Tax Reform Has an Impact on the Disabled

Special needs trust may be answer to new tax reforms. Some of the people who were concerned about the new tax reform law were people with disabilities, according to The Hill in "Restructured tax code would unduly burden people with disabilities." However, the concerns raised in that article did not materialize. Not only will they see benefits from the doubling of the standard deduction in the plan, but their taxes might actually decrease due to another provision. The plan includes a provision to make the itemized deduction for health care expenses even better for them for tax years 2017 and 2018. The new tax law lowers the deductibility threshold from 10% to 7.5% of adjusted gross income. Only in 2019 will the deductibility threshold revert to the former 10% of 2016. There is something parents and grandparents of the disabled, as well as the disabled themselves, can do and that is create a special needs trust. These trusts do not ease anyone's tax burden but do allow people with special needs to have more income to help cover any increased taxes. If you would like to learn more about special needs trusts, then talk to an estate planning attorney for the details about setting one up. Reference: The Hill (Nov. 24, 2017) "Restructured tax code would unduly burden people with disabilities."