Category Archives: Tax Law Changes

Plan now to avoid surprises from the Affordable Care Act when filing 2014 taxes

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2014 was the first year Americans had access to health insurance options through the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). With this new access to insurance came the obligation to purchase it or face new tax consequences. If you opted not to buy health insurance in 2014, you may be faced with a penalty when you file your 2014 tax returns. Even if you did buy insurance through one of the insurance marketplaces, you may have new tax forms to complete and some surprises when it comes to your refund or tax bill.

For most taxpayers, the impact on their tax filing will be minimal, requiring those who were covered to simply check a box indicating they had insurance throughout the year. Those who received subsidies to purchase insurance and who later had increases in their 2014 salary may be required to pay back some of that subsidy. Those whose salary decreased may receive a larger than expected refund.

As these provisions are new to everyone, there may be confusion for taxpayers and tax preparers alike. Unfortunately, due to recent budget cuts, the IRS expects to be able to speak with only half of the people who call in for assistance.

While gearing up for the 2014 tax season, it’s helpful to understand some the most important provisions of the ACA:

  • 1. Exemptions: The ACA provided some exemptions that allow taxpayers to opt out of purchasing insurance without any penalties, including hardship, affordability and religion. There are different methods for applying for an exemption depending on the type of exemption you are requesting. To learn more, go to: https://www.healthcare.gov/fees-exemptions/apply-for-exemption/
  • 2. Penalties: Those who do not qualify for an exemption, were insured for only part of the year, or remain uninsured will be required to pay a penalty called “The Individual Shared Responsibility Payment.” The penalty is set to increase over the coming years, so compare not to see if it is more beneficial for you to pay the penalty or buy insurance. The Tax Policy Center has designed a calculator to help you determine your penalty is you opt to remain uninsured: http://taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/acacalculator.cfm.
  • 3. Reconciling: Those who purchased subsidized insurance on the exchanges received an advance on a tax credit. At the time of requesting the subsidy for insurance in 2014, the amount of the subsidy was calculated based on the taxpayer’s 2012 income. The amount of the subsidy granted will be reconciled in the taxpayer’s 2014 filing using the taxpayer’s actual 2014 income and that will affect the taxpayer’s refund or bill. Changes in an individual’s personal circumstances, such as divorce, marriage or a new child can also impact those numbers.

    • There’s still time to plan. Taxpayers facing a loss in premium subsidies because of an increase in income can reduce their income to qualify for the credits. For example, they can contribute to an IRA by April 15, 2015, for the 2014 tax year.

    Planning for the ever-changing Medicaid rules

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    The Affordable Care Act fills in current gaps in coverage for the poorest Americans by creating a minimum Medicaid income eligibility level across the country. Beginning in January 2014, individuals under 65 years of age with income below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) will be eligible for Medicaid.

    For many of our clients, Medicaid coverage is not an option. Nonetheless, there are still important steps that one can take to guard assets, protect your estate, and prepare for the possibility that you or your spouse will need long-term care: purchase long-term care insurance or self-insure.

    Long-term care insurance generally covers home care, assisted living, adult daycare, respite care, hospice care, nursing home and Alzheimer’s facilities. From a tax perspective, premiums paid on long-term care insurance product may be eligible for an income tax deduction and benefits paid from a long-term care contract are generally excluded from income.

    Self-insuring fits if your investment assets are sufficient to earmark a portion of your net-worth to cover possible long-term care needs. Before you decide, keep in mind that, once a change of health occurs, insurance may not be available. As always with financial planning, the best time to think about your long-term care strategy is before you need it.

    Massachusetts enacts the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (“MUPC”) Many other states have or will do the same

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    (While the following applies to Massachusetts, there are many other states that have recently made the same changes)
    Massachusetts adopted the “MUPC” on March 31, 2012. It affects almost every aspect of the law of wills and the administration of estates including changes outlined below:
    • Personal Representative: The law does away with classifications of executors, temporary executors, administrators, special administrators and the like by adopting the one-size-fits-all title of “personal representative.” The personal representative acts for people with a will (“testate”) or people without (“intestate”).
    • Descendants: Any portion of the estate which passes to the decedent’s descendants will pass under a new system of distribution called “per capita at each generation.” Under this rule, living children inherit equally. If a child pre-deceases the parents, and has living children, the shares of all deceased children are combined and divided equally among all the surviving children.
    • Effect of Divorce on the Estate Plan: The impact of divorce is broadened from partially revoking wills and unfunded revocable trusts to expressly apply to non-probate transfers, such as life insurance policies and trusts, whether funded or unfunded, in the case where an individual has the sole power to make certain changes to at the time of the divorce or annulment. The new law also operates to revoke bequests to relatives of the ex-spouse, as well as appointments of such relatives of executor or trustee under certain situations.
    • Effect of Marriage on Will: Where marriage used to automatically revokes a prior will, the MUPC does not provide for such automatic revocation. Instead, the will survives, and any legacy to descendants of the decedent (who are not descendants of the new spouse) is preserved. If any part of the estate is left to persons other than such descendants, the new spouse would receive his or her intestate share under law, to be satisfied from the assets left to such other persons (and from any bequests made to the surviving spouse, if any, in the premarital will). The testator’s choice of personal representative and guardian of minor children is also preserved. Note that this rule can be avoided by updating the will after marriage.
    Because of these changes to the MUPC, it is important that your estate planning documents are up to date. If you have not updated your estate plan recently, be sure to do so as soon as possible.

    Tax Law Changes Coming, including raised capital gains and dividend tax rates

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    This month, President Obama released his proposed FY 2014 budget which contains new taxes, limits on deductions, and other changes intended to meet the goal of raising more than $580 billion in revenue.
    The most significant of these is the termination of capital gains breaks and qualified dividend treatment, causing them both to be taxed as ordinary income. The Kiplinger Tax Letter suggests taking capital gains before 2015 to lock in the lower rate. However, as always, do not let a tax strategy override a good investment plan.
    Here is a summary of other changes that may affect you:
    The 28% Limitation:
    • Affects married taxpayers filing jointly with income over $250,000 and single taxpayers with income over $200,000.
    • Limits the tax rate at which these taxpayers can reduce their tax liability to a maximum of 28%.
    • Applies to all itemized deduction including charitable contributions, mortgage interest, employer provided health insurance, interest income on state and local bonds, foreign excluded income, tax-exempt interest, retirement contributions and certain above-the-line deductions.
    The “Buffet Rule”
    • Households with income over $1 million pay at least 30% of their income (after charitable donations) in tax.
    • Implements a “Fair Share Tax,” which would equal 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, less a charitable donation credit equal to 28% of itemized charitable contributions allowed after the overall limitation on itemized deductions. The Fair Share Tax would be phased in, starting at adjusted gross incomes of $1 million, and would be fully phased in at adjusted gross incomes of $2 million.
    Estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) Tax
    • Reintroduce rules that were in effect in 2009, except that portability of the estate tax exclusion between spouses would be retained.
    • This change would take effect in 2018.
    • Top tax rate would be 45% and the exclusion amount would be $3.5 million for estate and GST taxes, and $1 million for gift taxes.
    The Kiplinger Tax Letter anticipates the changes being acted on as early as 2014. On April 23, 2013, Max Baucus (D-MT), the head of the Senate Finance Committee, announced he would retire from the U.S. Senate at the end of his term in 2015. In The Kiplinger Tax Latter, Vol. 88, No. 9, Kiplinger predicts that “he’ll push to make revamping the tax code his legacy.”
    You may feel as though you are done with taxes and do not need address them for another year. Resist that urge and schedule a meeting with us so we can review the potential impact of proposed tax changes on your portfolio and investments. We can also discuss the best strategies for saving money on your 2013 and 2014 tax returns.

    Update on estate planning – what should you gift now?

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    Estate planning remains stuck in limbo. That is, after 2012, the $5 million credit for gift and estate taxes goes away and we could be back at a $1 million credit. Also, the generation skipping tax limit now at $5 million would decrease. Finally, the portability of estate tax exemptions between spouses expires, meaning that the survivor can no longer use any credit amount not used by the first spouse, which would allow more to pass on estate tax free.
    So far, Congress has taken no action. Many expect the 35% rate and a credit of at least $3 million to be the law for 2013 on. However, Congress failed to fix the estate tax for 2010 so nothing is certain.

    Planning: This means you need to review your estate plan, especially your gifting strategies, and act now to take advantage of the higher gift tax credit. You can gift up to $5 million of assets free of gift tax now, or $10 million for married couples. The benefit is that all future income and appreciation on these gifts is removed from your estate. The downside is that the gifts are irrevocable, so you must be certain that what you pass on now you will not need later.
    You always want to select assets that you expect will grow in value. If the assets decline, the strategy is frustrated. An example of what could go wrong is gift of a home at peak values that is now worth far less.

    Remember that you have the annual gift tax exclusion allowing you and your spouse can each give $13,000 per year to any individual without eating away at your gift and estate tax credit. And note: any payments made to colleges or hospitals for the benefit of another person are not counted at all. (No gift tax return is required for these excluded amounts.)

    How do you effectively structure the gift? Here are some examples:
    • Family limited liability company (FLLC): With real estate or business assets, you can transfer minority interests in the FLLC to children or grandchildren. You retain control and the amount you gift is discounted because the minority interests lack control and lack marketability. You will need an appraisal for the value and the discount.
    • Dynasty trust: This type of trust is designed to pass assets on multiple generations. Distributions can be made to the first generations, but they never actually receive a final amount – they rely on the trustee for any amounts to be distributed to them.
    • Grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT): This trust transfers assets to children after a specified term while retaining a fixed annuity. The amount you gift is discounted, because children do not receive it until the end of the term. If the amount transfers, you succeed in transferring a discounted amount that becomes worth much more to the next generation.
    • Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) Like the GRAT, your children receive your house in the future, so the value of the gift made now is discounted. You can even stay in the house after that term, but you have to pay rent, which is in effect another gift.

    One note of caution: some have expressed the concern that if Congress does not act, the IRS could try to take back the excess in some fashion. Be sure to consult with your estate tax advisor before taking any moves.
    We added gifting as a “to do” on the Finance Health Day page .