Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in December 2017 and taking effect in January 2018, is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, unless Congress acts to extend it.
The TCJA had a lot of great tax-saving measures — too many to fully describe in this article — but the major ones included reduced tax rates for individuals, a higher standard deduction, a lowering of the alternative minimum tax (AMT), and a greatly increased federal estate and gift tax exemption. Unless Congress steps in to pass new legislation, all of these will go away at the end of 2025.
Fortunately, there are some tax strategies that you can use to lower your future tax bills. However, some of the more powerful ones take time to implement. So it’s not too early to start now.
What’s changing in January 2026?
Many federal income tax provisions under TCJA will revert to pre-2018 levels in the absence of Congressional action. Taking 2017 federal income brackets for illustration purposes, we estimate the impact on your income taxes as follows:
• Federal income tax rates and brackets: A single filer making between $100,526 and $191,950 in Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) currently pays a federal income tax of 24%. After TCJA expires, a taxpayer that falls most closely into that income bracket will pay 28% (depending on how the final 2026 income tax brackets are set).
• Standard deduction amounts: Married couples filing jointly can take a standard deduction of $29,200 in 2024; that amount will be cut to about $12,700.
• Alternative Minimum Tax exemptions and phaseout amounts: Created to ensure that high-income taxpayers pay a minimum amount of tax, the AMT’s current exempt phaseout of $609,250 for a single filer will be reduced to roughly $120,700.
• Child and other dependent tax credits: Currently, taxpayers can take a tax credit of $2,000 for each child; that credit will be cut in half, to $1,000, in 2026. The other dependent credit amount of $500 will go away completely.
There is at least one silver lining: The available limit on state and local tax (SALT) deductions will expire, meaning that taxpayers in high-tax states will be able to deduct the amount of state and local taxes they pay from their federal returns.
Income tax strategies to consider
There are at least two simple ways to prepare for the possibility of higher income tax brackets in 2026:
• Bring income forward, if you can: Accelerating income from bonuses or consulting work into 2025 will help lower your taxable 2026 income. Similarly, try not to defer income into 2026, as that income may be subject to higher rates.
• Consider Roth conversions: When you transfer money directly from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you’ll pay taxes on the converted amount at your ordinary rate, so by acting before the end of 2025, you effectively “buy” taxes on the sale.
Estate planning strategies to consider
For high-net-worth investors and families, the sunsetting of TCJA estate planning benefits will be significant. The federal estate tax exemption will revert to pre-2018 amounts (adjusted for inflation), and the new exemption amounts will be roughly half the current amount.
Single filers who can now shelter up to $13.61 million will see that exemption amount cut to about $7 million (taking the 2017 amount and indexing it to inflation).
One can see the consequence of not taking any steps to protect an estate in the following example:
An elderly married couple’s estate currently valued at $20 million is not subject to estate tax, but in two years, it will be when TCJA expires. They currently have basic wills that leave everything to each other.
The couple figures under the current exemption amount of $27.22 million, they don’t need to worry about estate taxes. But let’s say Congress takes no action on the exemption question, and the federal exemption amount reverts to $14 million. At that point, their joint estate would be about $6 million over the exemption amount. At a 40% tax rate, the cost to their heirs from their inaction would be approximately $2.4 million, trimming the value of the estate by 12%.
Whether you are single or married filing jointly, if your net worth places you close to the 2017 federal exemption amount, you should review your tax plan with your financial adviser and estate attorney. Among the strategies you may wish to consider are the following:
• Annual and lifetime gifts: You can make annual tax-free gifts of up to $18,000 in 2024 to any number of people provided that your total lifetime tax-free gifts don’t exceed $13.61 million in 2024. In 2026, the federal estate tax exemption will revert to pre-2018 amounts which will be roughly half the current amount. In addition, gifts to qualified charities are always tax-free. So, if you were planning to gift assets to your family or charity anyway, now may be a good time to do it — and bring down the size of your taxable estate.
• Special trusts: There are a number of trust arrangements that you can use to accomplish a variety of estate planning goals while reducing the size of your estate. For example, a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) allows the donor to make gifts to the SLAT using the lifetime gift exclusion. Upon the donor’s death, the beneficiary spouse receives net income and principal distributions; upon the death of the spouse, the secondary beneficiaries (usually the children and grandchildren) receive any remaining net income and principal. Other trusts can be structured to hold family business interests, insurance policies or a primary residence and remove these assets from the taxable estate.
If any of these strategies appeal to you, don’t wait!
One reason not to procrastinate is that estate planning is a complex process that takes time. Detailed estate plans can take 12 to 18 months to craft. Get started by getting an evaluation of your estate, if you don’t already have one. Make sure that you have or update basic estate planning documents such as wills, powers of attorney and health care proxies. Most importantly, you should contact a financial adviser to discuss your options well ahead of the Dec. 31, 2025, deadline. And remember to talk to a financial adviser, tax planner or estate attorney before taking any action that could have serious financial consequences.
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The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb are financial advisers at Wealth Enhancement Group and co-hosts of “Your Money” on WCCO 830 AM on Sunday mornings. Email Bruce and Peg at yourmoney@wealthenhancement.com. Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Wealth Enhancement Group and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services are separate entities from LPL Financial.
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