Congress has a record of restoring prized income tax breaks at the last minute. So it seems likely that lawmakers will get off their collective duff and extend many of the 50-plus provisions that expired last year, even though they’d made little progress toward that as of early October.

One in abeyance that’s dear to advisors and their clients allows an individual age 70 and a half or older to exclude from income up to $100,000 of individual retirement account distributions directed to charity.

Business owners, including advisors, would also love to see the renewal of bonus depreciation on new equipment purchased this year. They would also appreciate an increase in the Section 179 election, which lets them immediately write off the cost of assets they buy, rather than spread the cost over time through depreciation. This deduction is limited to $25,000 for 2015—downright puny compared with last year’s $500,000 cap—and begins phasing out once the business has purchased more than $200,000 of eligible assets, whereas it could purchase $2 million worth of equipment in 2014. Boo, hiss.

Whether or not Washington acts, advisors can take steps to help clients lower their 2015 tax bills.

They can start by seeking an update on the client’s marginal tax rate. Maybe 2015 has been a better-than-expected year and the busy client has neglected to tell you.

With the top ordinary bracket now 39.6%, “Clients may be paying over 50 cents on their last dollar earned when you include state income tax and the 3.8% net investment income tax,” observes CPA Tony A. Rose, founding partner of Rose, Snyder & Jacobs LLP, an accounting firm in Encino, Calif. “It calls into question how much risk the client should take to make another taxable dollar.” Tax-free income opportunities may deserve a closer look.

Advisors should also check state tax withholding for married gay clients in states that didn’t recognize same-sex marriage until a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June required them to. These clients entered 2015 expecting to file their state returns as single individuals, as they have in the past. “Married” is now their state filing status after the court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Make sure these clients’ state tax withholding reflects the change.

Several non-recognition states have said they’ll permit, but not require, married gays to amend recent tax returns to reflect their married filing status. Among the latest are Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska and North Dakota, according to Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, an information provider in Riverwoods, Ill. (For other timely planning issues for gay clients and prospects, see the sidebar.)

The 2013 advent of the aforementioned 3.8% tax on investment income has made a mark on year-end tax planning. For one thing, it makes tax-loss harvesting more valuable to clients. Capital gains are subject to this surcharge when income tops $250,000 if a couple is filing jointly or $200,000 when the taxpayer is filing as single.

Blake E. Christian, a tax partner at accounting firm HCVT LLP in Park City, Utah, and Long Beach, Calif., says, “Our firm is spending more time with our clients’ investment advisors in building tax-efficient investment portfolios and, during the year-end planning process, attempting to net capital losses against gains to minimize the 3.8% tax.”

The tax can be squirrely. Christian has seen cases where clients have had to pay the 3.8% surcharge on their investment income even when their regular income tax was zero thanks to significant itemized deductions and tax credits.

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