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miller nash llp | Spring 2011
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The Tax Man Cometh, and He’s Got His Eyes on Your Investment
It’s not news that the current Social Security and Medicare programs are not sustainable. In fact, with the first wave of baby boomers already eligible for Social Security and first becoming eligible for Medicare in 2011, the outlook is bleak for each program unless significant reforms are made. In an attempt to bolster the Medicare program, as part of the over-1,000-page and much-publicized “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010,” Internal Revenue Code Section 1411 was enacted. This provision will cause investment income of many individuals to be subject to a 3.8 percent Medicare tax beginning in the year 2013 (the new Medicare tax also applies to trusts and estates, but this article focuses on the application to individuals). Traditionally, Medicare has applied
- nly to an individual’s wages or
self-employment income earned in the operation of a trade or business. Currently, and in general terms, Medicare tax is a payroll tax equal to 2.9 percent of wages paid, and the cost
- f the tax is shared equally by employers
and employees (each paying 1.45 percent
- f the tax). Individuals who are self-
employed pay both the employer and the employee portions of the Medicare tax. Beginning on January 1, 2013, the new Medicare tax will apply at a rate of 3.8 percent on the investment income
- f individuals with a modified adjusted
gross income of $200,000 ($250,000 for couples filing jointly) or more. The tax applies to the lesser of (1) the total investment income for the year, and (2) the amount by which the individual’s total income exceeds the threshold. For example, a single individual taxpayer who has $150,000 of investment income and $125,000 of other income will pay the new Medicare tax on $75,000 (the amount by which the individual’s income exceeds the $200,000 threshold). Because the threshold amounts for the new Medicare tax are not indexed for inflation, more taxpayers will be subject to the new Medicare tax over time. For purposes of the new Medicare tax, net investment income will include interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rents, income from passive activities, and gain from the sale of
- assets. But investment income that is
not recognized for federal income tax purposes will not be subject to the new Medicare tax, including income from tax-exempt bonds, tax-free distributions from qualified retirement accounts, gain from the sale of a principal residence to the extent that Section 121 applies, gain from the sale of property to the extent that Section 1031 applies, increases in the value of a life insurance policy, and gain in a qualified IRA or
- ther retirement account. Additionally,
taxable distributions from qualified retirement accounts, income from a trade or business (other than a passive trade or business or trading in financial instruments or commodities), and income subject to self-employment taxes are exempt from the new Medicare
inside this issue
2 Where Do We Grow From Here? 3 Clark County Hearings Examiner Softens County’s Hardened Stance on Legal Lot Determinations 4 Oregon’s Proposed Legislative Changes to Environmental and Natural Resources Law 5 Dodd-Frank and Borrowers Costs 5 Announcing Our Real Estate Development Blog
by Jeneé Hilliard
jenee.hilliard@millernash.com