of 2011 was the provision permitting taxpayers over age 70-1/2 to
make IRA distributions directly to
charity and avoid taking those distributions into income. Taxpayers
who have taken advantage of this
strategy in the past and who would
like to do so also for 2012 should try
to postpone required minimum distributions until after the November
elections to see if Congress acts to
retroactively extend the provision.
In 2010, when Congress finally
acted to retroactively extend this
provision, recognizing the difficult position it had put taxpayers
in by not acting until December, it
enacted a special rule permitting
taxpayers to elect to have a qualified charitable distribution made in
January 2011 treated as having been
made on Dec. 31, 2010. Congress
might do something similar again
this year, but if taxpayers have already taken required minimum distributions directly, it would be too
late to then treat the distribution as
going directly to a charity.
care taxes taking effect in 2013, also
made somewhat uncertain by the
Supreme Court’s consideration
this year of the enforceability of
those taxes as part of its review of
the constitutionality of the health
care reform legislation that brought
them into being.
ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX
One of the regularly expiring provisions that also expired at the end of
2011 was the increased Alternative
Minimum Tax exemption amount.
More than 25 million taxpayers
would be caught by the AMT in 2012
if Congress did not act to extend the
exemption amount. Congress is
very likely to extend the exemption
amount again, at least until they can
agree on fundamental tax reform
and get rid of the AMT entirely.
Still, taxpayers should realize
that, if they are in the group that
would get caught by the AMT in
2012, there are a variety of tax
breaks that they may be accustomed to claiming that would not
be available to them in 2012 because they are disallowed under
the AM T regime.
SUMMARY
Like 2010, 2012 will continue to be a
year of considerable tax uncertainty
that will make planning difficult.
With the growing list of regularly
expiring provisions, almost every
year becomes more difficult to
plan for. In 2012, with the Bush tax
cuts expiring, many of the same tax
planning issues focused on when
those cuts that were scheduled to
expire in 2010 also re-emerge.
However, in 2012, we have the
additional issue of the new Medi-
;;;;;;;>;;;> B>;;;;;;;;;;;;;;?;;;I;;;;;;;;;;5945 $ISJT;'SFEFSJLTFO;$1" ;;;;;(SPVQ;64" 3BOEZ;+PIOTUPO;$1" ,;;&OUFSQSJTFT 3PCFSU;$IBOEMFS $&0;$MPVE;;3FBM;5JNF .JDIBFM;(JBSEJOB $&0;0ťDF;5PPMT;1SPGFTTJPOBM;;;;>; ;;;;>; >;;>;; ;;A>Ê;;;;> ;;>;; ;;>;;;>;;; ; >;;; >;;;;> 4=G54 ;;;;;;;;>;;;>;;;>;;; >;;; >;; >;; ;;;;> ;;;>;; ;;;;;?;;>;; ;;;;;>; ; ;;;;; ;;>;; ;;;;;>; ; ;;;;; ;>;;;;>;;;;;;;;;; ;;;>;; ;;>;;;;
;;;;> 4=G54A>5945> >;;;>;; ;;;;;>;;;;;> ;;>; ;;;>; >;;; >G>;;;; >;;;;;;;>;;;;
