Gifts and Gift Giving
Found 31 Articles.
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Know When You Should File a Gift Tax Return
The gift tax return rules are full of surprises for many people. The first surprise for many people is that you might have to file a gift tax return even when a gift is tax free. In addition, there are times when it’s a good strategy to file a gift tax return though you aren’t […]
Know The Four Ways to Make Tax-Free Gifts
Everyone should know the details of the four ways to make tax-free gifts, because gifts are a key component of most estate plans. Gifts allow you to help loved ones today instead of having them wait until an unknown future date to receive the benefits. You also see how loved ones handle and use the […]
The Four Ways You Can Make Tax-Free Gifts
Gift giving is an essential strategy in many estate plans. When done properly, gifts reduce lifetime income taxes and reduce or eliminate estate and gift taxes. Through gifts, you help loved ones today, and see the benefits of that help, instead of having them wait to inherit. To optimize gifts, know how to minimize gift […]
Another Way Congress Is Making It Harder for Retirees
Congress is making it more and more difficult to deduct charitable contributions. So it’s good to know the latest rules… so the IRS won’t be able to deny tax breaks for your charitable donations. The increase in the standard deduction – in the 2017 tax law – means you have to give more to receive […]
Key Changes in Estate Tax, Bypass Trusts and Tax Free Gifts
There are four basic strategies for reducing estate taxes: Reducing assets from the gross estate Removing future appreciation from the gross estate Increasing deductions, and Buying life insurance Within those four strategies are many options. Not all will be appropriate for you. But there are quite a few strategies – and it’s always good to […]
How to Maximize the Tax Benefits of Estate Planning Gifts
You need to plan on how to minimize taxes on lifetime gifts, even when the federal estate and gift tax isn’t a factor. Because of the $11.6 million lifetime federal and gift tax exemption, most people don’t have to worry about owing gift taxes on their lifetime giving. Most people also don’t need to make […]
Two Reasons to Reconsider Estate Planning Gifts
Two factors make this an especially important year to carefully reconsider the role of gifts in your estate plan. Many of you will find you should make more gifts than initially planned. One factor is the calendar. The cur-rent estate and gift tax benefits might not be with us for long. This is a presidential […]
Charitable Gifts: Maximizing the Power of Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds steadily increased in popularity over the years, but their use soared after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Their popularity is likely to continue increasing. Also known as a charitable gift fund, the donor-advised fund (DAF) took off after the early 1990s. Fidelity Charitable is believed to have set up the […]
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