Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Bill on Bankruptcy: Fee Agreement Puts Law Firm In Trustee's Sights
The TCJA doubled the lifetime exclusion and GST tax exemption. This exclusion amount, adjusted for inflation, is now $13.61 million and is expected to be approximately $13.99 million in 2025. However, in 2026, the amount will...more
As we start the new year, this Federal Tax Update highlights estate planning-related federal tax information that may be helpful as you consider planning options for 2024. ...more
When it comes to passing wealth to the next generation, one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox is the use of your lifetime gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) exemption amounts. While the...more
From time to time, we provide updates in the estate planning area. While the November 2022 federal elections resulted in a divided Congress that dampens the likelihood of major federal tax legislation, we thought this would...more
The IRS on Friday announced a historic increase in contribution limits to 401(k) and other qualified retirement plans. In 2023, you may contribute up to $22,500 to your 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, which represents more...more
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or “SLATs,” may be the ideal vehicle for clients interested in pursuing wealth-transfer tax planning. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust created by one spouse for the primary benefit of the...more
High-net worth individuals have an opportunity to take advantage of high transfer tax exemptions if they act fast. Set to expire in 2026, unless Congress acts sooner, the time is now to implement strategies that make the most...more
The IRS recently confirmed that, for 2022, the aggregate amount that can be given away without being subject to the gift or estate tax will increase to $12.06 million per individual. Thus, as of 2022, a married couple...more
It is said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes. True, but incomplete. What is missing from this short list is a third inevitable occurrence – tax law changes. We now have a new and pressing series of proposed...more
You have probably heard that the House Ways and Means Committee released proposals for increasing gift and estate taxes in order support legislation being advanced by the Democratic majority in Congress. ...more
This week, the House Ways and Means Committee released draft tax legislation. The legislative draft includes several provisions especially relevant to high-net-worth families and estate planning, including reducing the wealth...more
With Democratic control of the White House and Congress, there has been much speculation on what President Biden’s tax proposal will look like, as well as the likelihood that President Biden’s tax plan will be enacted into...more
On April 28, 2021, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress and a Fact Sheet published by the White House, President Biden introduced the “American Families Plan,” the President’s plan for spending and a series of tax...more
The Estate Planning Team at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP issues advisories regularly to communicate important law changes and other matters of interest to our clients, their advisors, and our friends. The 2020 presidential...more
The estate planning environment has been highly favorable, with transfer tax exemptions currently at historic highs and interest rates near all-time lows. However, the temporary nature of the increased exemptions and the...more
On January 5, 2021, Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeated GOP incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in their Senate runoff elections, giving the Democrats 50 seats in the Senate. Vice President Kamala...more
The election is only weeks away, and with it is likely to come significant changes to the tax code. Many economists anticipate that, regardless of the outcome, there will likely be tax increases to reduce the federal deficit,...more
- Annual inflation-indexing continues to increase the historically high lifetime exemption amount for gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Those of considerable wealth who have not yet made gifts, such as...more
Thanks to recent tax law changes, most families can avoid liability for federal estate and gift taxes. However, there’s a lesser-known tax whammy that can hit wealthy individuals without warning: the generation-skipping...more
Earlier this month, the IRS announced the cost of living adjusted (“COLA”) amount of the exemption applicable to transfers in 2020 that are subject to gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) taxes (i.e.,...more
Many people are aware of the federal gift tax and the federal estate tax (sometimes referred to as the ‘death tax’). These are the transfer taxes which are imposed on transfers during life, by gift, or at death. In 2019, a...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect on January 1, 2018, temporarily doubled the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions from $5 million (adjusted annually for inflation) to $10 million...more
Earlier this week, amended SB-378 was introduced in the California Legislature providing for the reinstatement of an estate tax and the imposition of a new gift and generation-skipping transfer tax (collectively, “Transfer...more
For most family business owners, the old way of discount planning has become perishable. For many years, closely-held business owners routinely heard estate planners advise them to give or sometimes sell family members’...more
Federal Transfer Taxes - The Internal Revenue Service has announced the annual inflation adjustments for the 2019 tax year... Federal unified gift and estate tax exclusion increasing to $11,400,000: As of January 1,...more