itemized deduction for state and local income and property taxes (including personal property and sales tax) is limite

This week we will take a look at one part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed in December. We are looking at changes in the rules for deducting qualified residential interest (interest on your home mortgage) under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act) beginning in 2018. Under the pre-Act rules, you could deduct interest on up to a total of $1 million of mortgage debt used to acquire your principal residence and a second home, i.e., acquisition debt. For a married taxpa

This week we will take a look at some tax provisions that were included in the budget deal that was recently signed into law. The following are provisions for individuals that expired at the end of 2016. However, they were retroactively reinstated, but only through 2017. Deduction for mortgage insurance premiums — this basically allows mortgage insurance premiums to be treated as deductible interest. Ability to exclude a discharge of residential mortgage indebtedness from gro

This week we will take a look at one of the changes that was made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Before the TCJA, the first $5.6 million of transferred property was exempt from estate and gift tax for 2018. The new law temporarily doubles the amount that can be excluded from these transfer taxes. For estates of decedents dying and gifts made from 2018 through 2025, the TCJA doubles the base estate and gift tax exemption amount from $5.6 million to $11.2 million for 201