The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made a significant impact -- both directly and indirectly -- on the deductibility of various types of interest expense for individuals. One area affected is qualified residence interest.
Two ways about it
The TCJA affects interest on residential loans in two ways. First, by nearly doubling the standard deduction and placing a $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes, the act substantially reduces the number of taxpayers who itemize. This means that fewer taxpayers will benefit from mortgage and home equity interest deductions. Second, from 2018 through 2025, the act places new limits on the amount of qualified residence interest you can deduct.
Previously, taxpayers could deduct interest on up to $1 million in acquisition indebtedness ($500,000 for married taxpayers filing separately) and up to $100,000 in home equity indebtedness ($50,000 for married taxpayers filing separately).
Acquisition indebtedness is debt that's incurred to acquire, build or substantially improve a qualified residence, and is secured by that residence. Home equity indebtedness is debt that's incurred for any other purpose (such as buying a boat or paying off credit cards) and is secured by a qualified residence.
A single mortgage could be treated as both acquisition and home equity indebtedness, allowing taxpayers to deduct interest on debt up to $1.1 million.
The TCJA reduced the deduction limit for acquisition indebtedness to interest on up to $750,000 in debt and eliminated the deduction for home equity indebtedness altogether, through 2025. The new limit on acquisition indebtedness doesn't apply to debt incurred on or before Dec. 15, 2017, subject to an exception for mortgages that were incurred on or before April 1, 2018, in certain circumstances. Specifically, it involves debt incurred pursuant to a written binding contract to purchase a qualified residence executed before Dec. 15, 2017, and scheduled to close before January 1, 2018 (so long as the purchase, as it turned out, was completed before April 1, 2018). And it doesn't apply to existing mortgages that are refinanced after December 15, 2017, provided the resulting debt doesn't exceed the refinanced debt.
The elimination of interest deductions for home equity indebtedness, however, applies to existing debt. So, if you were previously deducting interest on up to $100,000 of home equity debt, that interest is no longer deductible. The same holds true for the $100,000 home equity portion of $1.1 million in mortgage debt. Note, however, that interest on a home-equity loan used to substantially improve a qualified residence is deductible as acquisition indebtedness (subject to applicable limits).
Review your expenses
In light of the TCJA's changes, you may want to make changes such as paying off home equity loans because interest is no longer deductible. Contact us for help.
Investment interest also affected
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) also affects investment interest. This is interest on debt borrowed to buy taxable investments (margin loans, for example). Like qualified residence interest, investment interest is an itemized deduction, which is lost if you no longer itemize.
Deductions of investment interest cannot exceed your net investment income, which generally includes interest income and ordinary dividend income, but not lower-taxed capital gains, qualified dividends or tax-free investment earnings. For many people, net investment income is now higher because the TCJA eliminated miscellaneous itemized deductions for such expenses.
Careful tax planning
required for incentive stock options
Incentive stock options (ISOs) are a popular form of compensation for executives and other key employees.
They allow you to buy company stock in the future at a fixed price equal to or greater than the stock's fair market value on the ISO grant date. If the stock appreciates, you can buy shares at a price below what they're then trading for. But careful tax planning is required because of the complex rules that apply.
Tax advantages abound
Although ISOs must comply with many rules, they receive tax-favored treatment. You owe no tax when ISOs are granted. You also owe no regular income tax when you exercise ISOs.
There could be alternative minimum tax (AMT) consequences, but the AMT is less of a risk now because of the high AMT exemption under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
There are regular income tax consequences when you sell the stock. If you sell after holding it at least one year from the exercise date and two years from the grant date, you pay tax on the sale at your long-term capital gains rate. You also may owe the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT).
If you sell the stock before long-term capital gains treatment applies, a "disqualifying disposition" occurs and a portion of the gain is taxed as compensation at ordinary-income rates.
2019 impact
If you were granted ISOs in 2019, there likely isn't any impact on your 2019 income tax return. But if in 2019 you exercised ISOs or you sold stock you'd acquired via exercising ISOs, then it could affect your 2019 tax liability. It's important to properly report the exercise or sale on your 2019 return to avoid potential interest and penalties for underpayment of tax.
Planning ahead
If you receive ISOs in 2020 or already hold ISOs that you haven't yet exercised, plan carefully when to exercise them. Waiting to exercise ISOs until just before the expiration date (when the stock value may be the highest, assuming the stock is appreciating) may make sense. But exercising ISOs earlier can be advantageous in some situations.
Once you've exercised ISOs, the question is whether to immediately sell the shares received or to hold on to them long enough to garner long-term capital gains treatment. The latter strategy often is beneficial from a tax perspective, but there's also market risk to consider. For example, it may be better to sell the stock in a disqualifying disposition and pay the higher ordinary-income rate if it would avoid AMT on potentially disappearing appreciation.
The timing of the sale of stock acquired via an exercise could also positively or negatively affect your liability for higher ordinary-income tax rates, the top long-term capital gains rate and the NIIT.
Nice perk
ISOs are a nice perk to have, but they come with complex rules. For help with both tax planning and filing, please contact us.
To learn more, contact Prince & Tuohey CPA Ltd., 2836 Malvern Ave. Suite D, Hot Springs, AR 71901. Call 501-262-5500 or visit website http://www.princetuohey.com for more information.
Business on 02/10/2020