Is the Trump Tax Cut Working for You?

The bestselling guidebook The Trump Tax Cut reveals hundreds of tax deductions and loopholes in the new law.

Tax season is arriving soon as 2019 ends, and Americans like you are facing the full reality of President Donald Trump’s new tax law. As you get ready to prepare your taxes, many are seeking hidden deductions and loopholes in the new tax law that can reduce their taxes. Known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, President Trump signed this new sweeping legislation on Dec. 22nd, 2017, cutting taxes by an estimated $5 trillion over the next 10 years. Key parts of the law went into effect in 2018, but it becomes fully effective in the 2019 and 2020 tax years, making your tax preparations this year critical. The bestselling guide to the new law is The Trump Tax Cut: Your Personal Guide to the New Tax Law, by Eva Rosenberg. Rosenberg is a renowned tax expert and founder of the popular financial blog TaxMama. Already, The Trump Tax Cut (Humanix Books) has shot to No. 1 bestseller status on Amazon while joining many other bestseller lists. The Trump Tax Cut delivers the straight dope on hundreds of deductions, write-offs, and legal loopholes that you can use right now to save tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. For example, The Trump Tax Cut reveals that if you change your job status from employee to independent contractor or small-business owner, there’s a special reduction in your tax rate of an immediate 20 percent. Those in the highest bracket of 35 percent would drop to 29 percent. It’s a tax perk almost anybody can be eligible for if they qualify. Newsmax hails The Trump Tax Cut: Your Personal Guide to the New Tax Law as “more than a guidebook, it’s your pass to great wealth.” The easy-to-follow guidebook offers dozens of ways to increase your tax refund and find little-known, hidden deductions, including:

Medical Deductions: Learn how to reduce your medical costs and see how you can legally deduct for cosmetic surgery costs. Education Benefits: Take advantage of the federal and private programs that pay off your student loans in exchange for a few years of your time. And learn how to give your grandkids money for college without paying a dime in gift taxes. Small-Business Benefits: Learn how independent contractors and smallbusiness owners can reap a special deduction of 20 percent of their income, making the effective rate just 29 percent. Mortgage Deductions: Find out how you can deduct the mortgage interest on two homes. Pension: Borrow up to $50,000 from your pension plan without any tax consequences or withdrawal penalties. New Vehicle: Buy a new car for up to $40,000 and write it off immediately. Energy Costs: Get the government to help pay your energy bill. Retirement: Put away money for retirement you can take out without paying taxes. Rental Income: Collect rent payments the IRS doesn’t count as income. Tax Return: Get the IRS to waive penalties for mistakes you made on your taxes.

401(k): Have more time to pay back 401(k) loans if you’ve been fired from your job.

As Rosenberg writes in this do-ityourself, money-saving guide, “The impact of the Trump tax plan is nothing short of breathtaking’’ for individuals and businesses. She describes how under the plan, your home is not only a great place to live, but also can provide you with a wealth of credits — if you know how to go after them. And if you don’t want to prepare your taxes yourself, The Trump Tax Cut shows you how to hire the very best tax professionals for your needs. “I polled tax pros all over the country to get an idea of how their clients are affected by the law,” Rosenberg says. “The general consensus is that people who have jobs with a modest income, and children, and who don’t normally itemize their deductions — these people are ending up with a lower tax liability.” Small businesses also stand to benefit. With the new personal tax rates and the abolishment of the alternative minimum taxes for corporations, she says, “It’s worth exploring all the different entity options for a business.” But, she adds, maximizing those business benefits can be tricky. They require record-keeping and documentation that is “more stringent than ever,” Rosenberg says. As well, “There are penalties for not taking advantage of some benefits — for instance, the 100 percent bonus deduction — unless you include a specific election with your tax return that you are opting out of that benefit. “My best advice for small businesses?” she says. “Do your best to run your business with an eye to growth and profits.” The Trump tax law is fully in effect during 2019 and 2020, so Rosenberg advises it’s smart to do tax planning as soon as possible, so you get the most out of your deductions when you file by April 15th, the next two years.