Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:
- Many taxpayers’ withholding went down in early 2018, giving taxpayers more money in paychecks.
- It is very important that taxpayers adjusted withholding after the withholding tables changed.
- Otherwise, taxpayers may receive a smaller refund- or owe an unexpected tax bill when filing 2018 tax return next year.
In addition to lowering the Tax Rates, the following changes that may affect you and your family include:
- Increasing the Standard Deduction to almost double from last year
- Single $12,000
- Married filing Separately $12,000
- Head of Household $18,000
- Married Filing Joint $24,000
- Suspending personal exemptions
- Increasing the Child Tax Credit ($2,000, only $1400 Refundable)
- Adding a new credit for other dependents ($500 when your dependent does not qualify for Child Tax Credit)
- Discontinuing specific deductions (like moving expenses, unless you are an active member of the US Armed Forces)
Reporting Health Care Coverage:
- You must continue to report coverage
- Qualify for an exemption
- Or report an individual shared responsibility payment for year 2018
- It is obligated that you follow the law and pay what you may owe at the point of filing.
Disaster Relief for Retirement Plan Participants:
- It will be easier for them to access their retirement plan funds to recover from disaster losses incurred in federally declared disaster areas in 2016-2018.
- The 10% additional tax on early distributions will be waived
- Include a qualified hurricane distribution in income over a 3 year period
- Repay their distributions to the plan
- Have expanded loan availability
- Extend the loan repayment period
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