Tax Man LLC

Tax Changes 2018 - Survivors and Casualties


One of the big problems in trying to understand any tax law is the misinformation out there on Facebook, TV, the golf course, office, or what your friends tell you over lunch.  

“They took away everything!!”

​

Bupkus!

(Of course, why should the facts interfere with what I want to believe?)

The Survivors

The following deductions did in fact survive (although some have been modified or restricted):

• Mortgage interest* on your FIRST mortgage is unchanged unless you bought/built/improved a house with a loan over $750,000.
• Charitable donations
  
• Medical Expenses
  
• Teacher Expense Deduction
  
• Property taxes, State Income Taxes and Sales Tax* (but limited to $10,000 total).
  
• IRAs, 401(k)s, HSAs
  
• Child Care Credit
  
• Tuition Credits (but not tuition deduction)
  
• Student Loan Interest
  
• Alimony paid (for divorces in 2018 or earlier)
  
• Business deductions for self-employed persons
  
• Investment interest (money borrowed to invest)
  
• Rental expenses (including mortgage interest)
  
• Gambling losses* (to the extent of winnings)

The Casualties

The following deductions are no longer available:

• Moving expenses
• Line 27 of Schedule A:
  
  • Investment Expenses (brokerage fees)
    
  • Union Dues
    
  • Work Uniforms
    
  • Employee Business Expenses (from Form 2106)
    
• Tuition deduction (but tuition credits survived)
  
• Second mortgages on your home* (unless the mortgage was used to buy, build, or improve your home)
  
• Personal Exemptions
  

* More on these in a later installment
Neither of these lists is all-inclusive

Randall S. van Reken, EA, CFP, ATP