At the eleventh hour on New Year’s Eve, Washington negotiators reached a compromise to avoid the “fiscal cliff” – the looming combination of tax increases and spending cuts that threatened to throw the country back into recession.
One of the most important parts of that compromise has often been overlooked. The compromise made permanent changes to the tax code. For over the past decade, when Congress changed the tax law, it typically included a “sunset” date, when the changes would expire and the prior law would again take effect. These sunset dates made planning difficult, because taxpayers never knew if Congress in fact would allow a law to expire or instead would enact another temporary extension.
Now, for the first time in over a decade, changes to the tax law have been made permanent. Of course, Congress can still change the tax law in the future, but at least the changes do not have built-in expiration dates raising concerns about the new law expiring.
The fiscal cliff compromise made the following changes to income tax rates for 2013 and beyond:
Taken together, these changes create four sets of tax rates on investment income where before there was one:
Family income | Ordinary income tax rate1 | Cap gain / Dividend tax rate | ||||
< $250K | 35% max | 15% max | ||||
(no change) | ||||||
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||||||
$250K – $300K | 38.8% | 18.8% | ||||
(3.8% surtax) | ||||||
$300K – $450K | 39.8% | 19.8% | ||||
(Pease phase-out) | ||||||
> $450K | 44.6% | 25% | ||||
(Bush tax cuts expire) |
The fiscal cliff compromise makes other tax changes as well:
At the same time, there were a number of things the compromise did not do:
1 “Ordinary income” is income that is taxed at an unreduced rate. Types of investment income taxed as ordinary income include interest (other than tax exempt interest), rents, and royalties. Dividends, capital gains, and tax exempt interest are not ordinary income as they are taxed at lower rates (or not at all).
Compensation income (income from a job) also is “ordinary income” because it is taxed at an unreduced rate. The 3.8% does not apply to compensation income. Instead, compensation income is subject to a new 0.9% surtax. The chart addresses only the taxation of investment income.
Andrew H. Friedman is the Principal of The Washington Update LLC and a former senior partner in a Washington, D.C. law firm. He speaks regularly on legislative and regulatory developments and trends affecting investment, insurance, and retirement products. He may be reached at www.TheWashingtonUpdate.com.
Neither the author of this paper, nor any law firm with which the author may be associated, is providing legal or tax advice as to the matters discussed herein. The discussion herein is general in nature and is provided for informational purposes only. There is no guarantee as to its accuracy or completeness. It is not intended as legal or tax advice and individuals may not rely upon it (including for purposes of avoiding tax penalties imposed by the IRS or state and local tax authorities). Individuals should consult their own legal and tax counsel as to matters discussed herein and before entering into any estate planning, trust, investment, retirement, or insurance arrangement.
Copyright Andrew H. Friedman 2013. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Good read on what we call the "Primary Effect". A party has a bitter primary, only to see a heavily damaged candidate or the most idealogical candidate win. This makes it very difficult to win the general election. Dems are struggling w/same issue. ow.ly/Tx2330jAVsS
About 2 days ago from TheWashingtonUpdate's Twitter via Hootsuite
The next leader for GOP in House of Rep is not a given. Some say they should replace the entire leadership team, not just pick the next in line. Perhaps not even a House member...yes, they can do that. FYI- Nancy Pelosi is not a lock for Dems either. ow.ly/GOzz30jzNV3
About 3 days ago from TheWashingtonUpdate's Twitter via Hootsuite
You know our position on U.S. fiscal matters. Great article dissecting the GOP position on the recent CBO projections. Pay particular attention to the last two paragraphs. It's what we've been telling audiences for the better part of the last decade. ow.ly/ql2j30jysGC
About 4 days ago from TheWashingtonUpdate's Twitter via Hootsuite
Tax reform II in 2018? Not likely to become law, but it will be interesting to see which vulnerable democrats vote for round two in an election year. Assuming it makes it to the Senate. Goal is to make individual cuts permanent. ow.ly/yGn730jysfG
About 4 days ago from TheWashingtonUpdate's Twitter via Hootsuite
Both parties in the House are struggling with leadership and possible successors. GOP: ow.ly/2old30jx34W ow.ly/mjVr30jx36J Dems: ow.ly/RTbr30jx383
About 5 days ago from TheWashingtonUpdate's Twitter via Hootsuite