The estate tax is a tax levied on an estate being transferred from the deceased to a beneficiary. Estate taxes can be severe, consuming as much as 49% of the estate’s value, or even higher with the tax hit your estate might receive with a combination of both federal tax and the state estate tax levied by some states. Remember, this federal level of taxation is only for estates $10 million and over, with individual states having their own additional levels of taxation.
Thankfully, there are a number of tax rulings that can protect your estate. This section is intended only to flag your attention on the importance of using the services of professionals like your financial planner and attorney to steer your estate around these dangerous impediments to your estate’s transference.
In addition, there are a number of other taxes that can eat a chunk of your estate, such as the gift tax, the generation-skipping transfer tax, and the Kiddie Tax, to name just a few. Your estate’s taxation can also be influenced by various other factors, among which are divorced partners, minor children, and below-market loans to family members. These are all excellent reasons to use a team of professionals who will minimize the burden of your estate’s taxation.
Taxation is complicated, so enjoying the support of trained professionals is a sensible and wise money-saving tactic.
The preceding text is an excerpt from author Joseph M. Maas’ book “Exit Insight: Getting to ‘Sold!’” pp. 167-178, available online at Merrell Publishing or Amazon.com.
Have questions about estate taxes? Call the estate planning professionals at Synergetic Finance today at 206-386-5455, or click here to send an email.