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- Does Virginia have an inheritance tax and/or an estate tax?
- My wife and I have assets worth approximately $8,000,000. Do we need estate tax planning?
- How much of my assets can I give away during my lifetime without having to pay gift taxes?
- I am not married and I have an estate worth approximately $5,900,000. What are some planning options that I may have to eliminate my estate tax exposure?
- I currently am not married and have an estate worth approximately $6,000,000. I am considering purchasing life insurance to provide cash to pay estate taxes at my death. What is the best arrangement for owning this life insurance?
- I currently have a taxable estate and a significant portion of my assets are tied up in a single stock position that has a very low basis. I would like to diversify my assets, but don’t want to take a large tax hit. What is the best way to handle this situation?
- My husband passed away in 2015. Can I file joint federal and Virginia income tax returns for 2015? When are they due?
- What is the filing threshold for the federal estate tax? Is an executor required to pay income tax on the income earned by an estate?
1. Does Virginia have an inheritance tax and/or an estate tax?
A: Virginia does not have an inheritance tax. The Virginia Estate Tax was repealed for decedent’s dying on or after July 1, 2007. A federal estate tax still exists.
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2. My wife and I have assets worth approximately $8,000,000. Do we need estate tax planning?
A: A: Yes. Currently, you and your wife can each pass assets worth $5,430,000 (including your adjusted taxable gifts during lifetime) free from estate taxes. However, if your estate plan leaves all of your assets to each other, the survivor will have an estate worth $8,000,000 and only a $5,430,000 exemption. An estate plan designed to take advantage of the $5,430,000 exemption that each of you possess can be used to eliminate estate taxes on up to $10,860,000 in assets.
An estate plan for this situation could include a portability election made at the first spouse’s death. The election allows the unused portion of the deceased spouse’s exemption to be passed to the surviving spouse thereby increasing the surviving spouse’s total available exemption.
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3. How much of my assets can I give away during my lifetime without having to pay gift taxes?
A: You can currently give away $14,000 in assets to each individual to whom you wish to make a gift during the calendar year without the gifts being subject to the federal gift tax. Gifts to a single individual that, in total, exceed $14,000 in a single calendar year do have gift tax ramifications. You must file a federal gift tax return and allocate a portion of your $5,430,000 unified estate and gift tax exemption to eliminate the tax on the amount of the gift that exceeds $14,000. The excess of the gift over $14,000 is called a “taxable gift.” If you make taxable gifts in excess of $5,430,000 during your lifetime, you will have to pay a federal gift tax.
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4. I am not married and I have an estate worth approximately $5,900,000. What are some planning options that I may have to eliminate my estate tax exposure?
A: If you are comfortable that your level of assets will sustain you through out your life expectancy, you may wish to consider making lifetime gifts to family members, using your $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion. If you are charitably inclined, you may wish to make a lifetime or testamentary charitable gift to obtain a charitable deduction and lower the value of your estate below the current $5,430,000 estate tax exemption amount. Other options may also be available. Also, note that the current estate tax exemption amount is indexed each year for inflation, and therefore will increase over time.
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5. I currently am not married and have an estate worth approximately $6,000,000. I am considering purchasing life insurance to provide cash to pay estate taxes at my death. What is the best arrangement for owning this life insurance?
A: Since you already have a taxable estate, you should not be the owner of this life insurance policy. If you are the owner or have other incidents of ownership in the policy, it will be included in your estate for estate tax purposes and compound your estate tax problem. You should create an irrevocable life insurance trust, fund the trust and allow the trustee to purchase and be the owner on a life insurance policy insuring your life. Using an irrevocable life insurance trust will keep the proceeds from being included in your estate for estate tax purposes. Creating and maintaining an irrevocable life insurance trust can be complex. There are many issues involved with creating the trust, purchasing the life insurance policy and maintaining the trust.
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6. I currently have a taxable estate and a significant portion of my assets are tied up in a single stock position that has a very low basis. I would like to diversify my assets, but don’t want to take a large tax hit. What is the best way to handle this situation?
A: If you are charitably inclined, you may wish to consider a charitable remainder unitrust (“CRUT”). A portion of the stock position could be contributed to the CRUT, where it would be sold by the trustee and reinvested in a diversified manner. The trustee pays you annually a percentage of the assets for your lifetime or a term of years with the remainder going to charity. The funds you receive from the CRUT could be invested in an irrevocable life insurance trust that holds a life insurance policy on your life. At your death, the proceeds of the life insurance policy would be paid to your designated beneficiaries to replace the value of the stock position given to the CRUT. You would receive a income tax deduction for a gift to charity, based on the tax law at the time the trust is funded. At your death, you would receive an estate tax deduction.
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7. My husband passed away in 2015. Can I file joint federal and Virginia income tax returns for 2015? When are they due?
A: Please see the answer to a similar frequently asked question under the heading Estate and Trust Administration.
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8. What is the filing threshold for the federal estate tax? Is an executor required to pay income tax on the income earned by an estate?
A: Please see the answer to a similar frequently asked question under the heading Estate and Trust Administration.
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