Getting the right tax advice and tips is vital in the complex tax world we live in. The Kiplinger Tax Letter helps you stay right on the money with the latest news and forecasts, with insight from our highly experienced team (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe). You can only get the full array of advice by subscribing to the Tax Letter, but we will regularly feature snippets from it online, and here is one of those samples…
What's going to happen with the federal estate tax is anyone's guess. The federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption for people who die in 2024 is $13,610,000, and the highest estate tax rate is 40%. However, after 2025, the $13,610,000 figure will be much lower. That's because the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) raised the exemption amount, but only temporarily. Unless lawmakers act, the figure will drop, reverting to the 2017 amount, adjusted for inflation. That's about $7 million or so. The 40% top tax rate isn't set to expire, as it wasn't changed in the 2017 TCJA.
