Note:  Some provisions of the new tax law are temporary and will be phased out in 2025.

1. Those taxpayers with the most modest of incomes who escaped paying income taxes before will now be subject to a 10% federal income tax.

2. Many homeowners with older homes or smaller mortgages will no longer have to itemize their deductions, as the standard deduction for single taxpayers rises to $12,000, $18,000 for heads of household and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly, totals that may exceed the amount that they would otherwise itemize.

3. Despite efforts to abolish it, the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare”, lives on under the new tax law.  While the individual mandate that required taxpayers to obtain minimal health care coverage has been eliminated, the 3.8% Medicare tax remains in effect for high-income taxpayers as a funding source for the Affordable Care Act. Also, taxpayers with modest incomes will continue to qualify for subsidies to help pay their health insurance premiums.

4. Many upper middle-class and affluent taxpayers may no longer have to pay the dreaded alternative minimum tax, a tax on tax-preference items, because the income threshold subjecting  them to the AMT has been raised.

5. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has estimated that the average lower- and middle-class household will realize a $30 higher tax bill than before, while the average household earning $1 million will receive a tax reduction  of over $23,000.  By 2027 those $1 million households will benefit from 82% of all tax breaks.

6.  The estate tax will be eliminated for many estates due to the rise of the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption to $11,180,000.

7. Many pass-through business entities, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs and S-Corporations will benefit from a 20% deduction against their qualified business income, the  provisions and limits of which are among the most complicated to follow, and will likely require the help of a seasoned tax professional to navigate through.

8. The new tax law limits the deduction of state and local taxes, such as income taxes withheld, real estate taxes, driver’s license and vehicle registration fees to $10,000 per year.  This will impact residents of those states with higher than average state income and real estate tax rates.
9. Personal exemptions, which amounted to $4,050 per qualifying household member in 2017, have been abolished, while at the same time the child tax credit for each dependent under 17 years old has been doubled to $2,000 each.

10. Many popular miscellaneous itemized deductions, which were subject to a 2% floor of adjusted gross income, have been eliminated.  These include estate taxes, gambling losses, hobby expenses, investment advisory fees, professional subscriptions, safe deposit box fees,  tax preparation fees, uniforms and protective clothing, union and professional dues and work tools.