Federal gift and estate tax applies at a flat 40% rate to estates of individuals with assets in excess of the exemption, currently $13,610,000 per person (for 2024). If assets in excess of the exemption pass to a generation two or more below the individual, generation skipping transfer tax applies at an additional 40%! At Ansell & Anderson we work with clients to determine whether gift, estate and generation skipping transfer taxes are likely to be a concern at the time of death. The 2024 exemption amount of $13,610,000 per person coupled with the portability of a deceased spouse's unused gift and estate tax exemption means that we are able to craft flexible, straight forward estate plans for the majority of our clients without being concerned about incurring gift, estate or generation skipping transfer tax. Under current law, in 2026, the exemption reverts to $5,000,000 as adjusted for inflation.
For those clients with estates projected to be in excess of the exemption, we introduce sophisticated techniques designed to minimize or avoid gift, estate and generation skipping transfer tax including grantor retained annuity trusts, known as GRATs, qualified personal residence trusts, or QPRTs, spousal lifetime access trusts, known as SLATs, and irrevocable trusts for lifetime gifting or to hold a life insurance policy in a tax-efficient manner.
We also work with clients to make sure that the beneficiaries of income tax-deferred retirement accounts are coordinated with the overall estate plan while reducing or deferring the income tax.