Affordable Care Act and 2012 Tax Act Relevant Tax Law Changes

In 2012, two acts were passed that introduced the largest set of tax law changes in more than 20 years.

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also referred to as “Obamacare” (signed into law on March 23, 2010)
• The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), also known as the “2012 Tax Act” (signed into law on January 2, 2013)

Changes resulting from these acts, many of which have taken effect in 2013, include:

• Medical deduction threshold
• Additional Medicare tax
• Medicare tax on investment income
• Income tax rates
• Personal exemption phase-out
• Limitation on itemized deductions
• Itemized deduction for state and local sales tax
• AMT exemption
• Estate, gift and GST tax rules
• Expensing and bonus depreciation
• Qualified charitable distributions

To learn more about each of these changes, including new rates, requirements and thresholds, view the Weaver presentation, Relevant Tax Law Changes Made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, written by Elizabeth Bunk, Houston partner-in-charge of tax and strategic business services, and Mark Watson, partner of tax and strategic business services.