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 […]
Many individuals who live outside of America like to purchase real estate in America or invest in the U.S. Stock Market. It can be much safer than investing in other parts of the world and often times the individual has children who have moved to America to live or study. Florida and New York are […]
Effective April 1, 2014, the State of New York made numerous changes to its tax law. Most dramatically, New York is increasing its estate tax exemption amount from $1,000,000 to match the federal estate tax exemption amount. New York’s New Estate Tax Exemption Amount Until March 31, 2015, the new estate tax amount will be […]
In a landmark Supreme Court case today, United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) was unconstitutional. DOMA was signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage as between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law. Importantly, this meant that same sex couples could not […]
There was a significant court decision back in June of this year regarding the rights of same sex married couples. The New York Federal Court concluded that the surviving spouse of a same sex married couple is entitled to an unlimited marital deduction for purposes of federal estate taxes. Windsor v. U.S., 109 AFTR 2d […]
Often times, a person who is on his or her deathbed will wish to make gifts to family members. Gifts are usually considered deathbed gifts if they are made within three years of a person’s death. However, except for certain transfers discussed below, when a gift is made is often irrelevent for federal estate tax […]