In this vlog, Litherland, Kennedy & Associates Attorney Justin M. Kennedy discusses the 2024 Federal Estate Tax and Gift Tax Exclusion.
Transcript:
Hello, I’m attorney Justin M. Kennedy with Litherland, Kennedy and Associates, a California estate planning and elder care law firm.
I want to let you know that the IRS just released the updated Federal Estate and Gift tax values for 2024.
Currently, in 2023, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $12.92 million per person. This means that a married couple may pass $25.84 million free of the federal death tax.
In 2024, these amounts will increase to: $13.61 million per person. That is $27.22 million for a married couple.
Not to date myself, but when I started practicing law we were worried about a $1 million federal estate tax limit and now married couples can pass over $27 million free of the federal estate tax. And the current exemption amount is indexed for inflation, so this number may go up again next year. You should be aware though that unless the law changes, the current estate tax exemption is set to expire, or sunset, in 2025 meaning in 2026, we will revert back to a $5 million federal estate tax exemption per person if Congress does not act.
Relatedly, the annual gift tax exclusion in 2023 is $17,000 and in 2024 it will increase to $18,000.
This means that you may gift up to $18,000 per person, per year free of the federal gift tax. A married couple could gift $36,000 tax free.
If you would like to learn more about how these limits may impact you and your estate planning needs, then we invite you to register for one of our upcoming presentations. You may find those presentations on our website attorneyoffice.com.
Thank you.
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