Andrew Howlett was quoted on methods that certain taxpayers could use to reduce their taxable income below the threshold in order to qualify for the 20 percent deduction for passthrough income under section 199A, including making charitable donations and deductible contributions to retirement plans. "You can concoct a whole lot of different cases," in which a taxpayer in between the two thresholds may or may not see a net section 199A benefit of making a deductible contribution to a retirement plan, Howlett said, adding that the phase-in, as opposed to a bright line dividing income levels that qualify and don’t, mitigates the impact of some of the planning around the margins.