If you have a child who was under the age of 13 throughout 2018 or who was under the age of 17 and requires assistance for self-care, you might be eligible to claim both the Child Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Credit.

To qualify for the Child Tax Credit (also known as the “per-child credit”), you must have a child who was less than 17 years old throughout 2018, can be claimed as a dependent on your tax forms, and lived with you for at least six months of the year. The income limit at which a phase out of the credit begins was nearly quadrupled under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, to $200,000 ($400,000 for married filing jointly). The credit itself doubled from $1,000 to $2,000 per child.

f you’re claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, both of which are refundable credits, your refund will be released by the IRS starting from February 27, 2019. A refundable credit is one which gives you cash back even if you didn’t pay any tax into the system during the year.

You may check the status of your refund at https://www.irs.gov/refunds.

The IRS has confirmed that it will begin processing returns on January 28th, 2019, and provide refunds as scheduled despite the government shutdown.

The filing deadline for 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15th, 2019. If you live in Maine or Massachusetts, you have until April 17th due to public holidays in those states.

This week is the last week to register for the HealthCare.gov open enrollment period with the deadline being Saturday, December 15th, 2018. Once the Open Enrollment period is over, you will only be able to enroll if there’s a qualifying life event for the Special Enrollment Period.

Enrollment can be done at https://Healthcare.gov, and a simple checklist of documents you’ll need can be found here.

If you are considering charitable donations, you may be able to donate to a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) every two or three years instead of every year. This may qualify you to receive tax benefits now, allow the amount to grow tax-free, and the decision on which qualified charity to fund can be made later.

If you or your spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the IRS has increased the phase-out ranges for making contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs):

– Single: $64,000-$74,000 from $63,000-$73,000
– Married filing jointly (with one spouse making the contribution and covered by a workplace retirement plan): $103,000-$123,000 from $101,000-$121,000

The IRS has increased the income limit for the Saver’s Credit for tax year 2019 (also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit):

– Single and married individuals filing separately: $32,000 from $31,500
– Married couples filing jointly: $64,000 from $63,000
– Heads of households: $48,000 from $47,250

The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments that increase the contribution limits for 2019. The limit for 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans as well as the Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000.

For IRAs and Roth IRAs, the limit on annual contributions is increased from $5,500 to $6,000. If you are aged 50 or older, the catch-up contribution limit remained at $1,000 meaning you may now be able to contribute up to $7,000.

Health savings accounts or HSAs are often referred to as another form of retirement plan for those with access to them. An HSA is a medical savings account that may offer triple tax advantages. Contributions are pre-tax, the money can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for qualified medical and related expenses and any interest earned is tax-free as well.

For those who can afford to allow their HSA to accumulate for retirement, they can be used to pay for Medicare premiums and other healthcare costs in retirement as unused funds can be carried over year-to-year. If you are over age 65, withdrawals for non-qualified expenses can be made without penalty, but subject to taxes just like an IRA

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled the standard deduction for most taxpayers, but eliminated personal exemptions for yourself, your spouse, and/or your dependents for at least the years 2018 through 2025.

The higher standard deduction may or may not make up for the loss of personal and dependent exemptions.