EagleStone Tax & Wealth Newsletter – June 2018

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December of last year, fundamentally changes the federal tax landscape for both individuals and businesses. Many of the provisions in the legislation are permanent, others (including most of the tax cuts that apply to individuals) expire at the end of 2025. Here are some of the significant changes you should factor in to any mid-year tax planning. You should also consider reviewing your situation with a tax professional.

New lower marginal income tax rates

In 2018, there remain seven marginal income tax brackets, but most of the rates have dropped from last year. The new rates are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. Most, but not all, will benefit to some degree from the lower rates. For example, all other things being equal, those filing as single with taxable incomes between approximately $157,000 and $400,000 may actually end up paying tax at a higher top marginal rate than they would have last year. Consider how the new rates will affect you based on your filing status and estimated taxable income.

Higher standard deduction amounts

Standard deduction amounts are nearly double what they were last year, but personal exemptions (the amount, $4,050 in 2017, that you could deduct for yourself, and potentially your spouse and your dependents) are no longer available. Additional standard deduction amounts allowed for the elderly and the blind remain available for those who qualify. If you’re single or married without children, the increase in the standard deduction more than makes up for the loss of personal exemption deductions. If you’re a family of four or more, though, the math doesn’t work out in your favor.

Itemized deductions — good and bad

The overall limit on itemized deductions that applied to higher-income taxpayers is repealed, the income threshold for deducting medical expenses is reduced for 2018, and the income limitations on charitable deductions are eased. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the deduction for personal casualty and theft losses is eliminated, except for casualty losses suffered in a federal disaster area, and miscellaneous itemized deductions that would be subject to the 2% AGI threshold, including tax-preparation expenses and unreimbursed employee business expenses, are no longer deductible. Other deductions affected include:

• State and local taxes — Individuals are only able to claim an itemized deduction of up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing a separate return) for state and local property taxes and state and local income taxes (or sales taxes in lieu of income).

• Home mortgage interest deduction — Individuals can deduct mortgage interest on no more than $750,000 ($375,000 for married individuals filing separately) of qualifying mortgage debt. For mortgage debt incurred prior to December 16, 2017, the prior $1 million limit will continue to apply. No deduction is allowed for interest on home equity loans or lines of credit unless the debt is used to buy, build or substantially improve a principal residence or a second home.

Other important changes

• Child tax credit — The credit has been doubled to $2,000 per qualifying child, refundability has been expanded, and the credit will now be available to many who didn’t qualify in the past based on income; there’s also a new nonrefundable $500 credit for dependents who aren’t qualified children for purposes of the credit.

• Alternative minimum tax (AMT) — The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act significantly narrowed the reach of the AMT by increasing AMT exemption amounts and dramatically increasing the income threshold at which the exemptions begin to phase out.

• Roth conversion recharacterizations — In a permanent change that starts this year, Roth conversions can’t be “undone” by recharacterizing the conversion as a traditional IRA contribution by the return due date.

Now that it’s fairly common for families to have two wage earners, many husbands and wives are accumulating assets in separate employer-sponsored retirement accounts. In 2018, the maximum employee contribution to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan is $18,500 ($24,500 for those age 50 and older), and employers often match contributions up to a set percentage of salary.

But even when most of a married couple’s retirement assets reside in different accounts, it’s still possible to craft a unified retirement strategy. To make it work, open communication and teamwork are especially important when it comes to saving and investing for retirement.

Retirement for two

Tax-deferred retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs can only be held in one person’s name, although a spouse is typically listed as the beneficiary who would automatically inherit the account upon the original owner’s death. Taxable investment accounts, on the other hand, may be held jointly.

Owning and managing separate portfolios allows each spouse to choose investments based on his or her individual risk tolerance. Some couples may prefer to maintain a high level of independence for this reason, especially if one spouse is more comfortable with market volatility than the other.

However, sharing plan information and coordinating investments might help some families build more wealth over time. For example, one spouse’s workplace plan may offer a broader selection of investment options, or the offerings in one plan might be somewhat limited. With a joint strategy, both spouses agree on an appropriate asset allocation for their combined savings, and their contributions are invested in a way that takes advantage of each plan’s strengths while avoiding any weaknesses.

Asset allocation is a method to help manage investment risk; it does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss.

Spousal IRA opportunity

It can be difficult for a stay-at-home parent who is taking time out of the workforce, or anyone who isn’t an active participant in an employer-sponsored plan, to keep his or her retirement savings on track. Fortunately, a working spouse can contribute up to $5,500 to his or her own IRA and up to $5,500 more to a spouse’s IRA (in 2018), as long as the couple’s combined income exceeds both contributions and they file a joint tax return. An additional $1,000 catch-up contribution can be made for each spouse who is age 50 or older. All other IRA eligibility rules must be met.

Contributing to the IRA of a nonworking spouse offers married couples a chance to double up on retirement savings and might also provide a larger tax deduction than contributing to a single IRA. For married couples filing jointly, the ability to deduct contributions to the IRA of an active participant in an employer-sponsored plan is phased out if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is between $101,000 and $121,000 (in 2018). There are higher phaseout limits when the contribution is being made to the IRA of a nonparticipating spouse: MAGI between $189,000 and $199,000 (in 2018).

Thus, some participants in workplace plans who earn too much to deduct an IRA contribution for themselves may be able to make a deductible IRA contribution to the account of a nonparticipating spouse. You can make IRA contributions for the 2018 tax year up until April 15, 2019.

Withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement plans are taxed as ordinary income and may be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty if withdrawn prior to age 59½, with certain exceptions as outlined by the IRS.

If you’re the parent of a high school student who’s looking ahead to college, it’s important to have a grown-up conversation with your child about college costs. A frank discussion can help both of you get on the same page, optimize the college search process, and avoid getting blindsided by large college bills.

An initial conversation: a, b, and c

As a parent, you need to take the lead in this conversation because most 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds are not financially experienced enough to drive a $100,000 or $200,000 decision. One approach is to start off saying something like: “We will have saved ‘a’ when it’s time for you to start college, and after that we should be able to contribute ‘b’ each year, and we expect you to contribute ‘c’ each year.” That will give you a baseline of affordability when you start targeting colleges.

A more in-depth conversation: borrow x, pay back y

Once you start looking at colleges, you’ll see that prices vary, sometimes significantly. If a college costs more than a + b + c above, you’ll have to fill the gap. The best way to try and do this is with college grants or scholarships (more on that in a minute). Absent grant aid, you’ll need to consider loans. And here is where you should have a more detailed conversation with your child in which you say: “If you borrow ‘x’ you will need to pay back ‘y’ each month after graduation.” Otherwise, random loan figures probably won’t mean much to a teenager.

You can use an online calculator to show your childexactly what different loan amounts will cost each month over a standard 10-year repayment term. For example, if College 1 will require your child to borrow a total of $16,000 at 5%, that will cost $170 each month for 10 years. If College 2 requires $24,000 in loans, that will cost $255 each month. A loan amount of $36,000 for College 3 will cost $382 per month, and $50,000 for College 4 will cost $530 a month, and so on. The idea is to take an abstract loan amount and translate it into a month-to-month reality.

But don’t stop there. Put that monthly loan payment into a larger context by reminding your child about other financial obligations he or she will have after college, such as a cell phone bill, food, rent, utilities, car insurance. For example, you might say: “If you attend College 3 and have a student loan payment of $382 every month, you’ll also need to budget $40 a month for your phone, $75 for car insurance, $400 for food…” and so on. The goal is to help your child understand the cost of real-world expenses and the long-term financial impact of choosing a more expensive college that will require more loans.

Even with a detailed discussion, though, many teenagers may not be able to grasp how their future lives will be impacted by student loans. Ultimately, it’s up to you — as a parent — to help your child avoid going into too much debt. How much is too much? The answer is different for every family. One frequently stated guideline is for students to borrow no more than what they expect to earn in their first year out of college. But this amount may be too high if assumptions about future earnings don’t pan out.

To build in room for the unexpected, a safer approach might be to borrow no more than the federal government’s Direct Loan limit, which is currently a total of $27,000 for four years of college ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, and $7,500 junior and senior years). Federal loans are generally preferable to private loans because they come with an income-based repayment option down the road that links a borrower’s monthly payment to earned income if certain requirements are met. Whatever loan amount you settle on as being within your range, before committing to a college, your child should understand the total amount of borrowing required and the resulting monthly payment after graduation. In this way, you and your child can make an informed financial decision.

If there’s any silver lining here, it’s that parents believe their children may get more out of college when they are at least partly responsible for its costs, as opposed to having a blank check mentality. Being on the hook financially, even for just a small amount, may encourage your child to choose courses carefully, hit the books sufficiently, and live more frugally. Later, if you have the resources, you can always help your child repay his or her student loans.

Target the right colleges

To reduce the need to borrow, spend time researching colleges that offer grants to students whose academic profile your child matches. Colleges differ in their aid generosity. You can use a net price calculator — available on every college website — to get an estimate of how much grant aid your child can expect at different colleges. For example, one college may have a sticker price of $62,000 but might routinely offer $30,000 in grant aid, resulting in an out-of-pocket cost of $32,000. Another college might cost $40,000 but offer only $5,000 in grant aid, resulting in a higher $35,000 out-of-pocket cost.

Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the Employment Situation Summary report based on information from the prior month. The data for the report is derived primarily from two sources: a survey of approximately 60,000 households, or about 110,000 individuals (household survey), and an establishment survey of over 651,000 worksites.

Results from each survey provide information about the labor sector, including the:

• Total number of employed and unemployed people
• Unemployment rate (the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed)
• Number of people working full- or part-time in U.S. businesses or for the government
• Average number of hours worked per week by nonfarm workers
• Average hourly and weekly earnings for all nonfarm employees

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, when workers are unemployed, they, their families, and the country as a whole can be negatively impacted. Workers and their families lose wages, and the country loses the goods or services that could have been produced. In addition, the purchasing power of these workers is lost, which can lead to unemployment for yet other workers.

Investors pay particular attention to the information provided in this report. For instance, a decreasing unemployment rate may indicate an expanding economy and potentially rising interest rates. In this scenario, stock values may rise with expanding corporate profits, while bond prices may fall for fear of rising interest rates. Advancing wages may also be a sign of higher inflation and interest rates, as well as greater economic productivity.

Generally, the Employment Situation Summary report provides statistics and data on the direction of wage and employment trends — information that can be invaluable to investors.

If you’ve been thinking about converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, this year may be an appropriate time to do so. Because federal income tax rates were reduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017, converting your IRA may now be “cheaper” than in past years.

Anyone can convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2018. There are no income limits or restrictions based on tax filing status. You generally have to include the amount you convert in your gross income for the year of conversion, but any nondeductible contributions you’ve made to your traditional IRA won’t be taxed when you convert. (You can also convert SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs that are at least two years old, to Roth IRAs.)

Converting is easy. You simply notify your existing IRA provider that you want to convert all or part of your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, and they’ll provide you with the necessary paperwork to complete. You can also transfer or roll your traditional IRA assets over to a new IRA provider and complete the conversion there.

If you prefer, you can instead contact the trustee/custodian of your traditional IRA, have the funds in your traditional IRA distributed to you, and then roll those funds over to your new Roth IRA within 60 days of the distribution. The income tax consequences are the same regardless of the method you choose.¹

The conversion rules can also be used to contribute to a Roth IRA in 2018 if you wouldn’t otherwise be able to make a regular annual contribution because of the income limits. (In 2018, you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA if you earn $199,000 or more and are married filing jointly, or if you’re single and earn $135,000 or more.) You can simply make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then convert that traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. (Keep in mind, however, that you’ll need to aggregate the value of all your traditional IRAs when you calculate the tax on the conversion.) You can contribute up to $5,500 to all IRAs combined in 2018, or $6,500 if you’re 50 or older.

¹ If you choose to receive the funds first and don’t transfer the entire amount, a 10% early withdrawal penalty may apply to amounts not converted.