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ATRA, extends the current capital gains and dividends rates on income at or below $400,000 (individual filers), $425,000 (heads of households), and $450,000 (married filing jointly) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012.
For income in excess of $400,000 (individual filers), $425,000 (heads of households) and $450,000 (married filing jointly), the rate for both capital gains and dividends is 20 percent.

Personal exemptions allow a certain amount per person to be exempt from tax. Due to the personal exemption phaseout , the exemptions are phased out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) above a certain level.
ATRA, permanently extends the repeal of the personal exemption phaseout on incomes at or Below $250,000 (individual filers), $275,000 (heads of households) and $300,000 (married filing jointly) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012.
Taxpayers with income above the listed amounts will be subject to the phaseout

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 permanently extends the repeal of the Itemized Deduction Phaseout on incomes at or Below $250,000 (individual filers), $275,000 (heads of households) and $300,000 (married filing jointly) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012.
Taxpayers with income Above the above amounts will be subject to the phaseout.

ATRA for 2012 allows nonrefundable personal credits to reduce the AMT.

Elementary and secondary school teachers can deduct from gross income up to $250 of qualified expenses they paid during the year. If spouses are filing jointly and both were eligible educators, the maximum deduction on the joint return is $500. However, neither spouse can deduct more than $250 of his or her qualified expenses.
The deduction expired for tax years beginning after 2011. ATRA, extends the deduction through tax years beginning before 2014.

ATRA, extends this treatment to amounts paid or accrued before January 1, 2014 (and not properly allocable to any period after 2013).,Br> Taxpayers can treat amounts paid during the year for qualified mortgage insurance as qualified residence interest.
To qualify for this treatment, the insurance must be in connection with acquisition debt for a qualified residence, and the insurance contract must have been issued after 2006.

Taxpayers are allowed a credit for certain research expenses paid or incurred in a trade or business. Generally, the research credit is allowed for increasing research activities.
The credit had expired for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2011. ATRA, 301, provides that this provision now expires for amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 2013.

The work opportunity credit allows employers a 40 % credit for qualified first-year wages paid or incurred during the tax year to individuals who are members of a targeted group of employees.
The credit had generally terminated for amounts paid or incurred for employees who began work for an employer after December 31, 2011. ATRA, extended the credit, and it now terminates for amounts paid or incurred for employees who begin work for an employer after December 31, 2013.

Certain small business employers that make differential wage payments to employees who are members of the military are allowed a credit for a percentage of the eligible differential wage payments made to each qualified employee.
The credit had expired for payments made after December 31, 2011. ATRA, extended the credit. It now expires for payments made after December 31, 2013.

The wage base in 2013 is $113,700. It’s an increase over the 2012 Social Security wage base, which was $110,100. The wage base increase follows an increase last year over the 2011 Social Security wage base, which was $106,800.
Social security taxes are the taxes that are taken from your paycheck to contribute to the social security program. However, there is a taxable wage base limit, and earnings above this amount are not taxed.