The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) passed by the United States Congress on January 1, 2013 centers on a partial resolution to the United States fiscal cliff by addressing the expiration of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, as well as the activation of the budget sequestration provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2011.The American Taxpayer Relief Act allows the Bush-era tax rates to sunset after 2012 for individuals with incomes over $400,000 and families with incomes over $450,000; permanently "patches" the alternative minimum tax (AMT); revives many now-expired tax extenders, including the research tax credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit; and provides for a maximum estate tax of 40 percent with a $5 million exclusion. The Act also delays the mandatory across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration.

CCH's American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012: Law, Explanation and Analysis provides tax professionals with a single integrated reference source covering all aspects of this important legislation. Along with the impacted Internal Revenue Code provisions, CCH editors, together with leading tax practitioners and commentators, have created a complete practical analysis. The American Taxpayer Relief Act allows the Bush-era tax rates to sunset after 2012 for individuals with incomes over $400,000 and families with incomes over $450,000; permanently patches the alternative minimum tax (AMT); revives many now-expired tax extenders, including the research tax credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit; and provides for a maximum estate tax of 40 percent with a $5 million exclusion. The bill also delays the mandatory across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration. Highlights of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 include: -- 39.6% tax rate for incomes above $400,000 ($450,000 for joint filers) -- All other Bush-era tax rates extended -- 20% maximum capital gains tax rate -- Permanent AMT patch -- Five-year extension of American Opportunity Tax Credit -- One-year extension of business tax extenders The law is arranged in Code section sequence. CCH also provides several special tables and lists to facilitate quick and thorough understanding of the law and how it would affect taxpayers. Features include an effective dates table organized by Code section, a listing by Code section of the Act sections affecting it, and a listing by Act section of the Code sections affected. CCH's Law, Explanation and Analysis book is the resource that tax professionals, businesses, government staff and students alike need to get all the details of and help on new tax legislation changes. CCH provides the critical, late-breaking explanation and analysis to help readers make sense of complex legislative change so they can plan, respond and advise with confidence.

On 31 December 2012, a variety of temporary tax provisions that were part of the "fiscal cliff" expired. Two days later, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) retroactively extended, and in certain cases modified, many of these provisions. The short period between the expiration of these provisions and the enactment on January 2 of ATRA retroactively meant that from the perspective of all but upper-income taxpayers, income taxes remained unchanged between 2012 and 2013. This book provides an overview of the tax provisions included in the "fiscal cliff deal", including: the permanent extension and modification of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts ("Bush-era tax cuts"); the temporary extension of certain tax provisions originally included as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA); the permanent extension of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch; the temporary extension of a variety of other temporary expiring provisions for individuals, businesses, and energy often referred to as "tax extenders"; and the expansion of in-plan conversions of traditional employer-sponsored retirement accounts (like 401(k) plans) to employer-sponsored Roth Accounts.

The full text of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, as passed by both houses of the 112th Congress and signed by President Obama.