Estate and Gift Tax

The federal government imposes as many as three different taxes on the transfer of assets by gift or by inheritance. A certain value of assets can be transferred without a tax, on an annual or lifetime basis, but many such gifts must be tracked and reported to the IRS annually. An important part of our practice is understanding such taxes, including how to prevent them if possible, how to choose the lowest tax rate or best timing for triggering the tax, and how to pay these taxes that cannot be prevented. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 temporarily increased the amount a taxpayer can exclude from these taxes, but in 2025 the Act will sunset and the law will return to the way it was in 2017. This makes it more important than ever for taxpayers to plan for such taxes, and how their plans might operate when the Act sunsets.