New Taxes for 2011 – How Much is Accurate?

New Taxes for 2011 – How Much is Accurate?

Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes

Someone sent me this email so I wanted to post it less as much of the political spin as I could subtract as possible to get a sense for how much of it is accurate. Here are taxes that will be coming for 2011 according to the email:

“Wave Oneâ€

1. Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief – In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families

2. Personal income tax rates will rise – The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

3. Higher taxes on marriage and family - The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut

4. The return of the Death Tax – For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million

5. Higher tax rates on savers and investors –

-The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011
- The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011
- These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013

“Wave Twoâ€
6. The “Medicine Cabinet Tax†– Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin)

7. The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike - This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent

“Wave Threeâ€

8. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes - When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise - the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the Tax Policy Center, Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families - rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level

9. Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear - Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated"

10. Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses - There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others

11. Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced –

- The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available
- Tax credits for education will be limited
- Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses
- Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut
- Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed
- The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families

12. Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed - Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there

13. Insurance will be INCOME on your W2's - Starting in 2011, your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort. You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS - SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS - (sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."

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Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
15y

2. Personal income taxes will not rise, for any income bracket, for two years.

4. Yes, there is a Death Tax, or Estate Tax as it is called. It will be 35% on an estate, for the value above $5 million. So, if you die and are passing on $4 million, no tax on that (at least that's my understanding).

5. Capital gains and dividends will not rise, for two years.

8. The AMT exemption amount has been adjusted (among other changes) so fewer people will be hit by it.

9. Small businesses will be able to depreciate 100% of business asset purchases in 2011. For 2012, it returns to 50%.

Don't know about the rest of the stuff. But there is a summary of the agreement reached on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Relief,_Unemployment_Insurance_Reauthorization,_and_Job_Creation_Act_of_2010

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Bryan, you have thrown a lot out on the table. I'm going to go through it as I have some time.

    This is quite accurate as the law currently stands. If nothing is done we will be back to the pre-2001 tax rates

    http://www.fivecentnickel.com/2010/02/15/2011-federal-income-tax-brackets-irs-income-tax-rates/

    I suspect we will have some movement on taxes though. How much is hard to know. This election will certainly play a part though it may only create gridlock.

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    If nothing is done. The estate tax is set to revert back to the 1 million dollar level. Is this likely, probably not but it is possible with gridlock.

    Capital gains rates will go up as well this was part of temporary legislation which is also set to expire.

    http://www.mwe.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/publications.nldetail/object_id/eabca0b6-9e69-469c-9c5f-3d37e8f743ac.cfm

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    Thanks Charles…unfortunately I don’t write the tax laws so things change a lot. Please do go through things as you have time.

    I am particularly interested in your perspective on item 13.

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Marriage penalty tax penalty relief provisions are set to expire in January of 2011. The child tax credit also a temporary increase that is set to expire in 2011 which will decrease the credit allowed.

    http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/tax_watch/20010209a.asp

    I believe that before all is said and done these will be reinstated. The last thing either party wants is to come off as insensitive to the needs of the average working family. There will probably be a lot of bickering though before it gets done.

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    While the cost of insurance will be required to be reported, the cost of insurance provided to you is for information only. As I understand it is more about the government wanting to make it more transparent how much insurance costs. This is more likely to make it more palatable when we are charged for government mandated insurance.

    Some employer provided benefits have always been taxable. Group medical insurance coverage is a nontaxable employee benefit and still is under the new legislation. The cost of group term life insurance is not taxable unless it exceeds 50K in coverage, then the cost of the excess is a taxable benefit and the employer must include in taxable wage or salary income.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    So group medical insurance won’t be counted as taxable income? Is this inaccurate in the email bullet points?

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    The new legislation requires that group medical be reported on your W-2, but it is for informational purposes only and is not to be included in taxable income.

    So, the bullet point was not completely accurate.

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Item 6 is partially true. You will no longer be able to use nontaxable HSA money to pay for over-the-counter drugs that were not prescribed unless it is insulin. Medicine prescribed by a doctor can still be paid for with HSA money.

    The penalty for using money in a HSA for nonqualified purposes will increase to the 20%.

    http://www.hdhpforme.com/news/2011-hsa-rule-changes/

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Item number 8

    There were provisions in the Bush tax cuts that raised the limits of alternative minimum tax. Allowing this provision to sunset will mean that more people will be subject to AMT.

    Here is a chart that might help you make some sense of this.

    http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/AMT.cfm

    AMT was first enacted in 1969 and was intended to increase the tax on the wealthy. Over the years more and more people are being subjected to AMT. I doubt this will go away any time soon.

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    While these are all true at this time, I fully believe that you will see some of these change. They have been working on making R&D permanent, which may not get done I think the credit will get extended.

    In this economy, I just don't see them allowing the capital expenditure credits go away. In fact this year they extended it through the end of the year. They are quite likely to do this for 2011 as well.

    Congress will quite likely let some of the credits expire. They will be looking for some ways to increase tax without looking like the bad guys. Tuition credits might go away or be reduced. I would not be surprised if IRA donations are disallowed.

    I think part of the reason the economy hasn't improved is that businesses are uncertain what to expect. It is becoming more costly to hire employees. It is becoming more costly to do business. How much more costly is what is not known.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    Charles is spot-on! I check Snopes this morning and it appears the entire email was factual and lead up to the final point which was meant to incite anger at the current administration in the hopes of winning political points at the polls:

    Taxing Health Benefits Debunked

    It seems that legislators are setting caps on what is exempt in an attempt to dissuade people from using “Cadillac Plans†to avoid paying taxes on what really should amount to salary.

    Thanks Charles!

    So it seems the rest of the email was fairly accurate in your estimation less possibly the parts about assuming things will stay the same and not be changed by Congress. Is that right Charles?

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Item 6 & 13 were only partially true both pertain to the health care legislation.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    I actually sent an email back to all of the people on the mass email that was sent out referencing the Snopes article and this thread along with commentary on why it was inaccurate. Thanks for helping to clear the air Charles!

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    Did any of this end up changing Charles or others in the know?

  • J ScottPro Member
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    Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    15y
    Originally posted by Bryan Hancock:
    Did any of this end up changing Charles or others in the know?

    Pretty obvious, but #1 changed with the new tax cuts that were passed last week...

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    yeah...I figured as much about that one J. I was really more interested in most of the rest of the stuff. My CPA and I had BBQ last week, but we didn't cover all of this stuff in detail.

  • Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
    15y

    2. Personal income taxes will not rise, for any income bracket, for two years.

    4. Yes, there is a Death Tax, or Estate Tax as it is called. It will be 35% on an estate, for the value above $5 million. So, if you die and are passing on $4 million, no tax on that (at least that's my understanding).

    5. Capital gains and dividends will not rise, for two years.

    8. The AMT exemption amount has been adjusted (among other changes) so fewer people will be hit by it.

    9. Small businesses will be able to depreciate 100% of business asset purchases in 2011. For 2012, it returns to 50%.

    Don't know about the rest of the stuff. But there is a summary of the agreement reached on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_Relief,_Unemployment_Insurance_Reauthorization,_and_Job_Creation_Act_of_2010

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    For some reason I thought the death tax was 55%...not sure why. Thanks for the correction and the link!

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    3. has changed back to what was before.
    6. This change is still in effect though they have softened some of the rules. I need to look into this a little more again. There's a lot to digest in the fine print.

    Many Americans will not be able to file until after Feb 15 because the forms to itemize will not be available until then.

    Many more tax preparers will be required to e-file returns. A tax return preparer will be required to e-file if they prepare 50 or more returns.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    How do they enforce #6 Charles? It seems like it would be easy enough for someone to just spend the HSA money on whatever they want and claim ignorance. Are we really that worried about people buying pain killers with their HSA?

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    You will be able to buy over the counter drugs as long as you have a doctor's prescription. That is basically the new change.

    http://www.discoverybenefits.com/news.aspx?permalink=422

    Here is a list of changes put together by the Journal of Accountancy.

    http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20103682.htm

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    Yeah...I heard about that. I am sure the doctors will LOVE getting a deluge of requests for Tylenol. Gotta love the gov-mint!

    I am seeing ads pimping cost segregation and its added benefit from the passage. Does the bonus expensing just impact personal property or did they goof with real property somehow too?

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    The special bonus depreciation doesn't apply to real property. It can apply though to items that can be broke out by cost segregation.

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    15y

    Are any of these new items coming into play for people's real-world returns Charles?

  • Landlord · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    15y

    Small business owners are going to benefit from reduced social security rate. Employers won't, but those that pay self employment tax will get a 2% reduction.

    Most of what happened was an extension of previous tax cuts.

    It is looking more likely that some of the 1099 reporting requirements will get scaled back. I'm sure that we have a ways to go on the Obama healthcare act. A federal judge has ruled it unconstitutional but I'm equally sure that it is going to the supreme court.

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