The Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017 (the Act), was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, bringing a myriad of changes to the Internal Revenue Code and sparking a substantial amount of commentary and analysis. While much attention has been centered on the consequences of the Act for individual and business taxpayers, relatively little focus has been given to the impact of the Act on trust and estates. Many of the provisions of the Act that apply to individuals are indeed equally applicable to trust and estates, but the suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions under IRC Section 67(g) should prompt a renewed focus on the allocation of expenses of trusts and estates and may, for some trustees and executors, tip the scales in favor of distributing trust property to individual beneficiaries who are in a more advantageous income tax position as a result of the Act.

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