Estate, Gift, and GST Taxes

 

The federal gift, estate, and GST exemption amount is the total amount that an individual may transfer during life, or at death, without incurring gift, estate, or generation-skipping transfer tax. The exemption amount is adjusted annually for inflation.

 

In 2019, the individual exemption amount increased to $11,400,000 (an aggregate of $22,800,000 for a married couple).

 

The federal gift tax annual exclusion amount in 2019 is $15,000 per donee. Gifts to any recipient may be doubled if gifts are split with a spouse (which requires the filing of a federal gift tax return). Unlike the exemption amount, the gift tax annual exclusion amount is a “use it or lose it” tax benefit. You may make annual exclusion gifts to as many recipients in a year as you wish, but you may not carry the gift tax annual exclusion amount forward to future years. 

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The New York exclusion amount was changed as of April 1, 2014, and does not match the federal exclusion amount.  In 2019, the New York exclusion amount is $5.49 million.  It is important to note that, unlike the Federal exclusion amount, the New York exclusion amount is not portable, meaning if the first spouse to die fails to utilize his or her full exclusion amount, the surviving spouse will not be able to utilize the first spouse to die’s unused exclusion amount.

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The exclusion rules should be considered when creating a compressive estate plan. The attorneys at Fitzgerald & Sadove PLLC can work with you to create a unique tailored to your needs. Contact us for more information.

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