New Tax Legislation: What’s Coming and What Advisors Can Do Now

Bob walks through what’s being made permanent (rates, standard deduction, AMT exemption, estate exemption), what’s new (Trump Accounts, school scholarship credits, car loan interest deductions), and where the real strategic planning opportunities lie for advisors — particularly around phase-outs, Roth conversions, itemisation timing, 199A, bonus depreciation, opportunity zones, and QSBS. This is the first in a series of tax legislation webinars with Bob.

What You’ll Learn

• Tax rates, standard deduction, and personal exemptions — what’s being made permanent and what the new senior deduction means for clients over 65
• Estate and gift tax exemption at $15M per person — what this means for your client base and how to decide whether to specialise in estate tax planning
• 199A (qualified business income deduction) changes — the increase from 20% to 23% in the House bill, phase-outs for specified service trades, and the SALT deduction at entity level controversy
• Trump Accounts — a new tax-advantaged savings vehicle for children — how they work, contribution limits, investment restrictions, and how they compare to 529 plans
• School scholarship tax credits — a dollar-for-dollar credit for donations to qualifying schools, and why clients should always take advantage of this
• Bonus depreciation and Section 179 expansion — 100% bonus depreciation restored, 179 increased to $2.5M, and the new qualified production property deduction
• Opportunity zones, QSBS, and other investment incentives — expanded opportunity zone provisions, tiered QSBS exclusions, and the 2026 transition year
• Roth conversion strategy in the current environment — why Roth conversions remain essential for the next 48 months regardless of which party controls Congress next

Chapters

Click a timestamp to jump to that section of the webinar.

1. 0:04 — Welcome & FP Alpha Introduction
2. 2:24 — Introducing Bob Keebler — Background & Relationship
3. 4:03 — Overview: Where We Are with the Legislation
4. 4:26 — Tax Rates Made Permanent — Roth Conversions Stay White-Hot
5. 5:35 — Standard Deduction — Permanent Increase & Impact on Itemising
6. 7:16 — Personal Exemptions, Senior Deduction & Child Tax Credit
7. 8:28 — 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction — Changes & Phase-Outs
8. 10:54 — Estate & Gift Tax — $15M Per Person Permanent Exemption
9. 12:31 — AMT Exemption Made Permanent
10. 13:33 — Mortgage Interest, Casualty Losses & Miscellaneous Deductions
11. 16:03 — No Tax on Tips & No Tax on Overtime
12. 17:36 — Enhanced Senior Deduction Details & Standard Deduction Calculation
13. 18:47 — Timing Itemised Deductions — The Strategic Opportunity
14. 19:12 — Car Loan Interest Deduction — New Provision
15. 20:17 — Child Care Credits
16. 20:49 — Trump Accounts — New Tax-Exempt Savings for Children
17. 26:30 — School Scholarship Tax Credits — Dollar-for-Dollar
18. 28:34 — Above the Line Charitable Deduction & Corporate Charitable Floor
19. 30:29 — Business Meals, Bonus Depreciation, Section 179 & R&D Expensing
20. 34:00 — Qualified Production Property — 100% Deduction for New Facilities
21. 36:25 — QSBS (Section 1202) — Expanded Exclusions
22. 38:00 — Opportunity Zones — Expanded & Potentially Permanent
23. 41:01 — HSA for Medicare, ABLE Accounts, 529 Expansion
24. 43:14 — Energy Credits — Sunsetting
25. 43:52 — Q&A — 199A Impact on Advisors, Roth Conversion Sweet Spots

Key Takeaways

Roth Conversions Will Be White-Hot for the Next 48 Months

Bob’s most emphatic point: with the top bracket staying at 37%, Roth conversions remain essential throughout the rest of the current administration. The strategic logic is simple — if the political pendulum swings in a future election and rates increase, clients who converted at 37% will have locked in a lower rate permanently. Bob also highlighted specific high-value conversion scenarios: clients with a state estate tax issue, couples where one spouse has poor health (use the married brackets while both are alive), and clients in states with no income tax (e.g., New Hampshire) whose heirs live in high-tax states (e.g., New York). FP Alpha’s Roth Simulator factors in all of these variables including IRMAA.

Timing Itemised Deductions Becomes a Major Value-Add

With the standard deduction for a married couple potentially reaching $43,000 (including the new senior deduction for those over 65), far fewer clients will itemise in any given year. Bob’s strategic advice: create a multi-year itemisation calendar. For example, a client might itemise in year one, take the standard deduction in years two and three, then return to itemising in year four — and concentrate all charitable giving into the itemisation years. This is exactly the kind of planning that should be woven into the fabric of annual financial reviews, and tools like FP Alpha’s Tax Projector can model these multi-year scenarios.

The $15M Estate Exemption Changes Everything About Who Needs Estate Tax Planning

If the $15M per person ($30M per married couple) permanent exemption passes, Bob estimated that only 1–2 families out of every 400 would be subject to federal estate tax. This fundamentally changes how advisors should allocate their time. If you have 500 clients and only two face estate tax, learning advanced techniques like GRATs may not be the best use of your effort. However, every advisor still needs to identify when a client has an estate tax problem and know the basics — especially filing for portability when one spouse dies. For those with a concentration of high-net-worth clients, estate planning remains critical.

Trump Accounts Are a New Planning Tool — But 529s Remain Primary for College

The proposed Trump Accounts are a new tax-exempt savings vehicle for children under 8, with $5,000 annual contributions (total from all sources, not per contributor), invested in index funds, with distributions starting at age 18 and automatic distribution at age 31. The government would also contribute a one-time $1,000 for children born 2025–2028. However, Bob was clear: 529 plans remain the primary vehicle for college because 529 distributions for education are completely tax-free, while Trump Account distributions for qualified expenses would be taxed as capital gains. The Trump Account fits into the broader mosaic alongside Roth IRAs and 529s as a long-term wealth-building vehicle.

Know Where You Add Value — Let the Software Handle the Nuance

Bob’s overarching principle: advisors should lean into the strategic conversations and let technology handle the mathematical complexity. Knowing that the standard deduction is $32,000 doesn’t add value. Knowing that a client’s income is near a phase-out threshold and that a Roth conversion could push them over it — that adds value. His 80/20 rule: learn what you need for 80% of your clients and look up the edge cases when they arise. He repeatedly referenced FP Alpha as the tool that handles the nuances (bracket calculations, phase-out interactions, IRMAA modelling) so advisors can focus on the strategy.

Key Provisions at a Glance

Summary of the major provisions discussed, with the House and Senate positions as of this webinar.

Tips & Best Practices from Bob Keebler

About the Speakers