THIS AFFECTS YOU: Part 2: Tax Bill and Homebuyers, tax deductions, children

THIS AFFECTS YOU:   In Part 2 of the explanations of what's in the new tax plan, this blog republishes CBS News' article and focuses on Homebuyers, tax deductions, children. 

How will the tax bill affect homeowners or home buyers? The mortgage interest deduction will stay in place for all homeowners with existing mortgages. If you're about to buy a home, the home mortgage interest deduction will be available for mortgages up to $750,000.

Can I still deduct my state and local taxes?

Up to a point, and you'll have to make a choice. Filers will be able to write off the cost of state and local taxes, up to $10,000. And they must choose from among sales, income and property taxes for the deduction, instead of being able to deduct all local taxes.

What if I give to charity?

The charitable deduction will remain as it is. So, if you itemize your deductions, you may be able to deduct charitable contributions that are made to qualifying organizations. According to the IRS, you may deduct up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income, although some filers are limited to 20 percent and 30 percent.

Do I still have to pay Obamacare penalties if I don't have health insurance?

Nope. The final bill eliminates that fee.
Under current law, you would owe 2.5 percent of your household income or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child under 18 -- whichever amount is higher -- and that fee would have been adjusted upwards for inflation in every subsequent year.

How big a tax cut did corporations get?

The bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. It's one point higher than the original 20 percent in the House and Senate bills, but still a massive cut.

What's the deal with the alternative minimum tax?

For corporations, the AMT disappears.
That's not the case for individual filers, but fewer will have to pay it, at least. 

• Exemption amounts will increase from $84,000 for joint filers under the current law level to $109,400. Single filers will see that number increase from $54,300 to $70,300.
• The exemption currently phases out for joint filers at $160,900, and $120,700 for individuals. Under the tax bill, that phaseout would kick in at $1 million for married filers and $500,000 for those who are single. Above the threshold, filers lose 25 percent of their exemption, that is, $0.25 on every dollar in income.

Are your children in private school? 

Under the tax bill, parents will be able to use up to $10,000 per year tax-free from 529 college savings accounts for K-12 tuition. According to the laws on the books right now, those funds can only be used for college plans.

Tuition waivers

Also, a proposal to tax tuition waivers has gone away -- GOP lawmakers had considered counting tuition waivers as income, which would make them taxable. Graduate students who would have owed considerably more can rest assured that their tax bills will not be seeing this hike in the tax plan.

What if I'm adopting a child?

The tax plan preserve the child adoption tax credit. The maximum adoption tax credit increased in 2017 to $13,570 from $13,460 in 2016.

What does the bill do to the child tax credit?

The child tax credit is doubling -- from $1,000 to $2,000, and during the conference process, Sen. Marco Rubio fought for and succeeded in securing an increase the refundable portion of the child tax credit to $1,400, a $300 increase over the $1,100 that was originally agreed upon. 

What's happening to the standard deduction?

That's roughly doubling -- from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals, and from $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.