As it does every year at this time, the Internal Revenue Service has announced updated numbers for 2018 relating to estate and gift taxes (as well as numbers on income tax and retirement plan rules). For 2018 the annual gift tax exclusion will be $15,000, an increase from the prior limit of $14,000. The esate and gift tax exemption amount is raised to $5,600,000, or $11,200,000 for a married couple, which is an increase from the prior limits of $5,490,000 and $10,980,000. Proposals have been made on a preliminary basis to eliminate the federal estate tax altogether, but it's too early to tell if that is a reasonable possibility.