Winners
People who dont take deductions.
The framework would roughly double the amount of the standard deduction to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for singles.
This change would benefit taxpayers who dont break out deductions for mortgage interest, state taxes, charitable donations and the like on Schedule Aand they file about 70% of all returns. Current itemizers might opt to refrain.
But there is a potential catch: in return for the expanded deduction, taxpayers will lose the personal exemption for each family member, which is $4,050 in 2017. It isnt known whether additional changes will make up the difference for families with children.
Heirs of very large estates.
The current estate tax applies only to individuals with assets greater than $5.5 million, and $11 million for couples, which exempts all but 0.2% of estates.
The framework would repeal both the estate tax and the so-called generation-skipping tax, which can impose estate tax if someone attempts to skip one or more layers of tax by leaving assets to descendants.
It isnt clear whether estate-tax repeal will include other tax increases in this areasuch as increasing capital-gains tax at death on very large estates.
Higher-earning owners of so-called pass-through businesses.
The framework wants to lower the tax on pass-through business income. Currently owners of partnerships, limited-liability companies and S Corporations pay tax on income at the owners personal rate.
To stimulate economic growth, the framework would drop the top rate on the owners business income (other than wages) from about 40% to 25%. This change wouldnt help small-business owners with tax rates below 25%, but it would benefit those taxed at higher rates.
Administration officials have said they wont allow this lower rate for so-called personal service providers such as accountants, and this exception could also include doctors, lawyers, architects and others. Critics also worry that taxpayers will try to convert higher-taxed wages to lower-taxed business income by artful planning or outright cheating.
Haters of the alternative minimum tax.
This complex surtax, which rescinds some tax benefits, is slated for total repeal.
Losers
Residents of high-tax states.
Republican lawmakers and Mr. Trump seem determined to repeal write-offs for state and local income, property and sales taxes, which are deductible on federal tax returns.
These deductions currently cost Uncle Sam more than $100 billion a year, and lawmakers would like to use that to reduce taxes elsewhere, according to Scott Greenberg of the Tax Foundation. Lawmakers favoring repeal see it as an inefficient subsidy, he said.
If this write-off ends, the pain would be greatest in high-tax areas, including New York, New Jersey and California. There will likely be stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers representing these areas, so the write-off may be limited rather than repealed outright.
People who take charitable and mortgage deductions.
The framework would specifically preserve these write-offsalthough experts say the mortgage interest deduction could be curtailed to $500,000 of interest rather than $1 million. And a higher standard deduction would mean many homeowners annual mortgage-interest paymentscombined with the repeal of other write-offsmight not be high enough to be worth itemizing.
High-wage earners.
One of the few new elements in the framework is a possible rate above 35% for high earners, to ensure the new system is at least as progressive as the existing tax code. The rate and level of income it would apply to isnt specified.
If such a rate is imposed, it will likely apply to mainly wage earnersnot the business income of so-called pass-throughs or investment income such as capital gains and dividends. If it is coupled with loss of state and local tax deductions, some people could owe much more.
People with large medical or disaster deductions.
Each of these write-offs on Schedule A has significant hurdles and is only available to taxpayers with large unreimbursed expensessuch as from nursing-home costs or Hurricane Harvey flood damage.
Both deductions would probably be repealed under the framework, along with those for investment interest, gambling losses and unreimbursed businesses expenses.