Posts Tagged ‘tax bracket’

How the Bush Tax Cuts Affect Tax-Savings Strategies

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

Each November, we like to look at the steps you can take to reduce your tax bill. This year, it’s a little ambiguous, because the Bush tax cuts and credits are set to expire at the end of 2010. If they do expire, a lot of folks will experience a significant adjustment to their tax situation.

The “Bush tax cuts” refers to legislation enacted in 2001 and 2003. The cuts lowered tax rates on income, dividends, and capital gains; eliminated the estate tax; lowered burdens on married couples, parents, and the working poor; and increased tax credits for education and retirement savings. (more…)

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Changes in Tax Brackets and Benefits for 2010

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
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For 2010, personal exemptions and standard deductions will change only slightly to reflect inflation adjustments. Many levels will remain consistent with 2009.By law, the dollar amounts for a variety of tax provisions must be revised each year to keep pace with inflation. As a result of little inflation, there will be no significant changes for 2010. The following is a brief review of some of the key levels effecting 2010 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2011, include the following:

  • The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, will remain at the same level of $3,650, no change from 2009.
  • The new standard deduction is $11,400 for married couples filing a joint return in 2010 (no change from 2009), and $5,700 for singles and married individuals filing separately (again, no change from 2009. The Head of Household standard deduction increased slightly to $8,400 for heads of household (up from $8,350 in 2009). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.
  • Tax-bracket thresholds increase slightly for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $68,000, up from $67,900 in 2009.
  • The maximum earned income tax credit for low and moderate income workers and working families with two or more children is $5,028, up from $4,824. The income limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or more children is $43,415, up from $41,646.
  • The annual gift exclusion will remain at $13,000, same as 2009.

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