Certainty of taxes matched by certainty of tax policy for now

investmentnews.com:

Tax policy is pretty much as certain as taxes themselves for the moment, which will make tax season a bit easier for financial advisors and their clients.

Often over the last several years, advisors have been watching Washington at the end of the year to see what kind of tax legislation — or tax provisions in larger bills — might pass and potentially affect the taxes coming due.

An almost evenly divided Congress — with Republicans and Democrats holding slim majorities in the House and Senate, respectively — has ensured that lawmakers haven’t advanced major tax legislation this year, easing some headaches for advisors.

“It gives you more certainty for [tax] planning purposes,” said Tim Steffen, director of advanced planning at Robert W. Baird & Co. “We don’t have anything new to concern ourselves with, which is not surprising, given the split in Congress. Because we’re pretty confident about what the laws will be next year, it’s easier to do some of that multiyear planning.”

The legislative lull is likely to continue — and keep tax policy quiet — in 2024, before several tax breaks included in a 2017 tax law expire at the end of 2025.

“Since there’s an election next year, no one thinks there will be substantive changes in the tax code the next couple years,” said Richard Pon, an investment advisor and CPA in San Francisco. “So you’re doing your typical year-end moves.”

One of the go-to tax strategies that advisors are recommending to their clients is to bunch charitable deductions to get over the high standard deduction threshold, which is currently $13,850 for single taxpayers and $27,700 for married couples filing jointly.

The most tax-efficient way for clients to make their charitable donations is with appreciated