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Higher-income earners must be wary of the 3.8% surtax on certain unearned income. The surtax is 3.8% of the lesser of:

(1) net investment income (NII), or (2) the excess of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over a threshold amount ($250,000 for joint filers or surviving spouses, $125,000 for a married individual filing a separate return, and $200,000 in any other case).

Taxpayers other than corporations may be entitled to a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified business income.

For 2020, if taxable income exceeds $326,600 for a married couple filing jointly, $163,300 for singles, marrieds filing separately, and heads of household, the deduction may be limited based on whether the taxpayer is engaged in a service-type trade or business (such as law, accounting, health, or consulting), the amount of W-2 wages paid by the trade or business, and/or the unadjusted basis of qualified property (such as machinery and equipment) held by the trade or business.

On November 3, Californians approved Proposition 19, a constitutional amendment which had important impacts on property taxes as well as estate planning.

It’s one thing to be disappointed that your father is rewriting his estate plan to give more to his new wife. It’s another to stand in the doorway and physically block your father’s lawyer from entering, to prevent dad from signing the revised papers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented strain on virtually all businesses. Restaurants and retailers have few patrons, and many office buildings are nearly empty as their former occupants work from home. Meanwhile, rent payments on these properties continue to come due each month.

If you sign a contract that requires arbitration of disputes, and then decide you don’t like the terms of the deal you’ve made, don’t expect the courts to let you bypass that arbitration.