Planning Briefs

When the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law on December 22, 2017, it was the most sweeping rewrite of U.S. tax law since the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Now, it’s about to be undone.

On December 31, 2025, tax rules changed by TCJA affecting individuals will expire. Reversal of the seismic shift wrought by TCJA is widely expected because TCJA increased the U.S. Government debt and materially weakened the nation’s balance sheet. Now, two years before expiration of TCJA, it is time to begin financial planning moves to minimize the impact of the coming reversion to pre-TCJA tax rules.

In the financial press and among tax nerds, the expiration at the end of 2025 is often referred to as a “sunset” of TCJA, misleadingly conjuring up a proverbial day at the beach. Far from it, the expiration will be jarring financially for many wealthy individuals.