What’s Ahead For Your Taxes If Biden Takes The Presidency

With the election around the corner and recent news of Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, we wanted to take a look at his proposed tax plan and what impact it may have on the finances and current tax plans of Americans.

As Biden accepts his party’s nomination for president this week at the Democratic National Convention, high-income earners are beginning to wonder if it’s time to revisit their tax plans. Indeed, taxpayers with taxable income over $400,000 could see their individual income taxes tick up under a Biden presidency. The former vice president has also called for raising taxes on wealth transfer.

Below we will outline Biden’s proposed tax plan, which CNBC has sliced into two categories, income taxes and estate planning. 

Income Tax 

On the income tax side, Biden calls for raising the top individual income tax rate to 39.6% from 37%, and applying it to taxpayers with taxable income over $400,000, according to an analysis from the Tax Policy Center.

He’s also talking about an increase to payroll taxes. Biden would apply the 12.4% portion of the Social Security tax — which is normally shared by both the employee and employer — to earnings over $400,000, the Tax Policy Center found. Currently, the Social Security tax is subject to a wage cap of $137,700 and is adjusted annually.

Finally, Biden would also boost rates on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to 39.6% — the same top rate as ordinary income — for those with income over $1 million, according to theTax Foundation.  The long-term capital gains tax rate in 2020 is 20% for single households with more than $441,451 in taxable income ($496,601 for married-filing-jointly).

Estate Planning 

Last month, the Democratic presidential contender collaborated with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the two formed six task forces to release a 110-page policy document. The document gives some insight on what we might expect from a Biden administration. “Estate taxes should also be raised back to the historical norm,” the task force wrote in the policy plan.         

Indeed, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubled the amount that you can transfer to other people — either at death or as a gift during life — without facing the 40% estate and gift tax. The gift-and-estate tax exemption is $11.58 million per individual in 2020.

Biden has set his sights on the “step-up in basis,” a provision in the tax code that allows an individual to hold onto an asset for years, watch it appreciate and then bequeath it to an heir at death. The owner’s basis — the original investment in the asset — steps up to market value at death, which means the heir is subject to little to no capital gains taxes if he sells it. Biden proposes taxing the unrealized capital gains in the asset at death, which essentially does away with the step-up. Wealthy households are likely to use gifting strategies to head off this change, said Bertles of Tiedemann Advisors. “This can be as simple as giving assets to a trust or outright to kids or grandkids while using the exemption,” he said.

Make sure to take a look at Biden’s proposal and think about how that may impact your situation. In just a few short months, this plan could be put into effect, so start thinking about any changes you could make to your tax plan and talk to an advisor for some guidance. As always, we are here to help if you have any questions regarding what these changes could mean for you.