Tax and financial advice from the Silicon Valley expert.

Estate planning problems and opportunities

One Big Beautiful Bill Tax Provisions Effective After 2025

President Trump signed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), H.R. 1, Public Law 119-21, on July 4, 2025.  Republicans in Congress responded to President Trump’s request for urgency, enacting it mid-year.  Usually, major tax laws are passed at the end of the year.  The Act was narrowly approved, 51-50 in the Senate and 218-214 in the House of Representatives.

The principal part of the Act was to extend most of the cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The Act is huge – over 900 pages.  In order to make it more digestible, I previously sent a summary of provisions effective 2025. This article will mostly focus on the provisions taking effect after 2025.

Remember these are federal tax changes.  Check whether your state will conform to them.

You can access the complete law at https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text.

  1. Tax rates extended.  Permanently effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, OBBBA extends the individual income tax rates adopted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  The maximum federal income tax rate for individuals, estates and trusts, scheduled to increase to 39.6%, is 37%.  The threshold for the 20% maximum long-term capital gains rate is also extended, indexed for inflation.

The Act adds an additional year inflation adjustment for the 22% tax bracket by adjusting the base year.  (Act § 70101.)

2. Increased standard deduction made permanent.  The standard deduction is slightly increased effective 2026 to $15,750 for singles, $23,625 for heads of households, and $31,500 for married, filing joint returns, indexed for inflation in future years.  (Act § 70102.)

3. Estate and gift tax lifetime exemption made permanent.  The estate and gift tax lifetime exemption is increased to $15 million effective 2026 and indexed for inflation for subsequent years.  (Act § 70106.)

4. Alternative minimum tax exemption and phaseout amounts modified and made permanent.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemptions adopted for individuals in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are extended, with annual inflation adjustments slightly modified, using different base years.  (The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 didn’t change the AMT exemptions and phaseouts for estates and trusts.)

The thresholds for phasing out the exemptions are reduced from $1,252,700 for married, filing joint and surviving spouses for 2025 to $1,000,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation, thereafter and from $626,350 for singles and heads of households for 2025 to $500,000 for 2026, indexed for inflation thereafter.

The exemption phaseout rate is increased from 25% to 50%, so the exemption is phased out twice as fast under the new law.  (Act § 70107.)

5. Section 529 (Qualified Tuition Programs) changes.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the annual limit for distributions for a beneficiary from § 529 plans is increased from $10,000 to $20,000. (Act § 70413.)

See item 2 of the article about changes effective 2025 about additional expenses qualifying for the exclusion and postsecondary credentialing expenses.

6. Qualified residence interest.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the limit for deducting qualified residence interest is permanently $750,000 of acquisition indebtedness.  Home equity indebtedness (other than acquisition indebtedness) doesn’t qualify as qualified residence interest.

Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, mortgage insurance premiums (previously deductible for 2018 through 2021) are treated as interest on acquisition indebtedness.  The deduction relating to mortgage insurance premiums is phased out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $100,000 ($50,000 for married, filing separate returns by $100 for each $1,000 ($500 for married, filing separate returns) in excess of the threshold amounts.  (Act § 70108.)

7. Miscellaneous itemized deductions repealed, except for educator expenses.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions is permanently repealed, and unreimbursed employee expenses for eligible educators is removed from the list of miscellaneous itemized deductions.

Expenses of an eligible educator are tax deductible.  An eligible educator is an individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, interscholastic sports administrator or coach, principal or aide in a school for at least 900 hours during a school year.

Unreimbursed employee expenses for eligible educators include expenses for books, supplies, computer equipment and supplementary materials used by eligible educators as part of instructional activity.  (Act § 70110.)

8. Overall limit on the benefit of itemized deductions.  The “Pease limitation” on itemized deductions that was scheduled to be restored after December 31, 2025 is permanently repealed and replaced with a new limitation, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Under the new limitation, itemized deductions, after applying other limitations, are reduced by 2/32 of the lesser of (1) the amount of itemized deductions; or (2) the amount of taxable income, before itemized deductions over the threshold for the 37% tax bracket.  (Act § 70111.)

9. Gambling loss limit.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, a temporary rule, expiring at the end of 2025, limiting wagering losses has been replaced with a stricter rule.  Under the temporary rule, “losses from wagering transactions” include any deduction otherwise allowable under the Internal Revenue Code in carrying on such transactions.  That rule prevented professional gamblers from using travel expenses, tournament fees and other expenses to generate losses from their gambling businesses.

OBBBA makes that rule permanent, and also adopts another permanent rule limiting “losses from wagering transactions” to the lesser of wagering gains or 90% of the amount of wagering losses.  (Act § 70114.)

10. Extension and modification of exclusion for discharges of student loans.  Effective for discharges after December 31, 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowing the exclusion of income of student loans discharged because of an individual’s death or permanent disability has been extended permanently.  The exclusion applies for a student loan or a private education loan.  In order to qualify for the exclusion, the taxpayer must provide a work-eligible Social Security number.

An American Rescue Plan Act provision extending the exclusion to all student loan discharges is allowed to expire as of December 31, 2025.  (Act § 70119.)

11. Trump savings account and contribution pilot program.  Effective January 1, 2026, parents of any child under age eight may open a Trump account for their child.  The first contribution can’t be made until six months after July 4, 2025.  The accounts may receive contributions from parents, relatives and other taxable entities and from other non-profit and government entities facilitated by the Treasury Department.  To be eligible for an account, the child must be a U.S. citizen and at least one parent must provide their work-eligible Social Security number.

Trump accounts are a kind of traditional IRA that must be invested in a diversified fund that tracks an established index of U.S. equities.  No margin is permitted for account investments.  Contributions to Trump accounts don’t count for the contribution limits for other retirement accounts and the account isn’t aggregated with other IRAs for the purpose of determining required minimum distributions or the taxability of distributions.

Taxable entities may make aggregate contributions up to $5,000 annually of after-tax dollars to a Trump account.  Contributions from tax-exempt entities aren’t subject to the $5,000 annual limit.  The limit will be indexed for inflation after 2027.  Contributions aren’t counted for determining the tax basis of the account.

Contributions from unrelated third parties must be provided to all children within a qualified group – for example, all children in a state, a specific school district or educational institution.

Employers may contribute up to $2,500 to an employee’s child’s Trump account and the contribution isn’t included in the employee’s taxable income.  The limit will be indexed for inflation after 2027.

No contributions can be made to a Trump account after the beneficiary reaches age 18.

The account may be transferred tax-free to a different custodian using a trustee-to-trustee transfer.

Trump account holders may not take distributions until they reach age 18.  From age 18 to 24, account holders may access up to 50% of funds for higher education, training programs, small business loans, or first-time home purchases.  At age 25, account holders may withdraw any amount, up to the full balance, for those limited purposes.  At age 30, account holders may withdraw up to the full balance of the account for any purpose.

Distributions taken for qualified purposes are taxed as long-term capital gains.  Distributions taken for any other purpose are taxed as ordinary income.

If the beneficiary of the account dies before the year that includes their 18th birthday, (1) if the successor to the account is not an estate, the successor will be taxed on the account balance for the year of death; (2) if the successor to the account is an estate, the account balance will be taxed on the final income tax return of the account beneficiary.

(Remember most distributions from Section 529 plans (Qualified Tuition Plans) used for qualified education expenses are tax-free, which might be a better alternative for family savings plans.)

As a pilot program, for U.S. citizens born from January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2028, the federal government will contribute $1,000 per child into every eligible account.  Parents or guardians of newborn children may open an account and receive the $1,000 contribution.  To be eligible for the $1,000 contribution, the child must be a U.S. citizen at birth and both parents must provide work-eligible Social Security numbers.  If the Secretary of the Treasury (the IRS) determines that an eligible individual doesn’t have an account by the first tax return where the parents claim the child credit, the Secretary shall establish an account.  If possible, the account will be opened with the parents’ preferred custodian and investment fund.  Parents have the options to opt out of the account.  (Act § 70204.)

12. Dependent Care Assistance program.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance is increased from up to $5,000 annually ($2,500 for married, filing a separate return) to $7,500 annually ($3,750 for married, filing a separate return.)  (Act § 70404.)

13. Child and Dependent Care Credit.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the maximum child and dependent care credit rate is increased from 35% to 50%, reduced by 1% for each $2,000 or fraction thereof by which the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000.  For adjusted gross income between $43,001 and $75,000 ($86,001 and $150,000 for married filing joint,) the credit rate is 35%.  For adjusted gross income between $75,001 and $105,000 ($150,001 and $210,000 for married, filing joint,) the credit is phased down to 20% by 1% for each $2,000 ($4,000 for married, filing joint) in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 for married, filing joint.) (Act § 70405.)

14. Health Savings Account enhancements.  Effective for months beginning after December, 31, 2025, individuals with high-deductible health plans also will be able to enroll in direct primary care (DPC) arrangements and maintain their health savings account (HSA.)  Up to $150 per month for individuals and $300 per month, adjusted annually for inflation, of HSA funds may be used to pay for DPC services.  (Act §71308.)

Effective for months beginning after December 31, 2025, all bronze and catastrophic health plans on the Exchange are eligible plans for the purpose of making HSA contributions.  (Act § 71307.)

15. Charitable contributions for individuals.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions may claim a permanent deduction of up to $1,000 for single filers, $2,000 for married, filing jointly.  The donations must be made in cash and the charity can’t be a donor advised fund.  (Act §70424.)

Also effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, for taxpayers who itemize deductions, the charitable contributions deduction before other limits is reduced by 0.5% (1/2 %) of the taxpayer’s contribution base for the tax year (adjusted gross income (AGI) without regard to any net operating loss carryback.)  The disallowed deduction due to this limitation is added to the charitable contributions carryforward only when the remaining donations exceed the other AGI limits.  There is an ordering rule for which limitation group the 0.5% reduction relates to. 

The 60% of AGI limitation for cash contributions, scheduled to expire after 2025, is made permanent.  (Act §70425.)

16. Casualty loss changes for individuals.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the limitation to deduct casualty losses to federally-declared disasters is permanently extended.  In addition, state-declared disasters (including U.S. Territories) and mayor-declared disasters for the District of Columbia are eligible for the deduction.  (Act § 70109.)

17. Other Individual Provisions.

  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, permanently extended the termination of personal exemptions (except the new $6,000 deduction for seniors.)  (Act § 70103.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, permanently repealed the qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement and provides an additional year of inflation adjustment for other qualified transportation fringe benefits.  (Act § 70112.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, permanently extends the provision including ABLE account contributions made by an account’s designated beneficiary as eligible contributions for the saver’s credit.  (Act § 70116.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, permanently extends the increased limit on contributions to ABLE accounts and provides an additional year of inflation adjustment for the base amount of the contribution limit.  (Act § 70117.)
  • Effective January 1, 2026, permanently lists the Sinai Peninsula and other areas as qualified hazard duty areas.  (Act § 70117.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, permanently extends the exclusion for employer payments of student loans and provides an inflation adjustment of the $5,250 maximum exclusion.  (Act § 70412.)

18. Qualified business income deduction extended.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the 20% qualified business income (QBI) deduction under Section 199A is permanently extended.

The “phase in” threshold where limitations are applied to the deduction are increased from $50,000 to $75,000 for non-joint returns and $100,000 to $150,000 for joint returns.

A new minimum deduction is adopted of $400 for taxpayers with at least $1,000 of QBI from one or more active trades or businesses that the taxpayer materially participates in.  (Act § 70105.)

19. Enhancement of Employer-Provided Child Tax Credit. Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the maximum employer-provided child care credit is increased from $150,000 to $500,000, and the percentage of child care expenses covered is increased from 25% to 40%.  (A business that spends at least $1.25 million could receive the full credit.)

Eligible small businesses may receive a $600,000 maximum credit, with 50% of child care expenses covered.  (A qualified small business that spends at least $1.2 million on child care expenses could receive the full credit.)  An eligible small business meets an average annual gross receipts test (it would be $31 million for 2025), based on the 5-year period (instead of the 3-year period) preceding the tax year.  The gross receipts threshold is adjusted annually for inflation.

The $500,000 and $600,000 thresholds are indexed for inflation after 2026. 

Small businesses may pool resources to provide childcare to their employees and businesses may use a third-party intermediary to facilitate childcare services.  (Act § 70401.)

20. Extension and enhancement of Paid Family Leave and Medical Leave Credit.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the Paid Family and Medical Leave Credit for wages paid to qualifying employees for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act is extended permanently with three changes.

  • It modifies the credit to allow it to be claimed for an applicable percentage of premiums paid or incurred by an eligible employer during a tax year for insurance policies that provide paid family and medical leave for qualified employees.
  • It makes the credit available in all states.
  • It reduces the minimum employee work requirement from one year to six months.

The applicable percentage starts at 12.5% wages and increases to 25% for each percentage point the payment rate for leave exceeds 50% of wages.  A maximum of 12 weeks of leave for each employee is eligible for the credit. No tax deduction is allowed for expenses for which the credit is claimed.  (Act §70304.)

21. Renewal and enhancement of Opportunity Zones.  A permanent Opportunity Zone (OZ) policy is established built on the original structure.  Rolling ten-year OZ designations are created beginning on January 1, 2027.  The existing designation process is modified to update the definition of a Low-Income Community (ILC) and eliminating the ability for contiguous tracts that are not LICs to be designated as OZs,

The definition of a “low-income community” is reduced to census tracts that have a poverty rate of at least 20% or a median family income that does not exceed 70% of the area median income.  A guardrail is also added to ensure the term “low-income community” does not include any census tract where the median family income is 125% or greater of the area median family income.

The taxpayer benefits are changed so that investors receive incremental reduction in gain starting on the first anniversary of the investment.  Investors will be required to realize their initial gains, reduced by any step-up in basis in the seventh year of the designation window.  For each year that an investor is invested in the fund, their basis will be increased (1) 1% for years 1-3; (2) 2% for years 4-5; and (3) 3% for year 6.

In addition, a new type of Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) is created that invests solely in rural areas.  Investments in these “qualified rural opportunity funds” will receive triple the step-up in basis.  A special rule is also created that lowers the “substantial improvement” threshold of existing structures from 100% to 50% in rural areas. 

Additional reporting requirements are adopted for the OZ program and the IRS is given funding to carry out the reporting requirements.  (Act § 70421.)

22. 1% floor for corporate Charitable Donations.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, C corporations may only deduct charitable contributions that exceed 1% of taxable income (1% floor) and don’t exceed 10% of taxable income.  Charitable contributions disallowed because of the 1% floor may be carried forward (up to 5 years) provided the 10% of taxable income threshold is exceeded.

Current year contributions are applied first for the 10% limit.

Charitable contributions carryforwards are reduced to the extent they would increase a net operating loss.  (Act § 70426.)

23. Increased thresholds for filing Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC.  Effective for payments made after December 31, 2025, the threshold for payments for which Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC is required to be filed is increased from $600 to $2,000, indexed for inflation for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026.  (Act § 70433.)

24. Extension and modification of Limit on Excess Business Losses of Noncorporate Taxpayers.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, the limit for excess business losses of noncorporate taxpayers is made permanent.

Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the inflation adjustment for the $250,000 ($500,000 for married, filing joint) threshold for excess business losses will apply to years beginning after December 31, 2025.  The base year for cost of living adjustments will be 2024.  (Act § 70601.)

25. Intangible Drilling and Development Costs for computing Adjusted Financial Statement Income.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, adjusted financial statement income (AFSI) for computing the corporate alternative minimum tax is (1) reduced by any expenses under Internal Revenue Code §263(c) for intangible drilling costs for oil and gas wells and geothermal wells for the amount deducted to compute taxable income for the year and (2) adjusted to disregard any amount of depletion expense reported on the taxpayer’s applicable financial statement for the intangible drilling and development costs of the property.  (Act § 70523.)

26. Income from Hydrogen Storage, Carbon Capture, Advanced Nuclear, Hydropower, and Geothermal Energy added to Qualifying Income of Certain Publicly Traded Partnerships.  Effective after December 31, 2025, activities categorized as qualifying income for publicly traded partnerships to be treated as partnerships for tax purposes is expanded to include the transportation or storage of liquified hydrogen or compressed hydrogen, production of electricity from hydropower, generation of electricity or capture of carbon dioxide at a direct air capture facility, generation of electricity from geothermal deposits or hydropower, and operation of property to produce, distribute or use energy from a geothermal deposit or property that uses the ground or ground water as a thermal energy source or thermal energy sink.  (Act § 70524.)

27. Other provisions for businesses and nonprofits.

  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the rate of investment tax credit for investments in qualified manufacturing facilities is increased from 25% to 35%.  (Act §70308.)
  • Effective for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2025, meals provided on fishing boats and certain U.S. fishing processing facilities aren’t subject to the limitation on tax deductions for business meals.  (Act § 70305.)
  • Effective for calendar years ending after December 31, 2025, the low-income housing credit state allocation ceiling is increased by 12% and, effective for buildings placed in service after December 31, 2025, the bond-financing threshold is reduced to 25%.  For any building for which expenditures are treated as a separate new building under Internal Revenue Code § 42(e), both the rehabilitation expenditures and the original building are treated as placed in service on the date the expenditures are treated as placed in service under § 42(e)(4).  (Act § 70422.)
  • The new markets credit is permanently extended for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2025.  (Act § 70423.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the charitable contributions deduction threshold for expenses of an individual recognized by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission as a whaling captain carrying on sanctioned whaling activities in Alaska is increased from $10,000 to $50,000.  (Act § 70429.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the quarterly asset test as qualification as a REIT is changed from not more than 20% to not more than 25% of the assets of the REIT represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries.  (Act § 70439.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the executive compensation of an employee of a publicly traded member of a controlled group is an allocated portion of $1,000,000.  (An overall $1,000,000 deduction limit applies for the group.)  (Act § 70603.)
  • Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the excise tax for investment income of certain private colleges and universities is modified.  The excise tax ranges from 1.5% to 8%.  The tax applies for colleges and university with at least 3,000 tuition-paying students for the previous year, at least 50% located in the United States, and an average endowment, other than assets used to carry out the institution’s exempt purpose, exceeding $500,000 per student. Student loan interest isn’t included in investment income. (Act §70415.)
  • Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025, the excise tax on excess compensation paid to highly-compensated employees by tax-exempt organizations is expanded to include any employee of an applicable tax-exempt organization (or predecessor) or any former employee employed by the organization during any year beginning after December 31, 2016.  (Act § 70416.)
  • Effective for distilled spirits imported to the United States after December 31, 2025, the cover over of tax on distilled spirits is permanently increased from $10.50 to $13.25.  (Act § 70427.)

28. Clean Energy Provisions repealed by accelerated sunsetting after 2025, accelerated sunsetting after 2025.

  • The § 30C alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit is terminated for property placed in service after June 30, 2026.  (Act § 70504.)
  • The § 179D energy efficient commercial buildings deduction is terminated for property for which construction begins after June 30, 2026.  (Act § 70507.)
  • The § 45L energy efficient home credit is terminated for homes acquired after June 30, 2026.  (Act § 70508.)
  • The § 45V clean hydrogen production credit is terminated for facilities for which construction begins on or after January 1, 2028.  (Act § 70511.)

29. Termination and Restrictions on Clean Electricity Production Credit.  The §45Y clean electricity production credit is generally terminated for wind or solar facilities placed in service after December 31, 2027, except for wind and solar facilities that begin by July 4, 2026.

For other facilities, the existing phaseout timeline provided at § 45Y(d) (75% for 2034, 50% for 2035, and zero thereafter) applies.

Effective for tax years beginning after July 4, 2025, no credit is allowed for wind or solar property if the taxpayer rents or leases the property to a third party.

Effective for any facility for which construction is begun after December 31, 2025, the facility doesn’t qualify for the credit if a prohibited foreign entity provides material assistance with the construction of the facility.

The credit may not be transferred to a prohibited foreign entity.   (Act § 70512.)

The IRS has issued Notice 2025-42 with guidelines for determining the beginning of construction for Wind and Solar facilities for determining whether a facility qualifies for energy credits.  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-42.pdf

30. Termination and Restrictions on Clean Electricity Investment Credit.  The §48E clean electricity investment credit is generally terminated for wind or solar facilities placed in service after December 31, 2027, except for wind and solar facilities that begin by July 4, 2026.  The credit for energy storage technology facilities is not terminated. 

For other facilities, the existing phaseout timeline provided at § 45Y(d) (75% for 2034, 50% for 2035, and zero thereafter) applies.

Effective for any facility for which construction is begun after December 31, 2025, the facility doesn’t qualify for the credit if a prohibited foreign entity provides material assistance with the construction of the facility.

A prohibited foreign entity or a foreign influenced entity doesn’t qualify for the credit.  (Act § 70513.)

31. Phaseout and Restrictions on Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit.  The §45X advanced manufacturing production credit for producing critical minerals is phased out to 75% of the credit allowed in 2031, 50% for 2032, 25% for 2033 and no credit beginning in 2034. 

The credit for wind components produced and sold after December 31, 2027 is also terminated.

Effective for components sold during tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, a person shall be treated as having sold an eligible component to an unrelated person if— (1) such component (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘primary component’) is integrated, incorporated, or assembled into another eligible component (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘secondary component’) produced within the same manufacturing facility as the primary component, and (2) the secondary component is sold to an unrelated person.

Effective for taxable years beginning after July 4, 2025, the term ‘eligible component’ shall not include any property which includes any material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity.

Specified foreign entities and foreign-influenced entities aren’t eligible for the credit.  (Act § 70514.)

32. Extension and Modification of Clean Fuel Production Credit.  The § 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit is extended through December 31, 2029. 

Effective for transportation fuel produced after December 31, 2029, only fuel made from feedstocks produced in the United States, Mexico and Canada qualifies for the credit.  (Act § 70521.)

33. Foreign Tax Credit modification.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the allocation and apportionment of deduction rules are modified for global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) for determining the foreign tax credit (FTC.)  The rules are also modified about GILTI inclusion in gross income for domestic corporations, to increase the allowance from 80% to 90%.  (Act § 70311.)

Solely for the purposes of the FTC limitation, if a U.S. person maintains an office or other fixed place of business in a foreign country, the portion of taxable income from the sale of exchange outside the United States of inventory property produced in the United States and which is attributable to the foreign office or other fixed place of business is treated as foreign-source taxable income.  The amount treated as foreign-source income can’t exceed 50% of the total taxable income from the sale or exchange of the inventory property.  (Act §70313.)

34. Foreign-Derived Deduction Eligible Income and Net CFC Tested Income.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the Internal Revenue Code § 250 deduction percentage for foreign-derived intangible income (FDII) and global intangible low-tax income (GILTI) is 33.34% for FDII and 40% for GILTI.  After these deductions, the effective tax rate will be 14% for both FDII and GILTI.

The definition of foreign-derived deduction eligible income is also modified and the deemed tangible income return currently used to determine a domestic corporation’s FDII and the net deemed tangible income return currently used in determining a U.S. shareholder’s GILTI inclusion are eliminated.  (Act § 70312.)

35. Base Erosion Minimum Tax.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, the base erosion minimum tax percentage for the Internal Revenue Code §59A base erosion minimum tax is increased from 10% to 10.5% of modified taxable income over adjusted regular tax liability.  (Act § 70331.)

36. Business Interest Limitation.  Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, Internal Revenue Code §163(j) is amended to provide that the business interest limitation is calculated before applying any interest capitalization provision, defined as any provision under which interest is (1) required to be charged to a capital account or (2) may be deducted or charged to a capital account.

Any interest which is capitalized under Internal Revenue Code §§263(g) or 263A(f) is not treated as business interest for Internal Revenue Code § 163(j).  The amount of business interest allowed after applying the limitation is applied first to amounts which would be capitalized and the remainder, if any, to amounts which would be deducted.

No portion of any business interest carried forward is treated as business interest to which interest capitalization applies. (Act § 70341.)

37. Other International Tax Reforms effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025.

  • Permanent extension of the Internal Revenue Code § 954(c)(6) look-through rule for related controlled corporations.  (Act § 70351.)
  • Restore Internal Revenue Code §958(b) limitation on downward attribution of stock ownership for applying constructive ownership rules.  (Act § 70353.)
  • Modify the pro-rata share rules in Internal Revenue Code § 951(a).  (Act § 70354.)

38. Remittance Transfer Tax.  Effective for transfers made after December 31, 2025, a 1% excise tax is imposed for transfers of funds outside the United States.

The tax applies to funds transferred using a service provider other than a bank, such as Western Union.  The tax applies for cash, money orders, cashier’s checks or any other similar physical instrument.  The service provider collects the tax and pays it to the federal government quarterly.

Remittance transfer tax doesn’t apply to transfers via banks, including payments using credit cards or debit cards.

U.S. citizens who provide proof of citizenship may claim a refund or credit for any remittance transfer tax that they pay.

Noncitizens aren’t entitled to a refund.

Effectively, immigrants and expatriates are penalized for using non-bank money services.  (Act § 70604.)

Should a surviving spouse roll over an inherited retirement account?

When someone passes away is one time it's essential to consult with an estate planning lawyer, a tax advisor like a CPA or enrolled agent, and possibly a financial planner.

Read More

Big Brother wants to watch EVEN MORE!

Under the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, transfers to a legal entity, including a TRUST, corporation, partnership, limited partnership or limited liability company, of residential real estate of up to four units and unimproved land zoned for occupancy by one to four families that don't involve financing through a financial institution would have to be reported on a Real Estate Report to FinCEN within 30 days or a sale or transfer, and copies kept by the reporting person and other parties for five years.

Read More

Not much time to protect assessed value of California real estate

Effective for transfers after February 15, 2021, the exemption from reassessment only applies to the excess of the fair market value of a primary residence (qualifying for the homeowner's real estate tax exemption) over the transferor's assessed value up to $1 million.

Read More

Urgent news if you have a retirement account with a Conduit Trust named beneficiary

Legislation called the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019, enacted December 20, 2019, renders any estate plan involving a Conduit Trust beneficiary of a big retirement account (including 401(k) accounts and IRAs) obsolete.

A provision of the Act repeals “stretch” payments over the life expectancy of most successor beneficiaries for inherited retirement accounts of decedents who die after December 31, 2019.  The maximum time for distributions is 10 years after the death of the decedent/plan participant.

What is a Conduit Trust?  The purpose of a Conduit Trust was to control a retirement account, usually with a minor beneficiary, and still qualify for distribution of the account over the beneficiary’s life expectancy, called stretch distributions.  In order to qualify, the account had to be disregarded for income tax reporting with respect to the retirement account distributions.  The way this was accomplished was to require that any retirement account distributions received by the trust be immediately distributed to the beneficiary.

Since life expectancy distributions are usually very small, a huge distribution would be payable to the beneficiary 10 years after the death of the account owner, probably subject to very high federal income tax rates and possibly subject to mismanagement by the beneficiary.

There are some exceptions to the new rule, including (1) the surviving spouse of the employee/participant, (2) a child who is under age 21, (3) certain disabled persons, (4) certain chronically ill persons, and (4) an individual not previously described who is not more than 10 years younger than the employee/participant.

When a child of the decedent reaches age 21, the balance of the account must be distributed within 10 years.

If a beneficiary of a retirement account inherited from a person deceased before 2020 is deceased after 2019, the 10 year limit applies to that person’s successor beneficiaries.

Since the Conduit Trust no longer provides a tax benefit, employees/participants with retirement accounts should consult with their attorney and tax consultant about eliminating the Conduit Trust as a beneficiary and making alternative estate plans for their retirement accounts.

Major federal retirement changes enacted, Kiddie tax change repealed

As part of the domestic spending bill, H.R. 1865, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, enacted on December 20, 2019, major federal retirement changes were enacted in Division O, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, nicknamed the SECURE Act.  As part of the SECURE Act, Congress also repealed changes to the Kiddie tax enacted in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.  Taxpayers may elect to amend their 2017 and 2018 individual income tax returns to use this Kiddie tax change.

Here are highlights.  Please consult with your retirement plan consultant or tax consultant for more details.

  • Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2020, the rules for multiple employer plans have been relaxed so that if one employer violates the qualification rules, the entire plan won’t be disqualified.  (The “one bad apple rule.”)
  • Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2019, the maximum default contribution for a plan with automatic enrollment is increased from 10% to 15%.
  • Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the tax credit for retirement plan startup cost for small employers is increased from the lesser of (1) $500 or (2) 50% of qualified startup costs to the greater of (1) $500 or (2) the lesser of (a) $250 times the number of nonhighly compensated employees of the employer who are eligible to participate in the plan or (b) $5,000.  The credit applies for the first three years of the adoption of the plan.  It’s also available for employers that convert an existing plan to an automatic enrollment design.
  • Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, amounts includable in an individual’s income paid to aid the individual in pursuing graduate or postdoctoral study, such as a fellowship, stipend, or similar amount, is treated as compensation for the limitation on IRA contributions.
  • Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, the prohibition of contributions to an IRA by an individual who has reached age 70 ½ has been repealed.  The excludable amount for direct distributions to a charity after age 70 ½ is reduced by any contributions to an IRA after age 70 ½.
  • Effective for plan loans made after December 20, 2019, amounts loaned from a plan using a credit card or similar arrangement will be treated as deemed plan distributions and not as loans.
  • Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2019, when a plan will no longer accept a lifetime income option, such as an annuity, as a plan investment, employees will be able to make direct transfers of the lifetime income investment to an IRA or another retirement account within the 90-day period ending on the date when the lifetime income investment is no longer accepted by the plan.
  • Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2020, employers are required to permit employees to make elective deferrals if the employee has worked at least 500 hours per year with the employer for three consecutive years and has met the age requirement (age 21) by the end of the three-year period.  Each 12-month period for which the employee has at least 500 hours of service shall be treated as a year of service for vesting purposes.  This (500 hour) requirement will not apply for collectively-bargained plans.   Employers may elect to exclude these employees for the nondiscrimination and top-heavy requirements.  Employer contributions won’t be required for these individuals.
  • Effective for distributions made after December 31, 2019, distributions of up to $5,000 per birth or adoption can be made free of the 10% early distributions penalty during the one-year period beginning on the date on which a child of the individual is born or on which the legal adoption by the individual of an eligible adoptee is finalized.  (An eligible adoptee is any individual, other than a child of the taxpayer’s spouse, who has not reached age 18 or is physically or mentally incapable of self-support.)  Taxpayers must include the name, age, and taxpayer identification number of the child or adoptee on their tax return.  The distributions may be recontributed to an individuals eligible retirement plan, subject to certain requirements.
  • Effective for plan participants who reach age 72 after December 31, 2019, the age at which distributions are required to be made from an IRA or a qualified plan is increased from age 70 1/2 to age 72.  (The required beginning date for employees who reached age 70 1/2 during 2019 is unchanged at April 1, 2020.)  The age at which qualified charitable distributions of up to $100,000 per year from an IRA is unchanged at 70 1/2.
  • Retroactively effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2017, the actuarial rules for defined benefit plans of privately-owned community newspapers are relaxed.  This is targeted relief benefiting this group.
  • Retroactively effective for defined contribution plan years beginning after December 31, 2015 and effective for IRA contributions after December 20, 2019 , difficulty of care payments that are excludable from gross income are treated as compensation for nondeductible IRA contribution limits.  These are payments by (1) a state or political subdivision of a state, or (2) a qualified foster care placement agency as compensation for providing additional care needed for qualified foster individuals.  The payments are provided when a qualified foster individual has a physical, mental or emotional disability for which the state has determined (1) there is a need for additional compensation to care for the individual; (2) The care is provided in the home of the foster care provider; and (3) the payments are designated by the payor as compensation for that purpose.
  • Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, an employer may adopt a qualified retirement plan up to the extended due date of the employer’s federal income tax return and the plan can be retroactively effective for the taxable year.  Although employee contributions can’t be made after the year-end, employer contributions can be made up to the extended due date of the income tax return.  (This rule currently applies to SEP accounts.)
  • Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2021, the IRS is to issue procedures for employers who have similar individual account or defined contribution accounts to elect to file combined annual reports (Form 5500.)
  • The IRS is to issue model disclosures showing the estimated lifetime income based on the account balance of a plan participant, to be reported at least annually.  The IRS is also required to provide guidelines for how the income amount should be computed.
  • A fiduciary safe harbor is adopted so plan fiduciaries will satisfy the prudence requirement when selecting an insurer for a guaranteed retirement income (annuity) contract and will be protected from liability for losses that result to to participant or beneficiary due to an insurer’s inability to satisfy its financial obligations under the contract.  (A favorable provision for insurers, not so great for participants and beneficiaries.)
  • Effective on December 20, 2019, and electively retroactive to plan years beginning after December 31, 2013, the nondiscrimination rules are modified to protect older, longer service participation.  These rules are complex and beyond the scope of this explanation.  The rules will allow a closed or frozen plan to continue in existence.
  • Effective for distributions made after December 31, 2018, from Section 529 (educational savings) plans, registered apprenticeship expenses will be considered “qualified higher education expenses.”  Expenses for fees, books, supplies and equipment required for the designated beneficiary to participate in a registered apprenticeship program are qualified expenses for distributions from such a plan.
  • Effective for distributions made after December 31, 2018, up to $10,000 of qualified education loan repayments will be considered “qualified higher education expenses” for distributions from a Section 529 plan.  Student loan interest paid using distributions from a Section 529 plan won’t otherwise qualify for a tax deduction.
  • Effective for distributions made with respect to employees or plan participants who die after December 31, 2019, inherited retirement accounts must generally be distributed within 10 years after the employee or participant’s death.  There is an exception permitting “stretch” distributions based on life expectancy to (1) the surviving spouse of the employee/participant, (2) a child of the employee/participant who hasn’t reached majority, (3) certain disabled beneficiaries, (4) chronically ill beneficiaries, or (4) other beneficiaries who are not more than 10 years younger than the employee.  Once a child of the employee/participant reaches majority, the balance of the account must be distributed within 10 years after the date majority is reached.

The effective date for collective bargaining agreements and government plans will generally be for distributions with respect to employees or plan participants who die after December 31, 2021.

There is an exception for certain existing annuity contracts.

The ten-year distribution requirement also applies to successor beneficiaries of beneficiaries who inherited accounts before December 20, 2019.  (If an employee/participant was deceased during 2019, a surviving spouse might decide to disclaim IRA survivor benefits so that successor beneficiaries will be able to claim “stretch” distributions of benefits for which the election would otherwise be lost.)

Commenters have suggested  designating a charitable remainder trust as a beneficiary of a retirement account as a way to avoid the 10-year limit.  The plan distribution to the trust isn’t subject to current taxation.  Distributions are required to be made annually to the beneficiary(ies) of the CRT, which will probably carry taxable income.  Depending on how long the beneficiary(ies) live, some or all of the balance could go to a charity.  Seek tax and legal counsel when considering this alternative.

  • A provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the Kiddie Tax that apples to the unearned income of certain individuals.  The rule applies to a child who (1) is required to file a tax return; (2) does not file a joint income tax return for the tax year; (3) the child’s investment income exceeds a threshold ($2,200 for 2019); (4) either of the child’s parents are alive at the end of the year; and (5) At the end of the tax year, the child is either (a) under age 18; (b) under age 19 and doesn’t provide more than half of his or her own support with earned income; or (c) under age 24, a full-time student, and does not provide more than half of his or her own support with earned income.  Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the child’s income tax is computed using the tax rate schedule that applies to estates and trusts.  This provision was causing a hardship, especially for survivors of military casualties.   Under the SECURE Act, this change is repealed, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2019.  Taxpayers may elect to retroactively apply the change for tax years 2018 and 2019.   This means children will generally be taxed on their unearned income at their parent’s marginal tax rate.  For 2019, the 37% marginal tax rate applies for single persons with taxable income over $510,300 and for estates and trusts with taxable income over $12,750.
Tax and financial advice from the Silicon Valley expert.