News Category: Tax
What You Need to Know About Washington’s New Estate Tax Break for Family Homes
Overview of The Spousal Residence Exclusion Washington state recently enacted some changes that may impact married couples and registered domestic partners. Under the new Spousal Personal Residence Exclusion, when a spouse/partner passes away on or after January 1, 2025, the decedent’s share of the family home in some situations will not count when determining whether
2024 Estate Planning Opportunities
The start of a new year is a great time to review your current estate plan or consider creating one. 2024 brings a number of opportunities for creating an estate plan, pursuing gifting strategies, and considering philanthropic goals. Here are a few estate planning opportunities for your consideration this year: Increased Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping
Estate Planning 101: Making Exempt Gifts
I have yet to meet a client who wants to pay estate taxes. Tax avoidance is among the primary reasons people meet with estate planning attorneys and develop estate plans. In 2022, the federal gift, estate, and generation skipping transfer tax exemptions are $12,060,000 per person (which is indexed for inflation and will rise through
Washington’s New Capital Gains Tax is Overturned as Unconstitutional
In 2021, Washington State Legislature passed ESSB 5096, which created a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets (stocks, bonds, business interests, or other investments, and many tangible assets) if the profits exceed $250,000 annually (up to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly), with inflation adjustments beginning in 2024. The Washington
UPDATED: Overview of Washington State Tax Law Changes Beginning January 1, 2022
UPDATE: On January 27, Governor Jay Inslee signed two bills passed by the Legislature making key changes to WA Cares Fund. These reforms address coverage gaps and delay program implementation by 18 months. Significant changes include: Employees near retirement (born before 1968) will now be able to qualify for partial benefits on a pro-rated basis.
Internal Revenue Service Announces Changes to Income Thresholds for 2022 Federal Income Tax Brackets
The IRS has announced it will be adjusting income thresholds for federal income tax brackets in 2022. Typically, the IRS raises thresholds to keep pace with consumer prices, however October’s year-over-year increases of 6.2% were even greater than September’s year-over-year increase of 5.4%, meaning Americans are paying more for everything – including food. As a
Christmas in July? UPDATE to ‘Tis the Season: A Gifting Opportunity
In November, 2020, we published the original post “‘Tis the Season: A Gifting Opportunity.” This is an update. If you are in the holiday spirit this season, you may wish to make gifts using the 2021 annual federal gift tax exclusion amount. To qualify for this exclusion for the year 2021, the gifts must be
Federal Estate Tax Legislative Update
Four months into the 117th United States Congress, the anticipated federal legislative proposals to restructure the federal estate tax are finally seeing the light of day. Senator Bernie Sanders and others recently introduced the For the 99.5% Act (the “Act”). True to its name, the Act takes direct aim at income and wealth inequality through
I Created an Estate Plan When My Spouse and I Had Kids, Why Should I Update it Now?
When you were younger, after getting married and having children, you met with a lawyer and created an estate plan. Now the kids are grown, finished with college, and are is settled in their adult lives. Of your three children, two are married. One has your first grandchild on the way. Your retirement is still
Tax Day is now May 17th, 2021 – The IRS extension: What it means to you.
The IRS announced Wednesday that the April 15th deadline for federal tax return filing and payments due for individuals, tax year 2020, will be automatically extended to May 17th, with formal guidance to practitioners to follow in the coming days. Individual taxpayers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due