QuickList of changes from 2014 to 2015

Notable tax laws that had expired, now made permanent or extended:

In December 2014, Congress passed a retroactive extender bill concerning these tax benefits for 2014. In mid-December 2015, Congress (with an entire half-month to go!) made permanent some provisions known as the "Bush tax cuts" and some created under the Obama administration, which would have returned to lower amounts or expired, and extended some others for a number of years.

These are just a selection but which affect many people, from the legislation called "Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015."

Made permanent:

• $250 'teacher deduction' also now indexed to inflation
• American Opportunity Credit (otherwise would have reverted to the lower Hope Credit version)
• refundable portion of child tax credit (otherwise the income baseline would have increased, tougher to qualify)
• earned income credit (the extra credit calculation for three children)
• state/local sales tax deduction (for those itemizing and state income tax is less/none)
• tax-free retirement distributions to charity
• higher amounts for placed-in-service expensing and related phaseouts, indexed to inflation

Extended (most through 2016):

• Tuition and Fees deduction
• mortgage insurance premiums deduction
• nontaxable cancellation of debt on principal home sale/foreclosure/mortgage modification
• Bonus depreciation (through 2019)

More details on the complete "PATH" tax bill may be downloaded via a House Ways and Means Committee summary which can be understood by normal people.