Understanding Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes

Understanding estate taxes, inheritance taxes and gift taxes is essential to planning an estate. And once the basic estate plan is in place, the next step is to assess the need for asset protection planning and other types of advanced planning.

Some form of federal estate tax has been around since 1916. Learn what the estate tax is, who is subject to it, and when an estate must file a federal estate tax return.

There are two types of taxes that can be assessed against your property after you die - estate taxes and inheritance taxes, both of which are commonly referred to as death taxes.

When preparing or updating your estate plan, you will need to have a basic understanding of the different types of taxes that can affect your estate - gift taxes, estate taxes, inheritance taxes, generation skipping (or GST) taxes, and income taxes.

On January 1, 2010, the federal estate tax was officially repealed, but on December 17, 2010, it was reinstated retroactively. Historically the federal exemption from estate taxes and estate tax rate changed and current law provides that the tax will continue to change as shown in the attached "Federal Estate Tax Schedule."

A federal estate tax return, or IRS Form 706, is only required to be filed under very specific circumstances. Regardless, some estates may need to prepare IRS Form 706 strictly for state estate tax purposes or electing portability, while others should consider filing IRS Form 706 even if it is not required to be filed.

On December 17, 2010, Congress and President Obama acted to retroactively resurrect the federal estate tax for the estates of decedents who died in 2010. But there's a twist. Learn all about the new rules governing federal estate taxes for 2010 deaths here.

The 2010 tax year ushered in significant changes to the laws governing federal estate taxes. Learn when a federal estate tax return (IRS Form 706) or allocation of basis form (IRS Form 8939) is required to be filed for deaths that occurred in 2010 and all of the applicable filing deadlines.

On December 17, 2010, a new law was enacted that governs estate taxes for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 tax years. Here you will find a summary of what this new law provides for the estates of decedents who die in 2011 or 2012 as well as the gift tax laws for 2011 and 2012.

On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 into law. A big part of this new law is modification of the federal estate tax rules, including offering "portability" of the federal estate tax exemption between spouses. But what does "portability" of the estate...

For the 2011 and 2012 tax years, surviving spouses can take advantage of their deceased spouse's unused federal estate tax exemption. This election is commonly referred to as the portability election. Learn what the portability election and how to properly make it.

For deaths occurring in 2010, the decedent's heirs will have the choice of applying the federal estate tax or making use of the "modified carryover basis regime." This means that the heirs will need to choose between receiving an unlimited "step up" or a limited step up in the basis of the inherited property. So what is the modified carryover basis regime?

The 2011 tax year has ushered in significant changes to the laws governing federal estate taxes. Learn when a federal estate tax return (IRS Form 706) is required to be filed for deaths that occur in 2011 and all of the applicable filing deadlines.

In 2010 new laws governing federal estate taxes were introduced that affect the estates of decedents who die in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Learn when a federal estate tax return (IRS Form 706) is required to be filed for deaths that occur in 2012 and all of the applicable filing deadlines.

Do you and your spouse still have "I Love You" wills? If so, then you are missing out on some incredible estate planning opportunities, including estate tax planning, asset protection planning, and keeping your property in your family instead of allowing it to get into the hands of a second or later spouse's family.

If you want to calculate your estate tax liability, you'll first need to calculate the value of your gross estate. Here's how.

When calculating the value of a gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, there are two different values that can be used: the "date of death" value and the "alternate valuation date" value.

Non probate assets are simply assets that won't need to be probated after you die. But will they be included in the value of your estate for estate tax purposes? Find out.

Whether your estate will be liable for estate taxes depends upon the value of your gross estate, the amount of debt owed by you at the time of your death, the total expenses that will be incurred while settling your estate, and any deductions that your estate can take. Here's how to get an estimate of your estate tax liability.

Whether your estate will be liable for estate taxes depends on a number of factors. Learn how to calculate an estimate of an estate tax bill using the rules that apply to deaths that occur in 2011.

Whether your estate will be liable for estate taxes depends on a number of factors. Learn how to calculate an estimate of an estate tax bill using the rules that apply to deaths that occur in 2012.

The federal estate tax has been around in some shape or form since 1916. Here you will find a chart that shows historical estate tax exemptions and rates from 1916 through 1997.

The exemption from federal estate taxes has increased over the past 13 years while the estate tax rate has decreased. Below is a chart that shows the changes in the estate tax exemption and estate tax rate from 1997 through 2013.

The federal estate tax laws were significantly changed in 2010, but those laws are set to expire on December 31, 2012. So what will happen to federal estate taxes in 2013 and beyond? Find out what the current options are and what is expected to happen.

The federal gift tax is one of the most misunderstood and often ignored taxes assessed by the federal government. Two states also assess their own gift tax - Connecticut and Tennessee. Learn what the gift tax is and who is responsible for paying it.

Not all transfers of property from one person to a nonspouse beneficiary where no cash or other monetary value is exchanged are taxable for federal gift tax purposes. Currently there are three types of such transfers that are not actually considered gifts at all for federal gift tax purposes. Learn about them here.

The federal gift tax applies to all gifts that you make during the course of your lifetime. Whether a gift will be taxable for gift tax purposes depends on three things: (1) Who the recipient of the gift is, (2) The fair market value of the gifted property, and (3) Whether the gift is of a present or future interest.

The federal gift tax applies to all gifts that you make during the course of your lifetime. However, every U.S. citizen is given a lifetime exemption from paying gift taxes. Thus, a gift tax will only be owed if the total value of all of the gifts that you've made exceeds your lifetime exemption from gift taxes.

One of the most misunderstood taxes is by far the federal gift tax. Learn what the federal gift tax is and if you will need to file a federal gift tax return, or IRS Form 709, with regard to gifts that you make during the course of any given year.

The exemption from federal gift taxes has increased over the years while the gift tax rate has decreased. Here you will find a chart that shows the changes in the lifetime gift tax exemption and gift tax rate from 1997 through 2013.

Are gifts to your spouse taxable? The answer to this question depends on the answer to two other questions: (1) Is your spouse a U.S. citizen? and (2) Is the gift to your spouse a gift of a present or future interest?

At the end of each year I get calls from clients who are ready to make their year end "estate planning" (as opposed to holiday) gifts to their loved ones. This will usually include gifts of cash, stocks, bonds, portions of real estate, or forgiving debt on a family loan in an amount that doesn't exceed the annual gift tax exclusion. Learn what...

The annual amount exempt from the federal gift tax, called the annual gift tax exclusion, was indexed for inflation beginning in 1997 and has slowly increased over the years. Here you'll find a chart that shows the increase in the annual exclusion gift amount from 1997 through 2012.

OK, here it is, the best gift tax advice I can give, and all that you really need to know to protect you and your loved ones.

While the federal estate tax was originally repealed in 2010, it came back retroactively with a $5,000,000 exemption that will also be in effect in 2011 and 2012, and then on January 1, 2013 the federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to decrease to $1,000,000. Many states also assess estate taxes and/or inheritance taxes. For people whose...

If your estate will owe estate taxes, they will be due and payable nine months after your death, and the IRS won't accept a piece of real estate, diamond ring, or stock in your business for payment. Thus, your Personal Representative or Successor Trustee will face the challenge of determining where the cash will come from to pay the tax bill. Here are the four options for paying estate taxes.

Do people really move to a new state to avoid estate taxes? I say yes because in my 14 years of experience as an estate planning attorney, I'm going to estimate that at least half of my clients have changed their primary residence from a state that collects an income tax and/or an estate tax to a state that doesn't collect an income tax or an...

If your estate is taxable for state and/or federal estate tax purposes, then you'll need to decide which of your beneficiaries will bear the estate tax burden before receiving their inheritance.

If your estate is taxable for state and/or federal estate tax purposes, then you'll need to understand who will be responsible for signing and filing your estate tax return and writing the check to pay the taxes that are due.

If you don’t have enough life insurance, you could put your family in a difficult situation after your death, but having too much could mean you're throwing money out the window. So, how much life insurance do you need?

Life insurance can play an important role in estate planning in two very distinct ways.

Some form of a federal "death tax" has been in existence since 1916. In 2001 the Bush administration enacted the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, which led to a gradual increase in the federal estate tax exemption, a gradual decrease in the estate tax rate, and complete repeal of the federal estate tax effective January 1,...

The exemption from federal generation skipping transfer taxes has increased over the years while the tax rate has decreased. Here you will find a chart that shows the changes in the generation skipping transfer tax exemption and tax rate from 1997 through 2013.