First Look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Impact of the New 20% Pass-Through Deduction—Traps and Planning Opportunities

Norman Lencz, JD

The new IRC section 199A, with its complex terms and limits, will be part of almost every tax preparer's life until at least 2026. The purpose of this article is not to regurgitate those rules, but rather to present the author's observations of certain “traps for the unwary” that taxpayers and their advisors need to know about. It also includes a number of planning techniques for taxpayers to maximize their ability to avail themselves of the new deduction for “qualified business income” (QBI), as defined in IRC section 199A(c)(1). Given the speed with which the legislation was passed, there are many unanswered questions as to how the new rules will apply, and there is no way to know with any degree of certainty whether the Treasury Department will issue future guidance that will prohibit or limit some or all of the ideas discussed below.