The House and Senate approved a last-minute fiscal cliff bill (the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012) on Jan. 1, and the president signed it on Jan. 2. The act makes permanent most Bush-era tax cuts, returns the top rates to 39.6% for ordinary income and 20% for capital gains and dividends, and permanently indexes the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for inflation. It does not extend the 2 percentage point cut in payroll and self-employment taxes, and does not repeal or delay the new Medicare taxes or any other health care reform tax changes.
Grant Thornton’s Washington National Tax Office (WNTO) has dissected the act in the comprehensive analysis and snapshot documents below. In these videos, WNTO Partner Mel Schwarz discusses how the act will affect taxpayers and business owners and what tax issues will likely emerge in 2013.
