The child tax credit is doubled to $2,000 for each dependent under age 17 with up to $1,400 of the credit refundable to lower-income taxpayers.
The income phaseout thresholds are much higher…AGIs over $400,000 for couples and $200,000 for all other filers. A Social Security number is needed for each child. There’s a new $500 credit for each dependent who is not a qualifying child, including, for example, an elderly parent you take care of or a disabled adult child. It’s nonrefundable and phases out under the same thresholds as the child credit. Far fewer estates will be subject to the estate tax, now that Congress has doubled the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption to about $11 million. The rate remains 40%. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2018 is $15,000 per donee. There’s no change in the asset basis step-up for heirs of estates of any size.
The income tax rates and brackets for trusts and estates have been revised.