Policy parameter naming and placing conventions

Policy parameter names have two components; the first component is an abbreviation for the parameter’s tax category and the second component is an abbreviation for the role the parameter plays in those tax category rules. In some cases, parameter names have a subcategory that conveys additional information about the role the parameter plays (see Examples below).

Tax categories

Tax categories are uppercase:

ACTC: Additional Child Tax Credit

ALD: Above-the-Line Deduction

AMEDT: Additional Medicare Tax

AMT: Alternative Minimum Tax

CDCC: Child and Dependent Care Credit

CG: Capital Gain

CTC: Child Tax Credit

EITC: Earned Income Tax Credit

ETC: Education Tax Credit

FICA: Federal Income Contributions Act

ID: Itemized Deduction

II: Individual Income (including personal exemptions and tax brackets)

KT: Kiddie Tax

LLC: Lifetime Learning Credit

NIIT: Net Investment Income Tax

PT: Pass-Through Income

SS: Social Security

STD: Standard Deduction

Parameter role

Abbreviates for the role the parameter plays in the tax rules are usually lowercase:

c: ceiling (or use Max especially for integer variables)

e: end

ec: exclusion

em: exemption

f: floor (or use Min especially for integer variables)

hc: haircut

p: phaseout

rt: rate (always expressed as a decimal, rather than a percentage, rate)

s: start

t: tax

thd: threshold

Combine abbreviations to create more complex roles: frt = floor rate.

Examples

AMT_em: Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount

ID_ps: Itemized Deduction phaseout Adjusted Gross Income start (Pease)

AMT_brk1: Alternative Minimum Tax first rate bracket top

SS_Earnings_c: Maximum taxable earnings for Social Security

AMT_child_em: Child Alternative Minimum Tax exemption additional income base

ETC_pe_Married: Education Tax Credit phaseout ends (Married)

EITC_MinEligAge: Earned Income Tax Credit minimum eligibility age for those with no EITC-eligible children

Placing new parameters in policy_current_law.json

All new policy parameters should be added to the policy_current_law.json file in a location that is near conceptually similar parameters. Be sure to specify the section_1 and section_2 values of each new parameter so that it appears in an appropriate place on the Tax-Brain webapp input page. If the new parameter is not supposed to appear on the input page of the Tax-Brain webapp, set the value of section_1 and section_2 to an empty string.