Details of the House Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Tax Brackets

Consolidates the current seven brackets into four, with a bottom rate of 12 percent (aided by a higher standard deduction) while retaining the current top marginal rate of 39.6 percent. An income capture provision (“bubble rate”) will phase out the 12 percent bracket for filers with income in excess of $1,000,000 ($1,200,000 for joint filers).

Indexing Provisions

Indexes tax bracket and other provisions to the Chained CPI measure of inflation.

Standard Deduction

Increases the standard deduction to $12,000 for single filers, $18,000 for heads of household, and $24,000 for joint filers (currently $6,350 for single filers, $9,350 for heads of households, and $12,700 for married filers). Eliminates the additional standard deduction and the personal exemption.

Itemized Deductions

Retains the mortgage interest and charitable deductions, as well as the property tax deduction (capped at $10,000), but repeals the remainder of the state and local tax deduction and other itemized deductions.

Other Deductions and Exclusions

Caps the mortgage interest deduction at $500,000 of principal for new home purchases. Eliminates the moving deduction, educator expense deduction, and exclusions for employer-dependent care programs, among others. Makes changes to the exclusion of capital gains on home sales.

Family Tax Credits

Replaces the personal exemption for dependents with an expansion of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $1,600, while increasing the phaseout threshold (from $115,000 to $230,000 for married filers). The first $1,000 would be refundable, increasing with inflation up to the $1,600 base amount. Also creates a new $300 nonrefundable personal credit and a $300 nonchild dependent nonrefundable credit, subject to phaseout. The $300 credit expires after 5 years.

Alternative Minimum Tax

Eliminates the individual alternative minimum tax.

Corporate Tax Rate

Lowers the corporate income tax rate from 35 to 20 percent.

Pass-Through Rate

Creates a new 25 percent maximum tax rate on pass-through business income, subject to anti-abuse rules.

Pass-Through Anti-Abuse Rules

Begins with assumption that 70 percent of income derived from a business is compensation subject to ordinary rates and 30 percent is business income subject to the maximum 25 percent rate for active owners. Businesses can “prove out” of the 70/30 split based on demonstrated return on business capital at the short-term applicable federal rate (AFR) plus 7 percent. Certain specified service industries, like health, law, financial services, professional services, and the performing arts are excluded from the 70/30 split and can only claim the benefit of the lower pass-through rate to the extent that they can “prove out” their business income.

Capital Investment

Allows full expensing of short-lived capital investment (currently subject to “bonus” depreciation), such as equipment and machinery, for five years. Increases Section 179 expensing from $500,000 to $5 million and increases the phaseout threshold from $2 million to $20 million.

Tax Treatment of Interest

Limits the deductibility of net interest expense on future loans to 30 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), with a five-year carryforward, for all businesses with gross receipts of $25 million or more.

Net Operating Loss Provisions

Allows Net Operating Losses (NOLs) to be carried forward indefinitely and increased by a factor reflecting inflation and the real return to capital, while restricting the deduction of NOLs to 90 percent of current year taxable income and eliminating NOL carrybacks, except for one-year carrybacks for certain disaster losses.

Business Credits and Deductions

Eliminates the Section 199 manufacturing deduction and the New Market Tax Credit, along with like-kind exchanges for personal property (retained for real property), and deductions for entertainment. Eliminates credits for orphan drugs, private activity bonds, energy, rehabilitation, and contributions for capital, among others.

Alternative Minimum Tax

Eliminates the corporate alternative minimum tax.

International Income

Moves to a territorial tax system, in which foreign-source dividends and profits of U.S. companies are not subject to U.S. tax upon repatriation. However, 50 percent of excess returns (those greater than a routine return, defined as AFR plus 7 percent) earned by controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) are included in U.S. shareholders’ gross income. In addition, payments made from US corporations to a related foreign corporation are subject to a 20 percent excise tax unless the US corporation claims the transaction as effectively connected income (ECI). ECI is added to the taxable income of the US corporation, but the related foreign corporation’s expenses can be deducted from this income.

Deemed Repatriation

Enacts deemed repatriation of currently deferred foreign profits, at a rate of 12 percent for cash and cash-equivalent profits and 5 percent for reinvested foreign earnings.

Estate Tax

Increases the estate tax exemption to $10 million, which is indexed for inflation, and repeals the estate tax after six years.