Scott Reddersen, CPA

On Thursday, October 30, the IRS announced annual inflation adjustments for various 2015 tax provisions.  Two figures to note in the estate planning arena are the Federal estate (basic) lifetime exclusion, and the annual exclusion for gifts.

The Federal estate tax exemption increased to $5,430,000 for 2015, roughly a 1.7% increase from 2014’s $5,340,000.  For more information on estate planning and the basics of portability, please see our previous blog post here.

The annual gift exclusion for 2015 again remained unchanged at $14,000.  This exclusion applies to each recipient, can be utilized by both a husband and wife (i.e. $28,000 may be contributed to a single recipient gift-tax free in 2015).
Other tax provisions that were adjusted for inflation including increased tax brackets, itemized deduction limitation phase-outs, and flexible spending arrangement (FSA) contribution limits can be found here.