Happy (?) Tax Day
For most people, tax season officially comes to an end today, April 17th. All of us have the weekend and a Washington D.C. holiday to thank for the extra two days. Because the traditional April 15th fell on a Sunday this year, that would have pushed the tax filing deadline to Monday, April 16th. However, D.C. recognizes Emancipation Day (signing of Emancipation Act by Abraham Lincoln) as an official holiday on April 16th of each year. So, the deadline moved to today, Tuesday, April 17th. Lucky us!
Taxes can be a very frustrating topic for many of us, and I for one am happy that Tax Day is here and soon to be over! No matter how you feel personally about the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that was passed in 2017, it should simplify deductions for most Americans. It is estimated that as many as 90% of households will no longer itemize tax deductions and will instead opt for the much higher standard deduction. See the chart from Michael Kitces below:
Kitces goes on to say in a recent article: “The significance of these changes is that going forward, it will be even less common for households to have enough itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction in the first place, thanks to both the much-higher threshold (from consolidating personal exemptions into the standard deduction), and the more limited availability of itemized deductions in the first place (given the cap on state and local taxes paid, and the elimination of the IRC Section 67 miscellaneous itemized deductions). In fact, the Tax Policy Center estimates that barely 10% of households will itemize deductions at all in the future.”
Finding an outlet for tax frustrations or (any other frustration, for that matter) is always important. Recently, I have found some relief by putting my new chainsaw to good use around my property. There is something very satisfying about cutting down trees and trimming large limbs. It might be the perfect activity if you didn’t have to clean up everything afterward!
Because our property does have quite a few trees, I thought it was a good idea to invest in a quality chainsaw. I recently took my son to the local Stihl dealer and did just that. Beware, that place is like a toy store for adults! You can find many good reasons to part with your money on some very cool equipment.
So, happy Tax Day to you and yours. If only a chainsaw could cut taxes!
Nathan