The TCJA effectively writes the concept of home equity indebtedness out of the tax code. Now you can only deduct interest on "acquisition indebtedness," meaning a loan used to buy, build or substantially improve a residence. If you took out a home equity loan pre-2018 and used it for any other purpose, interest on it is no longer deductible.

I'm a small business owner. How do I use the new 20 percent qualified business expense deduction?

Short answer: It's complicated and you should get help.

Certain small businesses structured as sole proprietors, S corporations and partnerships can deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income. But that percentage can be reduced after your taxable income reaches $157,500 (or $315,000 as a married couple filing jointly).

The amount of the reduction depends partly on the amount of wages paid and property acquired by your business during the year. Another complicating factor is that certain service industries including health, law, consulting, athletics, financial services and accounting are treated differently.

The IRS is expected to issue more clarification on how these rules are applied, such as when your business is a mix of one of those service industries and some other kind of business.

There are a few things that have changed regarding dependents and caregiving:

	Deductions. Standard deductions are nearly doubled to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married joint filers. The code still says dependents can claim a standard deduction limited to the greater of $1,050 or earned income plus $350.
	Kiddie Tax. Unearned income of children under age 19 (or 24 for full-time students) above a threshold of $2,100 is now taxed at a special rate for estates and trusts, rather than the parents' top tax rate.
	Family credit. If you have dependents who aren't children under age 17 (and thus eligible for the Child Tax Credit), you can now claim $500 for each dependent member of your household for whom you provide more than half of their financial support.
	Medical expenses. You can deduct medical expenses higher than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income as an itemized deduction. You can claim this for medical expenses you pay for a relative even if they aren't a dependent (i.e. they live outside your household) as long as you provide more than half of their financial support.

Coverage gap tax issues

You will have to pay a penalty in 2018 if you don't have health care coverage for three consecutive months or more. Last year the penalty for a full uncovered year was equal to 2.5 percent of your household income or $695 per adult (and $347.50 per child), whichever is higher. The 2018 amounts will be slightly higher to adjust for inflation.

Example: Susan lost her job-based health insurance on Dec. 31, 2016, and applied for a plan through her state's insurance marketplace program that went into effect on April 1. Because she was without coverage for three months, she'll owe a fourth of the penalty on her 2017 tax return (three of 12 months uncovered, or 1/4th of the year).

Mobile phones not only contain our personal details and information about everyone we know; they are used to verify our identities and unlock access to our financial accounts.

Now scammers are using a process called a "port-out" to hack into our phones to change our passwords, steal our personal data and even empty our bank accounts.

Basics of the Port-Out Scam

A port-out scam starts by manipulating the legitimate process you can use to move your mobile phone number from one carrier to another. A scammer calls a carrier and impersonates you to request that your mobile phone number and SIM card data be transferred to a new carrier and device owned by the scammer.

Once the scammer successfully ports out your number in this way, they are often able to use it as leverage to gain access to your bank accounts. That's because like other online accounts, banks will respond to requests to change your password by sending the new password or a PIN to your phone.

Once the scammer uses a ported-out phone to change your passwords, not only are you locked out from accessing your accounts, but the scammer can now begin emptying them.

How to Protect Yourself

The key security vulnerability of the port-out scam is with the mobile phone carrier. When a customer calls to request changing their phone number to another carrier and device, the carrier will ask them to provide a PIN number. For some U.S. carriers including T-Mobile, the default PIN has been the last four digits of the customer's Social Security number.

You may have heard that last year more than 143 million Americans had their data exposed in a hacking security breach at the credit reporting agency Equifax. The information exposed included names linked with phone numbers and Social Security numbers. In other words, everything a hacker would need to try a port-out scam.

Recently, T-Mobile sent text messages to customers warning them to change their PINs. It also set up a port-out protection page.

No matter what carrier you use, it's worthwhile updating your security information and PIN. It can take only minutes and it may avoid the devastating consequences of this scam. Make sure that the new PIN you choose is different from your carrier account password.

Here are the pin protection links at the other three major U.S. carriers: