Blank Rome’s annual estate and tax planning newsletter addresses estate planning concepts and techniques that should be considered in 2017 by our clients and friends.

Transfer Taxes. The major changes made in 2010 in the law regarding gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) taxes (collectively, “transfer taxes”) are now permanent, although the new Congress could amend them.

Gift Tax. The tax-free “annual exclusion” amount remains $14,000 in 2017. The cumulative lifetime exemption increased from $5,450,000 in 2016 to $5,490,000 in 2017 (inflation adjustment). The tax rate on gifts in excess of $5,490,000 remains at 40%.