Should your estate plan try to avoid income taxes rather than avoid estate taxes?

With the federal gift and estate tax exemption nearing $13 million, a married couple can have close to $26 million in their estates before any federal estate tax would be due.  That leaves only a small percentage of people in the US who actually need estate plans focused on avoiding estate taxes.  Those who are comfortably below the threshold can instead focus their plans on reducing income taxes.

Estates get a step up in basis at death, so that assets do not pay both estate and income taxes.  For example, the house owned by a couple often has a low basis, so taxes will be due on sale.  When they die, they get a step up in basis, eliminating that gain and the corresponding income tax that would be due at death. 

To illustrate, here’s an example:  a married couple own a house worth $2 million for which they paid $500,000, they have $2 million in retirement accounts and $5 million in broker accounts.  Their combined estate of $9 million is well below the federal exemption of nearly $13 million per person, so no federal estate taxes will be due.  They have $1.5 million of gain if they sell the house, of which $1 million would be taxed after applying the $500,000 exclusion on the sale of a principal residence. 

If they have the standard estate plan, they will have revocable trusts that use the state and federal estate tax credits at both the first and second deaths.  If proper elections are made, no estate taxes will be due at the first death and no federal estate taxes at the second death.  They will also get the step up in basis. 

But what if one spouse dies many years later?  The half with the step up at the earlier death could now be subject to taxes on gain when the heirs direct the estate or trusts to sell.  If the house is then worth $4 million, the half in the trust of the first to die has new gain of $1 million on which income taxes will be due. 

If instead of having half the house counted at the first death, what if it is treated as passing to the survivor?  Then there is a full step up at the second death, with no gain.  And they have not traded capital gains for estate taxes.  While assets are counted in the second estate, rather than using the exemption at the first death, the first estate can make proper use of the deceased spouse’s unused exemption or “DSUE.”  Since 2012, federal law allows any portion of the gift and estate tax credit not used in the first estate tax filing to be carried to the second spouse’s death or “ported,” if the proper election is made.  This “portability election” for the DSUE is made on the estate tax return. 

But what happens when the federal credit drops back down in 2026 to the old amount as scheduled, which, after adjusting for inflation, is expected to be around $7 million?  The estates for the couple in our example still avoid federal estate taxes, using the DSUE of up to $7 million from the first death and the $7 million credit at the second death.  

Planning for state estate taxes may be necessary (for Massachusetts residents, the trusts can be used to shelter $1 million, the maximum credit).  And you may want to use trusts to control who gets access to the estates and when.  Also, you may need to plan for the generation skipping transfer tax or “GST” tax, which requires use of trusts and proper elections at death. 

If your net worth is enough to need estate planning but you do not expect to owe federal estate taxes, then your plan can address avoiding capital gains and use the DSUE to ensure that estate taxes are still avoided.  

  • Note that Massachusetts increased the estate the exemption from $1 million to $2 million as of January 1, 2023.  This may affect your planning. 

Let me know if you would like to discuss this.

Steven

Year-end Tax Planning and the Pandemic

Tax Planning and the Pandemic

We face a challenging time for planning:  The election resulted in a new President while the rate of Covid-19 infections (and deaths) continues to rise.  This has affected the economy, resulted in some tax law changes and may yield more stimulus to restore the economy.  Also, there may be more changes in 2021.  This post is intended to help you make the best tax-efficient moves before 2021 begins.  

2020 year-end tax planning – update on using the tax laws to save you money

In 2018, we provided a three-part series explaining the impact of the new tax law.  In our first part, we discussed the impact of the new law on personal taxes and in our second part, we discussed planning for small businesses.  This update replaces the third part from December 2018, as updated December in 2019 – it is our guide for year-end moves to reduce total taxes between 2020 and 2021.  But, before getting to the planning steps, we address the uncertainty caused by possible tax changes in 2021 and review some recent changes from earlier this year. 

Possible Tax Law Changes under Biden

President-Elect Biden campaigned on raising taxes for corporations and for individuals making over $400,000 of income.  However, even if the Senate seats in Georgia go to Democrats in January, the lack of a “Blue Wave,” a sweeping Democratic mandate, means that the tax hikes are unlikely to pass.  Furthermore, the President-Elect has made clear that controlling Covid-19 and economic recovery are the top priorities of his new administration. 

What did President-Elect Biden propose?  He would restore the 39.6% bracket for couples making $622,050 or more ($518,400 for singles), add a 12.4% social security tax for income over $400,000, place a 28% limit on itemized deductions for high income taxpayers, restore the 20% long-term capital gains rate for high income returns (and even apply ordinary rates on gains of taxpayers over $1 million), and limit the Qualified Business Income Deduction and opportunity zone credits.  For estate taxes, he would reduce the current $11.58 million exemption to a lower amount, perhaps $5 million or even $3.5 million, and eliminate the step-up in basis at death. 

While none of these changes are likely, there may be narrow tax hikes to fund infrastructure building and small tax breaks for lower earners (child/dependent care and elderly long-term care credits).  There may also be more stimulus action, such as more Paycheck Protection Program loans and business tax breaks for worker safety measures, as well as retirement savings incentives, tax extenders for items expiring this year, and tax breaks to encourage US manufacturing.  We will monitor activity on these matters for comment in future posts. 

Changes from the SECURE and CARES Acts for 2020

We wrote about the CARES act earlier this year, which waived the 10% penalty for coronavirus-related distributions from qualified plans of up to $100,000, with three years to pay the taxes due or redeposit as a roll-over, and suspension of required minimum distributions (“RMDs”). The act also allows larger plan loans.

The Secure Act delayed RMDs to age 72 and allowed individuals to contribute to IRAs after age 70 ½ if still working.   But the Act also limited the distribution of IRAs to a 10-year maximum for beneficiaries other than spouses and certain others, thus eliminating the “stretch IRA.” 

The Families First Act created credits for people unable to work due to Covid-19 illness and due to caring for others.  If you are affected, check to see if you are eligible for any of these tax credits. 

A reminder on the mortgage interest deductions

As you may recall, mortgage interest on new home purchases is deductible only for loans of up to $750,000 used to purchase your primary and secondary residences.  Interest on home equity loans is not deductible, except when the home equity indebtedness is used to purchase or improve your primary or secondary residence.

Check taxes already paid

Make sure your total paid to the IRS and state via withholdings and estimates meets the safe harbor rules.  If not, you could owe interest for under-withholding. 

Now to the planning:  Can you act at all?   

Each year, we advise that you be practical, focusing on where you can actually make moves.  For many, the $24,800 standard deduction for married couples (more for over 65 taxpayers, and $12,400 for single taxpayers) means you will not itemize (i.e., your total for itemized deductions is less than the standard amount so you take the higher standard deduction).  And, if you are not itemizing, you have fewer ways in which to affect change in the taxes due in either year (but you can also stop collecting receipts for those deductions). 

There is one exception from the CARES Act, which provides a $300 above the line charitable deduction for cash contributions.  You get this regardless of itemizing. 

Some possible deduction strategies

One technique for getting around the limit on deductions is to bunch certain deductions from two or more years into one year.  However, the only deduction that you can easily move is for charitable donations, because your state, local and real estate taxes are limited to a $10,000 maximum and you cannot accelerate, or delay, significant amounts of mortgage interest. 

If you do not want any one charity to receive the full amount in one year, you can still use this bunching strategy to donate to a donor advised fund, from which you may be able to designate donations to particular charities in future years.

The tax planning steps

What can you move?  If you are able to itemize, determine what income and deductions you can move from 2020 to 2021 or vice versa.  You want to minimize total taxes for both years.  Make sure your planning includes the 3.8% Medicare tax on high income and a review Roth conversion.  Roth distributions are not taxed, so converting a traditional or roll-over IRA to a Roth could be beneficial, as long as the tax cost now is not too great – see more at Roth or not to Roth?  With the waiver of the 10% penalty for early withdrawals, a Roth conversion may be more attractive.  Business owners will want to review our post on planning under 199A for QBID

What is the effect of moving?  Next, review the impact of moving income and expense to see what happens if you shift any of these amounts from one year to the other year.

The AMT – Finally, watch for the Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”).  The AMT affects fewer people, but it is still wise to review so you avoid it. 

Retirement contributions

If you have not maxed-out your 401(k) plan, IRA, Health Savings Account or flex plan account, consider doing so before the end of the year.  The contributions reduce your tax able income while adding to savings.  But check out our post on paying debts vs. investing.

If you are 70½ or older, you have the option of distributing up to $100,000 from your IRA or other qualified plan to an IRS-approved charity and having none of the distribution taxed.  The provision was great when you had an RMD to satisfy, but that was suspended for 2020.  That should not stop you if you still have the charitable intent. 

Business expenses

The deduction of unreimbursed business expenses was terminated by the new tax law.  That hurts many who are working from home this year, as they cannot deduct associated costs. 

We wrote about forming an LLC or S Corp. to report business expenses or taking expenses on Schedule C in our 2018 Part III post, but that applies to expenses for that business and we stressed that you will need a valid business purpose to form the LLC or S Corp. or use Schedule C for self-employment and take expenses.  Be sure to consult with an attorney before trying any of these ideas. 

Capital gains

Review your unrealized losses to see if you can “harvest” those losses to offset or “shelter” realized gains, reducing your total taxable income.  If you have more losses than gains, you can take up to $3,000 of capital losses against other income. 

If you sell an asset that you would prefer to retain, in order to shelter gains in 2020, make sure you do not run afoul of the wash-sale rule (any loss on an asset that you repurchase in 30 days will be disallowed, so you have to either wait 30 days or purchase a similar asset that fits your portfolio while not counting against the wash sale rule).  N.B. – when buying mutual funds late in the year, check for distribution dates so you do not purchase just before dividend and capital gains distributions, as you will owe taxes on those distributions. 

If you have significant unrealized gains, consider using appreciated stock for charitable donations – that way you avoid the tax on the gain while still getting the full fair market value for your charitable donation.  That is very effective tax leverage!

Estate plan review

While you review your taxes, review your estate plan as well.  The federal exemption is over $11 million in 2020, so fewer people will owe any federal estate tax.  However, that may change in 2021; also, many states still impose estate taxes on smaller estates. 

The individual gift and estate tax exemption is due to return to $5 million, adjusted for inflation, in 2026 and could be lowered sooner, as noted above.  That tax rate could also go up. 

If you have “excess wealth” and want to reduce your taxable estate by gifting assets to children or others, you can give $15,000 per person, per year now.  If your spouse joins you, that is $30,000 per person.  This includes funding a 529 plan for education cost – expanded to provide for more than just college – or an ABLE account for disabled dependents.  Note, however, that holding appreciated assets for the step up in basis at death may be better than gifting, but this could be eliminated as noted above. 

If you do review your estate plan documents, also review beneficiary designations to make sure everything is current.  And review your medical directive and durable power of attorney.  

Summary

Carefully review any income and deductions that you can still shift to see if moving will lessen the total taxes you pay for 2020 and 2021. 

Good luck and best wishes for happy and healthy holidays!

Update on estate planning – what should you gift now?

Estate planning remains stuck in limbo. That is, after 2012, the $5 million credit for gift and estate taxes goes away and we could be back at a $1 million credit. Also, the generation skipping tax limit now at $5 million would decrease. Finally, the portability of estate tax exemptions between spouses expires, meaning that the survivor can no longer use any credit amount not used by the first spouse, which would allow more to pass on estate tax free.
So far, Congress has taken no action. Many expect the 35% rate and a credit of at least $3 million to be the law for 2013 on. However, Congress failed to fix the estate tax for 2010 so nothing is certain.

Planning: This means you need to review your estate plan, especially your gifting strategies, and act now to take advantage of the higher gift tax credit. You can gift up to $5 million of assets free of gift tax now, or $10 million for married couples. The benefit is that all future income and appreciation on these gifts is removed from your estate. The downside is that the gifts are irrevocable, so you must be certain that what you pass on now you will not need later.
You always want to select assets that you expect will grow in value. If the assets decline, the strategy is frustrated. An example of what could go wrong is gift of a home at peak values that is now worth far less.

Remember that you have the annual gift tax exclusion allowing you and your spouse can each give $13,000 per year to any individual without eating away at your gift and estate tax credit. And note: any payments made to colleges or hospitals for the benefit of another person are not counted at all. (No gift tax return is required for these excluded amounts.)

How do you effectively structure the gift? Here are some examples:
• Family limited liability company (FLLC): With real estate or business assets, you can transfer minority interests in the FLLC to children or grandchildren. You retain control and the amount you gift is discounted because the minority interests lack control and lack marketability. You will need an appraisal for the value and the discount.
• Dynasty trust: This type of trust is designed to pass assets on multiple generations. Distributions can be made to the first generations, but they never actually receive a final amount – they rely on the trustee for any amounts to be distributed to them.
• Grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT): This trust transfers assets to children after a specified term while retaining a fixed annuity. The amount you gift is discounted, because children do not receive it until the end of the term. If the amount transfers, you succeed in transferring a discounted amount that becomes worth much more to the next generation.
• Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) Like the GRAT, your children receive your house in the future, so the value of the gift made now is discounted. You can even stay in the house after that term, but you have to pay rent, which is in effect another gift.

One note of caution: some have expressed the concern that if Congress does not act, the IRS could try to take back the excess in some fashion. Be sure to consult with your estate tax advisor before taking any moves.
We added gifting as a “to do” on the Finance Health Day page .