The following deductions are not itemized deductions but are considered adjustments to income. This includes retirement-plan deductions (such as those for IRAs and self-employed retirement plans, including SEPs, SIMPLE and other qualified plans); all of these deductions would be retained. However, if all other deductions are eliminated, the eliminated deductions would include:
Teacher’s Expenses – This is the educator’s deduction for classroom supplies (up to $250 per year). The 2015 PATH Act recently made this deduction permanent.
Health Savings Account (HSA) Deduction – Individuals with high-deductible health insurance can currently deduct contributions to HSA plans when the funds are used to pay qualified medical expenses. It is doubtful that this deduction will actually be eliminated, as HSAs are a key element of the administration’s plan to replace Obamacare.
Moving Expenses – Individuals who move over 50 miles as a result of a change in work location and who work at the new location for a minimum period of time can deduct the cost of the move.
Self-Employed Health-Insurance Deduction – Self-employed individuals, including partners and those who hold more than 2% of an S corporation’s shares, can deduct the cost of their own medical insurance as well as that of their spouse and dependents, subject to certain conditions.
Penalty for Early Withdrawal of Savings – When taxpayers withdraw from term savings accounts, they may incur interest penalties, which are deductible. This deduction was implemented to avoid having taxpayers pay taxes on interest income that they did not receive.
Alimony Paid – When a taxpayer pays alimony to a former spouse, that alimony is taxable for the recipient. To avoid taxing both parties on the same income, the one who makes the payments is allowed to deduct the alimony paid. Eliminating this deduction would have a significant impact on taxpayers who pay alimony.
Student-Loan Interest Deduction – These rules allows for a deduction of up to $2,500 for interest paid on student loans.
Domestic-Production Activities Deduction – Tax law includes a special tax deduction that encourages domestic production (as opposed to foreign production). C-corporations take this deduction on their corporate tax returns; self-employed individuals, partners and S-corporation shareholders must take this deduction on their 1040. It is doubtful that Congress would continue to allow this deduction for corporations while also discriminating against self-employed taxpayers by not allowing them to take the deduction.
We can only wonder if the president expects all of these deductions to be eliminated; perhaps he only proposed the eliminations as a tool to start negotiations with Congress. Details are not promised to arrive until June, so we will have to wait and see how this plays out.
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