12 Valuable Tax Breaks Congress Has Brought Back to Life

In its endearing (if infuriating) way, Congress left a package of tax cuts under the tree as lawmakers beat a hasty retreat from Washington for the Christmas holiday.

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In its endearing (if infuriating) way, Congress left a package of tax cuts under the tree as lawmakers beat a hasty retreat from Washington for the Christmas holiday. You might call this “regifting,” though, because the goodies are the same ones Congress let die at the end of last year. The long-awaited revival to make them retroactively apply for 2015 came on December 18. In an important twist to the habitual year-end gamesmanship, however, this time Congress actually made many of them permanent and even improved a few. Here are 12 that might put—er, leave—money in your pocket by reducing your tax bill for 2015, 2016 and beyond.

Kevin McCormally
Chief Content Officer, Kiplinger Washington Editors
McCormally retired in 2018 after more than 40 years at Kiplinger. He joined Kiplinger in 1977 as a reporter specializing in taxes, retirement, credit and other personal finance issues. He is the author and editor of many books, helped develop and improve popular tax-preparation software programs, and has written and appeared in several educational videos. In 2005, he was named Editorial Director of The Kiplinger Washington Editors, responsible for overseeing all of our publications and Web site. At the time, Editor in Chief Knight Kiplinger called McCormally "the watchdog of editorial quality, integrity and fairness in all that we do." In 2015, Kevin was named Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President.