The never-ending predictions on the future of the Markets & Economy can at times lead to distractions from tangible ways of improving one’s finances. As Austrian Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl put it “Control the Controllables” and try to avoid wasting time on the things that are out of your control. No major news outlet today is spending airtime on the tax provisions in the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 that are set to revert back, after December 31, 2025, to what they had been in 2017—JUST 26 MONTHS FROM NOW. But if that threshold is crossed, it could be a rude awakening for taxpayers.

For example? One of the most dramatic shifts would be the estate tax rates. The federal estate tax exemption in 2017 had the first $5.49 million pass on to their heirs estate-tax free. Today, that exemption is a whopping $12.92 million; for married couples, the combined exemption is $25.84 million. The ‘revert’ would bring the exemption down a third, to approximately $6.5 million.

The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act also doubled the standard deduction, which led to fewer people going through the hassle of itemizing deductions. The standard deductions for the

• 2017 Tax Year: $6,350 for single filers; $12,700 for those filing jointly

• Today: $13,850 for single filers; $27,700 for those filing jointly

The tax table revert would generally put people in higher income brackets; most Americans would pay 1% to 4% more in personal taxes under the old reverted-to tax tables than they are currently.

Yes, we still have two years (and two months) to prepare for this. But planning ahead could significantly lessen the impact of this tax reversion and everybody should brace themselves for once again having to go through the chore of itemizing deductions—unless Congress comes up with a new tax bill. Which then, everything is on the table.

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