The Child Tax Credit has existed in many forms over the last 20 years, but the changes implemented by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 have expanded the program significantly. It is estimated that more than 93% of children, ~69 million, will receive benefits under the new plan. The new credit will not impact all families equally and currently only applies to the 2021 tax year. In 2020, each child under the age of 17 claimed as a dependent on a parent’s return could qualify for a credit of up to $2,000. This credit was implemented under the Tax…
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Although I am writing this in early April, I promise you, this is no April Fools’ Day joke. There are many potential tax law changes on the horizon, but today I will address two of the most recent proposals. On March 25, 2021, Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced what they call the “For the 99.5% Act.” The title refers to the authors’ attempt to make the estate tax system more progressive so that it will result in a stronger economy for 99.5% of Americans, only impacting the top 0.5%. Under current law, the estate and gift…
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With the tax season fast approaching, you may have questions about how your trust is taxed, who is responsible for tax filings, or how trust income taxes get paid. This blog will answer some common questions you may have about the taxation of your trust. Do all trusts pay income taxes? It depends. A trust is a separate legal and taxable entity. Whether the trust pays its own taxes depends on whether the trust is a simple trust, a complex trust, or a grantor trust. Simple trusts and complex trusts pay their own income taxes. Grantor trusts do NOT pay…
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IRC Section 1202 provides one of the most powerful tax benefits in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to entrepreneurs and investors. However, it is also one of the least recognized IRC Sections, even amongst those who stand to most benefit from its use. Section 1202 provides an exclusion from taxation to a qualified investor of up to $10 million of capital gain or 10 times the stockholder’s adjusted cost basis, whichever is greater, upon the sale of Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS). Why has such a generous provision in the tax code gone comparatively unnoticed? A look back at…
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Mitigate New York’s Estate Tax Cliff with Smart Estate Planning and Gifting Strategies – 2021 Update
While the large increase in the federal estate tax exemption has provided many with federal estate tax relief, New Yorkers must continue to plan for New York estate tax. For a quick review of the New York Estate Tax “Cliff” basics, see the “Understanding New York’s Estate Tax “Cliff” blog post. What is the current exemption from New York estate tax again? The current New York estate tax exemption amount is $5,930,000 for 2021. Under current law, this number will remain until January 1, 2022, at which point it will rise again with inflation. Who does the Cliff affect? Everyone…
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This post will help you unpack some of the estate and gift tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Reform Act, as well as answer some of the most pressing questions raised by the changes. In a nutshell, what stayed the same and what changed? One major item that stayed the same is the simple existence of an estate tax. The initial tax reform bill from the House called for a complete elimination of the estate tax, which didn’t make its way into the final law. Trump had also talked about altering the current date-of-death basis step-up for gains above a…
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The bad news is that there is a Federal tax on assets that you give away during life, at death, and to individuals two or more generations below you. The good news is that this tax will only apply to the wealthiest Americans and, even so, there are strategies you can use to minimize or avoid its application. The Federal estate, gift and GST tax only kicks in above a certain dollar threshold. Furthermore, there are additional wealth transfer strategies that do not trigger any tax at all if structured properly. Taxable Gifts There is a Federal estate and gift…
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