AMT Relief, Other Tax Breaks Get New Life

Wonder what happened to some popular tax write-offs that expired in 2007? They're back. The $700-billion financial rescue law has lots of tax goodies, too, for individuals and businesses. It renews a slew of lapsed tax breaks, including relief for middle-class taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Some year-end tax decisions are no longer in doubt with passage of the bill. Chief among them is the option for donating IRA payouts to charity -- one of the most popular lapsed tax provisions because it allows folks who are age 70½ to exclude their minimum distributions from income as long as the payout goes directly to a charitable organization. The break, which is limited to $100,000 per year, is now scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. The new law's AMT relief provision sets the exemption amounts for 2008 at... [read full story]