Like many of you, I am trying to understand what the recent changes in tax law mean for me and my clients. The "Tax Cut and Jobs Act" (which was renamed to the uninspired and boring "An Act To provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.") is 185 pages long, and changes many fundamental aspects of our tax system.
For me, as a veteran tax preparer, the easiest way to digest the changes is to detail how the old tax system worked, and annotate what has changed. I have taught a 48-hour tax school every Fall for the past seven years. This first series of posts will parallel the tax school I teach, giving first the old tax law and describing the changes in the tax law.
The first thing to note is that most provisions of the TCJA are effective in 2018, so when you do your taxes this tax season, we are still using the old 2017 tax code. So the information that I give for 2017 taxes is still relevant, and the changes I note will be relevant for planning ahead to tax year 2018.
Until the final bill was signed, I have purposely tried to remain "unspoiled" as to what's in the bill, because I know that there are always last minute changes in legislation, and I didn't want to mis-remember what was actually in the bill.
I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I will!
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