With
the federal estate tax exemption at $ 5,450,000 in 2016, federal taxation is probably not an issue for most people.
With
the federal estate tax exemption at $ 5,450,000 in 2016, federal taxation is probably not an issue for most people.
It also means that a same - sex spouse can transfer any unused
federal estate tax exemption at death to the surviving spouse.
On a lifetime basis, the gift tax exclusion in 2018 is tracking along with the recently increased
federal estate tax exemption at 11.2 million per individual and 22.4 million for married couples.
Not exact matches
We know from history lessons that the
federal estate tax exemption and the law in general has bounced around
at the whim of our politicians and this isn't likely to change.
For
federal estate tax, the current 2017
exemptions are
at $ 5.49 Million for single people and $ 10.98 Million for married couples.
Once again, if life insurance is included in the gross
estate, it will be subject to
taxes at the state level and the
exemptions for state
taxes are much lower than the
federal exemptions.
However, with the current
estate tax exemption at $ 5.43 million, most
estates will never owe an
estate tax at the
federal level.
We know from history lessons that the
federal estate tax exemption and the law in general has bounced around
at the whim of our politicians and this isn't likely to change.
And even with the
federal estate and gift
tax exemption at $ 5.43 million, it is still possible to owe state
estate taxes.
However, when your spouse passes away, if the assets left behind are valued
at more than
federal estate tax exemption of $ 22.4 million, your heirs will be subject to a 40 %
tax rate on the value of your
estate that exceeds the
exemption.
The death benefit from a life insurance policy is usually untaxed because the assets left behind by the deceased seldom exceed
federal estate tax exemption, currently set
at $ 11.2 - 22.4 million, depending on the deceased marital status.
So
at time of death, the giver's lifetime taxable gifts could total $ 5.25 million and no gift
tax would be due, but then the giver's
federal estate tax exemption would be reduced to zero.