Plan ahead for 2017 tax sunset in 2025

The expiration of many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) may impact some METARs.

Since it may take time to shift assets and make other estate plans I don’t think it’s too early in 2023 to start thinking about this. (I have been shifting Traditional to Roth IRA assets gradually since 2018 to take advantage of the temporarily lower tax brackets.)

Of course, it’s impossible to predict what Congress will do before 2025 to re-adjust the sunset provisions. We only know for a fact that the government will need to raise more money = higher taxes.

Wendy

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Actually, there is no need to have higher taxes. All the IRS needs to do is enforce the current tax code.

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Careful lumping attitudes of the wealthy in 2012 to attitudes of the wealthy in 2023. How money is made is constantly changing.

It will never go out of style to pay as little as possible but dishonesty has gone out of style. The wealthy are now in a position where most of them know an industrial policy is necessary, the IRA, and paying for it will fall on the honest. Meaning this dishonest will cost the honest. Running off to the islands with your money is not a popular move. If you get caught your peers wont bail you out this time.

It is indeed impossible to predict … but you can think in terms of probabilities, and the probability of any major changes during 2023 and 2024 is low due to a split congress, and the 2024 election year. That leaves 2025 to “do something” about the sunset.

@MarkR without getting into politics, I think it’s non-partisan to point out that there is a presidential and Congressional election in 2024. I think it’s non-partisan to point out that the Republican-dominated Congress passed the 2017 tax cut laws after the election of a Republican president in 2016. I think it’s non-partisan to predict that a similar Republican victory in 2024 would likely lead to extension of the 2017 laws.

Note that I am NOT endorsing either party or predicting which will win in 2024. But the result would have a big impact on the answer to your question.
Wendy

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It is not hard to figure how the kabuki dance will go. Recall, on the last go around, the “JC” tax cuts were permanent, but the cuts for the rest of us were temporary. I would expect the pressure to “do something” prior to the election, to avoid a “tax increase” the next year, will be enormous. The cost of “doing something” to prevent the rest of us seeing a tax increase, will be another round of permanent tax cuts for the “JCs”.

Steve

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Wendy,

The issue with tax policy right now going into the next two or three decades is how progressive the public wants the tax policy to be.

That has nothing to do with 2017.

The public knows if the rich do not pay they do. The public has a good sense that if the rich pay they the public pay less.

There are not many fools out there among J6P thinking tax the rich less and we all pay less in taxes.

It is very funny that anyone ever believed that.

What I will add taxes in relative terms for the middle class will come down dramatically.

How?

There are a few major costs to being middle class

education for your children and yourself
healthcare
retirement

As it stands these costs are not paid for by the middle class. Instead people have education debt, healthcare debt and no retirement.

If at the end of the day 30 years from now people have the same spending money as now, their education for the children paid for, their healthcare paid for and can retire comfortably when middle class…in effect no matter what their taxes are, remember same spending money, then in relative terms their taxes are very low.

Dad an Irish trained doctor some years ago stated taxes are low in the US on a doctor until you factor in the doctor’s on healthcare insurance costs. Then taxes and healthcare cost more than if s/he practiced in Europe. Not much more but imagine that is on a doctor’s pay.