Historically in America, each citizen and permanent resident had a certain amount of assets that they could pass on to their heirs free of an estate tax. This amount is known as the federal estate tax exemption. In 2010, the government passed a law allowing for federal estate tax portability. Federal estate tax portability enabled […]
A QDOT (Qualified Domestic Trust) is a trust for the benefit of a surviving non-citizen spouse that defers the federal estate tax following the death of the first spouse. A Qualified Domestic Trust defers the federal estate tax because it qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction. A QDOT usually defers the federal estate tax until […]
There are rumors that the current administration intends to cut the $11.7 million estate and gift tax exemption to either $5 million or $3.5 million. While these proposals are always subject to change, it is worthwhile to consider if you should make a gift.
Trusts can be a wonderful tool for tax planning. If your death is likely to cause an estate tax or an inheritance tax, you should understand the basics of life insurance trusts. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) is one the most common form of trusts and is the base for many other trusts such […]
Every year the Internal Revenue Service publishes a list of inflation adjustments. You can find them on the IRS website in Revenue Procedure 2020-45. Here are the important inflation updates for 2021 that relate to Gift and Estate Taxes and others that are just useful: Federal Estate & Gift Tax Inflation Updates for 2021 2021 […]
The IRS has recently announced many 2020 Tax Updates. The inflation adjustment announcement can be found in Revenue Procedure 2019-44. This includes increases to the federal estate and gift tax exemption limits and increases to the contribution limits to retirement plans. The 2020 Tax Update also increases the income threshold for a small business to […]
As most of you know, I generally try to avoid political discussions and I really try to avoid commenting on proposed tax policy before it becomes law for the simple reason that most proposed law changes never get enacted. However, I feel compelled to talk about what I believe is a major flaw in the […]
It is no secret that most Republicans and Donald Trump wish to get rid of the federal estate tax (or as it is commonly referred to “The Death Tax”). With Republicans in charge of the House, Senate and Presidency, I think we are very likely to see a full repeal. Many will counter that George […]
The IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2015-53, announcing the inflation adjustments to many tax provisions. Of note, the unified credit against the federal estate tax for Calendar Year 2016 is $5,450,000. This is up from $5,430,000 in 2015. The annual gift tax exclusion of $14,000 per person/per donee remains the same. However, the annual gift […]