Two quick updates as we head into December and the last month of the 2010 Estate Tax Repeal.

In 2010, the annual gift tax exclusion permits a taxpayer to gift $13,000 to any beneficiary, annually, even if the taxpayer has used up his or her $1 million lifetime gift exclusion. The 1997 Tax Reform Act tied the annual exclusion amount to increases in the CPI Index, and as a result, the annual exclusion has increased from $10,000 in 1997 to $13,000 currently. Due to a lack of significant inflation in 2010, the maximum gift tax annual exclusion in 2011 will remain at $13,000. This should also serve as a reminder that there is approximately one month left to take advantage of your 2010 annual exclusion gifts.