Income Tax Brackets and Rates

In 2019, the income limits for all tax brackets and all filers will be adjusted for inflation and will be as follows (Tables 1 and 2). The top marginal income tax rate of 37 percent will hit taxpayers with

taxable income of $510,300 and higher for single filers and $612,350 and higher for married couples filing jointly.

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     Standard Deduction and Personal Exemption

The standard deduction for single filers will increase by $200 and by $400 for married couples filing jointly (Table 4).

The personal exemption for 2019 remains eliminated.

     Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was created in the 1960s to prevent high-income taxpayers from avoiding the individual income tax. This parallel tax income system requires high-income taxpayers

to calculate their tax bill twice: once under the ordinary income tax system and again under the AMT. The taxpayer then needs to pay the higher of the two.

The AMT uses an alternative definition of taxable income called Alternative Minimum Taxable Income (AMTI). To prevent low- and middle-income taxpayers from being subject to the AMT, taxpayers are allowed to exempt a significant amount of their income from AMTI. However, this exemption phases out for high-income taxpayers. The AMT is levied at two rates: 26 percent and 28 percent.

The AMT exemption amount for 2019 is $71,700 for singles and $111,700 for married couples filing jointly (Table 5).

In 2019, the 28 percent AMT rate applies to excess AMTI of $194,800 for all taxpayers ($97,400 for married couples filing separate returns).

AMT exemptions phase out at 25 cents per dollar earned once taxpayer AMTI hits a certain threshold. In 2019, the exemption will start phasing out at $510,300 in AMTI for single filers and

$1,020,600 for married taxpayers filing jointly (Table 6.)

     Earned Income Tax Credit

The maximum Earned Income Tax Credit in 2019 for single and joint filers is $529, if the filer has no children (Table 7). The maximum credit is $3,526 for one child, $5,828 for two children, and $6,557 for three or more children. All these are relatively small increases from 2018.

     Child Tax Credit

The child tax credit totals at $2,000 per qualifying child and is not adjusted for inflation. However, the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit, also known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, is adjusted for inflation. The Additional Child Tax Credit will remain at $1,400 for 2019.

     Capital Gains

Long-term capital gains are taxed using different brackets and rates than ordinary income.

     Qualified Business Income Deduction (Sec.199A)

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act includes a 20 percent deduction for pass-through businesses against up to

$160,700 of qualified business income for unmarried taxpayers and $321,400 for married taxpayers (Table 9).

     Annual Exclusion for Gifts

In 2019, the first $15,000 of gifts to any person are excluded from tax. The exclusion is increased to

$155,000 for gifts to spouses.