Retirement Watch Lighthouse Logo

Estate Tax

Found 52 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.

how-to-maximize-charitable-giving-tax-benefits-in-the-new-tax-reform-law

How to Get an Estate Tax ID Number

November 12, 2020

  The federal estate tax is a tax paid after a person’s death on the value of the person’s property.    A large amount of an estate is exempt from the federal estate tax. In 2021, the exempt amount is $11.7 million. The amount is indexed for inflation each year. So, only the wealthiest estates […]

estate planning

How to Reduce or Avoid Estate Taxes

November 12, 2020

  The federal estate tax is a tax on the value of property a decedent owned at the time of his or her death.   The tax is paid only by estates that exceed the exemption amount, which is $11.7 million for 2021. It is indexed for inflation each year.    Tax rates range from […]

Estate Planning

Understanding the Estate Tax

November 12, 2020

  The federal estate tax is paid on the value of property a person owned at the time of his or her death.   In 2021, the federal estate tax only applies to estates with values exceeding $11.7 million. The amount is indexed for inflation each year.   How Estate Tax Works   To determine […]

Estate Planning

Key Changes in Estate Tax, Bypass Trusts and Tax Free Gifts

June 16, 2020

There are four basic strategies for reducing estate taxes: Reducing assets from the gross estate Removing future appreciation from the gross estate Increasing deductions, and Buying life insurance Within those four strategies are many options. Not all will be appropriate for you. But there are quite a few strategies – and it’s always good to […]

New Estate Planning Strategy: How To Use Life Insurance To Pay Estate Taxes

June 2, 2020

Sometimes the traditional strategies to reduce estate taxes are not practical or appealing. It might be difficult to give away an asset in increments over the years to make tax-free gifts. Or you might want to retain control of your assets for life. There are a lot of reasons why someone might not want to […]

How to Maximize the Tax Benefits of Estate Planning Gifts

March 19, 2020

You need to plan on how to minimize taxes on lifetime gifts, even when the federal estate and gift tax isn’t a factor. Because of the $11.6 million lifetime federal and gift tax exemption, most people don’t have to worry about owing gift taxes on their lifetime giving. Most people also don’t need to make […]

IRS Revises Tax Amounts for 2020, Issues New Rules on Gift Tax Exemption

December 15, 2019

The IRS announced the annual inflation increases for various tax provisions as of January 1, 2020. The lifetime estate and gift tax exemption is increased to $11.58 million (from $11.4 million). A couple can jointly exempt $23.16 million from estate and gift taxes. The annual gift tax exclusion remains $15,000 for 2020. The standard deduction […]

Estate Planning

How To Plug the Estate Tax and Estate Liquidity Leaks in Your Will & Estate Plan

December 3, 2019

Everyone needs a will… even if all your assets are owned by a living trust or held in joint title. A will is a legal document in which a person, known as the testator, sets forth his or her wishes about how to distribute an estate’s assets, pay debts, care for any minor children,  and […]

Log In

Forgot Password

Search