Fiscal-cliff fallout.

• Position: ACCOUNTING & TAXES - Interview

No working American survived the Jan. 1 fiscal-cliff decisions by Congress unscathed, with those in higher income brackets taking a particularly powerful punch. Here's a look at some of the changes in store at the tax table his year, along with brief commentary by accountant Lauren Long, who teaches in the Colorado State University College of Business, and accountant Fran Coet, founder of Coet and Goo: in Westminster. Coet warned business owners that all of these last-minute tax changes are resulting in significant filing delays.

* Individuals and couples earning more than $400,000 and $450,000 respectively will see their rates increase 4.6 percent to a maximum rate of 39.G percent.

* A new 3.8 percent Medicare tax on passive income, such as capital gains and dividends, will affect individuals with annual incomes above $400,000 and couples who earn more than $450,000.

* A new 0.9 percent Medicare tax on earned income, such as wages and self-employment income, will apply to individuals with earned income greater than $200,000 and couples with combined earned income of more than $250,000.

* Rates for dividends and capital gains will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent for individuals making more than $400,000 ($450,000 for joint returns).

* Higher-income taxpayers will also lose deduction options, as the Pease itemized-deduction phase-out and the Fiscal-cliff fallout personal-exemption phase-out were reinstated. The thresholds are $300,000 for married filing jointly, $275,000 for head of household, and $250,000 for single.

Long: "If you are in a higher-income bracket, it's a big chunk of money." Long advises business clients to consider shifting money and restructuring investments (i.e. buying municipal bonds) for cushion.

Coet: "You can see what that's going to do to their budget." Met ran the math on a higher-income couple, finding that the changes could cost them nearly $17,000 more in taxes. And these are the people most likely to be business owners. "That could be a receptionist that isn't going to get hired."

All employees will see their paychecks reduced by 2 percent because the Social Security payroll tax deduction expired and was not renewed...