With slightly less than six months remaining before the reappearance of the lower $1 million exemption from US gift tax, we are resending our June 2011 Client Alert regarding the advantages of using part or all of the $5 million (now $5.12 million) gift tax exemption before it expires at year-end.
Please contact your Chapman and Cutler LLP Trust and Estate attorney to discuss how and whether you may benefit from this unprecedented gifting opportunity.
Under the new federal transfer tax laws passed at the end of 2010, Congress increased the lifetime gift tax exemption to $5 million for gifts made in 2011 and 2012. This figure represents the total amount that you may give away during your lifetime without paying any gift tax. Prior to 2011, the lifetime gift tax exemption was $1 million, and if Congress does nothing, the gift tax exemption will revert to $1 million in 2013.
This Client Alert discusses certain strategies to take advantage of this limited opportunity, as well as basic gifting strategies that can be utilized in any tax environment.
