Americans flock to advisers to take advantage of new law

Republican lawmakers said they wanted to simplify the tax code so you could file your return on a postcard. It turns out the new 500-page tax law will be anything but simple for many affluent Americans, who are now inundating their accountants for advice.

President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Friday.

Here are some of the changes and their implications:

1 Business owners - Among the law's most controversial and confusing provisions is a new 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through businesses, which are privately owned companies whose owners pay individual rates on the income they earn. That, along with a slashing of the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, is raising big questions about how to structure companies in 2018.

The pass-through deduction could create an incentive for more workers to quit their jobs and become independent contractors. But the law also could complicate the taxes of many Americans who are self-employed now, including so-called gig economy workers such as Uber drivers.

2 Estate planning - The tax law maintains the federal estate tax, but it doubles the amount of wealth that is exempt from the levy after death and a related tax on gifts during a person's life. Starting in 2018, single people who die with about $11 million would not be subject to the estate tax, up from $5.5 million. Married couples can shield about $22 million from estate and gift taxes.

3 Commuting - The tax law eliminates a break that currently allows companies to deduct some of the cost of providing parking and transit passes. It also ends a $20 a month benefit to help cover the costs of employees who bicycle to work.

4 Real Estate - The legislation caps at $10,000 the amount of state and local income and property taxes that taxpayers can deduct each year. Groups representing the real estate industry have said they're worried that this could lower home prices, especially in high-tax, high-cost areas of the United States.

Also affecting homebuyers is a new cap on the mortgage deduction. For new purchases of homes, the deduction would be capped at loan amounts of $750,000, down from $1 million.

In addition, the law ends a deduction for home equity loans, which could make it harder for homeowners to borrow to fund projects such as home renovations.

5 Marriage and divorce - Under current law, many two-income couples end up paying more in taxes by getting married. The law eliminates that marriage penalty for couples making less than a combined $600,000. Those individual tax-rate changes are set to end in 2026.

Also under the law, divorced taxpayers who pay alimony would no longer be able to deduct those payments from their income, and recipients of alimony also no longer would need to report the money as income. However, the provision applies to divorces finalized after Dec. 31, 2018.