TOTAL Planning Suite users have the ability to choose “sunset” or “no sunset” for the tax cuts created by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which are set to expire at the end of this year.
Setting the income tax sunset provision to “no sunset” will continue the current tax law into future years. Setting the option to “sunset” will revert to the pre-tax act methods in effect in 2001, which is what will happen if no future action is taken by congress.
Easy Money Sunset Impact
- Capital Gain: Maximum tax rate increased from 15% to 20%
- Dividends: Lose special tax treatment and will be taxed as ordinary income
- Tax Brackets and Rates: No change in Easy Money. Easy Money uses a marginal tax rate rather than re-calculating actual taxes each year. Note you can override the tax rate used on ordinary income under the Filing Status/Options tab.
Golden Years Sunset Impact
- Capital Gain: Maximum tax rate increased from 15% to 20%
- Dividends: Lose special tax treatment and will be taxed as ordinary income
- Tax Brackets and Rates: Increased tax rates starting in 2013, to reflect the 2001 levels as shown below:
| Rate | Single Filers | Married Joint Filers | Head of Household Filers |
| 15% | $0 to $36,250 | $0 to $60,550 | $0 to $48,600 |
| 28% | $36,250 to $87,850 | $60,550 to $146,400 | $48,600 to $125,450 |
| 31% | $87,850 to $183,250 | $146,400 to $223,050 | $125,450 to $203,150 |
| 36% | $183,250 to $398,350 | $223,050 to $398,350 | $203,150 to $398,350 |
| 39.60% | $398,350 and up | $398,350 and up | $398,350 and up |
We all hope this will be decided and settled very soon. As soon any changes are made to the tax law, we will build the changes into the calculations.
