Recent Tax Updates
2018 Tax Law Changes that are Directly Reported on Form 1040
October 3, 2018
As a reminder, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made a number of changes to provisions that are reported directly on Form 1040 or the new 1040 Schedules 1 - 6. Here are the provisions that will affect most taxpayers:
ACA Penalty for not having Health Insurance
Although not a change want to remind you that the shared responsibility payment (penalty) for not having health insurance still applies for 2018 federal returns. Therefore if an individual did not have health insurance for all or part of 2018 they will either need to qualify for an exemption and complete Form 8965 or include a penalty amount on Form 1040, Schedule 4, line 61.
The penalty goes away beginning in 2019.
Standard Deduction was increased beginning in 2018 to:
- $12,000 – Single
- $24,000 – Married Filing Joint
- $18,000 – Head of Household
The additional standard deduction for the Aged and Blind still applies.
Exemptions were eliminated. Therefore the exemption boxes for the taxpayer, spouse and dependents were eliminated and the line for totaling the exemptions were removed from 1040.
Child Tax Credit had the following changes:
- Increased the credit to $2,000 per child of which $1,400 is eligible to be refundable. The age limit to qualify for the child tax credit remains at children under the age of 17.
- Child must have a Social Security Number to be eligible for the child tax credit.
- The earned income threshold for the refundable portion of the child tax credit has been lowered to $2,500.
Other Dependent Credit
- Created new $500 nonrefundable other dependent credit for:
- Children that are 17, 18, or students
- Other qualifying dependents
- Qualified children under 17 with an ITIN
Moving Expenses
- The moving expense adjustment to income (Form 1040, Schedule 1, 26) is only allowed for members of the armed forces.
- Moving expense reimbursements may no longer be excluded from income.
Tax Rates
The tax rates and brackets for 2018 for Single and Married Filing Joint filing status’ are:
Rate |
Unmarried Individuals |
Married Filing Joint |
|---|---|---|
10% |
Up to $9,525 |
Up to $19,050 |
12% |
$9,526 - $38,700 |
$19,501 - $77,400 |
22% |
$38,701 - $82,500 |
$77,401 - $165,000 |
24% |
$82,501 - $157,500 |
$165,001 - $315,000 |
32% |
$157,501 - $200,000 |
$315,001 - $400,000 |
35% |
$201,001 - $500,000 |
$400,001 - $600,000 |
37% |
Over $500,000 |
Over $600,000 |
For more information on the above provisions and other provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act see the following:
- Crosslink Tax Resource Center – Federal Tax Law Changes Included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
- IRS Tax Reform page on IRS website – Latest information on the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
