What to Know About the Proposed Tax Bills

There have been many reports and rumors circulating throughout the media concerning the status of the proposed tax bills that are currently circulating through Congress. Here is a summary of the situation as it stands now, and the process as we know it:

• Both proposed tax bills were introduced by the Republican side of Congress.
• The House of Representatives has passed its version of the proposed tax bill.
• The Senate passed its version of the proposed tax bill last week.
• Both tax bills must go through a reconciliation process, modifications will likely be implemented before any tax bill is signed into law.

There is a long process ahead for Congress to reconcile these tax bills prior to a finalized bill. Members of Congress have stated that they are hoping to try and reconcile the bills before the end of the year. Whether that will actually be done is uncertain.


While the new tax bill is far from final, we think that it is safe to say that we can see where the final bill is heading as to a couple of important deductions. So, this is our general recommendations for the 2017 year-end planning:

• State income taxes: It looks like this deduction will be eliminated for 2018, so at this point, we are recommending that clients pay their projected 2017 state balances due by December 31, 2017, whether they are in AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) or not. Even if the taxpayer is in AMT, they may receive some benefit in 2017, while it appears that the benefit for 2018 will be zero.
• Real estate or property taxes: Prepay part of 2018 in 2017. It appears that the final tax bill is going to have some sort of restriction on the deductibility of real estate or property taxes. We are recommending that taxpayers prepay the first half of their 2018 property tax bill by December 31, 2017.

Other than the recommendations mentioned above, we are preparing our tax projections and recommendations for 2017 based on the current tax laws.

As always, please reach out to us for any questions that you may have. We can be reached at (516) 938-5219 and we can discuss your specific tax circumstances as to how to approach the 2017 and 2018 tax years.

Thank you for your trust in us and we hope that you and your families have a very prosperous and healthy Holiday Season.