Comparison of the House, Senate bills to overhaul the tax code

The House passed a nearly $1.5 trillion tax bill that differs from legislation making its way through the Senate. A comparison of the Republican-written measures:

• Personal income tax rates: The House bill condenses current seven brackets to four: 12, 25, 35 and 39.6 percent. The Senate retains seven brackets but changes them to 10, 12, 22, 24, 32, 35 and 38.5 percent. Under current law, top bracket is 39.6 percent. •Standard deduction: Used by about 70 percent of U.S. taxpayers, currently $6,350 for individuals and $12,700 for married couples. House, Senate bills both double those levels to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples.

•Tax credits: House raises per-child tax credit from $1,000 to $1,600, extends it to families earning up to $230,000. Creates a $300 tax credit for each adult in a family, which expires in 2023. Senate doubles per-child credit to $2,000. Both bills preserve the adoption tax credit. •Home mortgage interest deduction: House limits the deduction to interest paid on the first $500,000 of the loan, for new home purchases. Senate retains the current $1 million ceiling.

•Medical deductions: House eliminates medical expense deductions. Senate preserves them.

•State and local taxes: House ends deductions for state and local income and sales taxes, allows it for up to $10,000 in property taxes. Senate eliminates entire deduction.

•Alternative minimum tax: House, Senate both repeal the tax aimed at ensuring that higher-earning people pay some tax.

•Inheritance tax: Currently, when someone dies the estate owes taxes on the value of assets transferred to heirs above $5.5 million for individuals, $11 million for couples. House bill doubles those limits and then repeals the entire tax after 2023. Senate doubles the limits but does not repeal the tax.

•Individual insurance mandate: Senate bill repeals the requirement in President Barack Obama’s health care law that people pay a tax penalty if they don’t purchase health insurance. House bill does not. •Corporate taxes: House, Senate both cut 35 percent rate to 20 percent, but Senate has one-year delay in dropping the rate.

•Pass-through businesses: Millions of U.S. businesses “pass through” their income to individuals, who then pay personal income tax on those earnings, not corporate tax. House bill taxes many of them at 25 percent, plus creates a 9 percent rate for the first $75,000 in earnings for some smaller pass-throughs. Senate bill lets people deduct some of the earnings and then pay at their personal income tax rate on the remainder.