While you’re getting ready for the holidays, RBI’s Chris Smith is getting ready for tax season! He’s sharpening all of his pencils, and instead of sugarplums, he’s dreaming of W2 forms and 1099s.

We’re so glad that Chris is always on top of what you need to know to prepare your taxes, whether it is for your personal finances or for your business. Here is Chris’ list of the ten big changes for the 2018 taxes.

  1. Standard deductions went way up.  Married filing jointly went to $24,000, up from what would have been $13,000.
  2. Personal exemptions have been eliminated.
  3. There are new tax brackets…the 15% bracket is now 12%, and the 25% is now 22%
  4. Estate tax exemption doubled – continuation of the road to eliminate the death tax.
  5. The child tax credit has been raised to $2,000 per qualifying child, those who are under 17, up from $1,000. A $500 credit is available for dependents who do not get the $2,000 credit.
  6. The deduction for interest is capped at $750,000 for mortgage loan balances taken out after December 15th of last year. The limit is still $1 million for mortgages that were established prior to December 15th, 2017.
  7. The itemized deduction is limited to $10,000 for both income and property taxes paid during the year.
  8. The employee limit for 401K and 403b plans went up $500 to 18,500.
  9. Phaseout limits were raised for those who have workplace savings plans and choose to not use or to do extra on the side.
  10. Phaseout limit for ROTH IRA’s has gone up.

So if you’ve read the list about, and any of these changes make you go, “Huh?” or cause you to lose sleep at night, please contact Chris and schedule some time to talk. He understands that as a small business owner or nonprofit president, you didn’t go into business for the financial work involved…He says, “We handle the financial stuff that overwhelms owners.” Chris also shares this advice to help out with your personal taxes. Sure, Chris looks out for small businesses and nonprofits too, but wouldn’t it be great to spend less time on your personal taxes so you can spend time on the things that matter, too?

That’s a gift you should give yourself for Christmas for a less stressful 2019!