Tag: Law

NYS Mandated Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

Beginning in October 2018, all New York State employers, regardless of size, must adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy.  Aside from implementing the policy, employers must conduct training or use a similar policy that meet or exceeds the law’s minimum standards.

All employees must complete the training by October 9, 2019. Employers are required to ensure that all employees receive training on an annual basis.

For more information, model policies and training sessions as well as a toolkit for employers, please visit NYS Combating Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.

New Tax Reform, Tax Cuts & Jobs Act

President Trump recently signed the tax reform bill into law which resulted into major changes to the code for both individuals and corporations. Here is a brief summary of the changes that will affect most of you.

  •  Tax Brackets – Same number of brackets, different tax rates and different ranges. If your taxable income is the same in 2018 as was 2017, you will pay less federal taxes. A lot of the difference are in the changes leading to “taxable income”.

 

  •  The marriage penalty is almost gone. – Under the old law the combined income for a married couple was taxed at a higher rate than the same total income for 2 individuals. For example: a single person with taxable income of $90K would be in the 25% bracket. A couple with $180k in taxable income is in the 28% bracket. Under the new law, both cases are in the 25% bracket.

 

  • New Standard Deductions

 

Filing Status Old Law New Law
Single $6,500 12,000
MFJ 13,000 24,000
MFS 6,500 12,000
HOH 9,350 18,000

 

  • Capital Gains (stock sales and sales of other appreciated assets)
    • Short term gains are taxed as ordinary income (no difference)
    • Long term rates are as follows:
Single MFJ HOH MFS
0% up to: $38,600 $77,200 $51,700 $38,600
15% up to: 425,000 479,000 452,400 239,500
20% over 425,000 479,000 452,400 239,500

 

  • Tax Breaks for Parents. The child tax credit is increased from $1,000 per child to $2,000 per child. Of that amount $1,400 is refundable. In addition, the phase out for eligibility is expanded.
Tax Status Old Law New Law
MFJ $110,000 $400,000
Individuals $75,000 $200,000
    • If children are 17 years and older or you care for elderly relatives, you can claim a nonrefundable credit of $500 each.

 

  • Home mortgage interest can only be taken for mortgage balances up to $750,000. This was previously $1 million. This applies to loans taken after Dec. 15, 2017. Interest on home equity debt can no longer be deducted.

 

  •  State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) is now limited to $10,000.

 

  •  Deductions that are disappearing:
    •  Casualty and theft losses
    • Unreimbursed employee expenses
    • Moving expenses

 

  • Pass-through income from sole proprietorship, LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations will be able to deduct 20% of the profit. There are phaseout income limits that apply to “professional services” business owners. They are $157,500 and $315,000 for individuals and married couples respectively.

 

  • Corporate tax rates have been reduced for most corporations, but not for all. A corporation with profit below $50,000 will pay more in taxes. The new rate is 21% for all profits. The old rates were:
From To Rate
$0 $50,000 15%
50,000 75,000 25%
75,000 100,000 34%
100,000 335,000 39%

 

  •  Interesting: If in 2017 your corporate profit was $50,000; your federal tax was $7,500 (50K * 15%). That tax increases under the new law to $10,500 (50K * 21%).  Let’s hope this is corrected soon.