January 8, 2021 In the November 2020 election, California voters narrowly passed Proposition 19, a measure that impacts two major areas related to property tax and property transfer. First, it gives homeowners more flexibility to change residences anywhere within California while retaining their property tax base as long as the new home is purchased within … Continued
July 20, 2020 In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), creating a significant but temporary opportunity for high-net-worth individuals to transfer a portion of their wealth to heirs free of gift and estate tax. The act included a provision to increase the federal gift and estate tax exclusion from $5.45M … Continued
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” claimed Benjamin Franklin. But at least with the latter matter, there can be different degrees of severity. Indeed, in some respects, we are generally living in a relatively benign tax environment these days but given the increasingly populist and progressive sentiments … Continued
One of the biggest changes occurred here, with the taxable estate exemption doubled. The number of estates predicted to owe tax in 2018 versus 2017 may be cut in half thanks to the change in the estate and gift tax exemption amount. The new limit, which applies to gifts made during life or assets left … Continued
The new tax law has brought about significant financial changes and opportunities for individuals and families, not least of which is the substantial increase in the estate and gift tax Lifetime Exemption amount. This amount has essentially doubled overnight, to a newly available $11.2 million per person in 2018 ($22.4 million for married couples). As … Continued
In today’s world of innovation, where one idea could turn a young entrepreneur into an overnight million(billion)aire, it is becoming increasingly common for a financially successful individual to accumulate far more wealth than their living parents ever could. It is in this group of high net worth investors where a unique wealth transfer strategy may … Continued
In the alphabet soup of estate planning jargon, the acronym QPRT is one of the more familiar — if not fully understood — terms and it represents a popular and rather common technique for potentially passing significant wealth amongst generations using family homes with little or no gift or estate tax consequence. The letters stand … Continued
Now that we are well into the final quarter of the year, it’s time to think ahead to what is approaching taxpayers in just few short months. At this time every calendar year, the various government agencies release updated figures for a range of items such as retirement contribution limitations, gift & estate tax exemptions … Continued
These were the three topics most of us were raised to believe should never be a part of polite conversation, but with a hard fought and contentious presidential election campaign just weeks away from completion, such taboo subjects are inevitably top of mind for many investors. And while every presidential cycle tests our emotions, particularly … Continued
Even at the ripe old age of 100, the Federal Estate Tax – also affectionately known as the ‘death tax’ – is still steeped in controversy. When it was first instituted in 1916 during the height of World War I, it was seen by supporters as a reasonable way to enhance U.S. revenues in case America joined … Continued