2012 COLA's

The individual income-tax brackets and many other tax-related provisions are subject to inflation indexing. Thanks to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), several key items will be higher for the 2012 tax year, including the:

• Personal exemption — $3,800 per eligible person
• 401(k) salary deferral limit — $17,000 (plus an additional $5,500 of catch-up contributions, if eligible)
• Limit on annual additions to defined contribution plan account — $50,000
• Basic standard deduction — $11,900 (married filing jointly); $8,700 (head of household); $5,950 (single); $5,950 (married separate)
• Roth IRA contribution phaseout range — $173,000 to $183,000 of adjusted gross income for married couples filing jointly; $110,000 to $125,000 for singles and heads of household
• Estate-tax exemption — $5,120,000 of cumulative taxable gifts and transfers at death (exemption is portable between spouses)