Tax


Plan Now for Sunsetting Estate & Gift Tax Exemption
February 12, 2024 | Wendy Hoey Sheinberg | Tax | Trusts & Estates

As we’ve previously discussed, portability is an important feature of an estate plan. Portability allows the surviving spouse to die to “save” any of their predeceased spouse’s unused federal estate and gift exemption amount. A federal tax of 40% is imposed on each dollar that exceeds a decedent’s federal estate and gift exemption amount.

The

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Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts: A Way to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
February 1, 2024 | Patricia C. Marcin | Tax | Trusts & Estates

You may have heard of Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATS) lately, especially if you have been thinking about using your federal estate and gift tax exemption before the current higher exemption amount of $13.61 million is automatically reduced to about $7 million on January 1, 2026, assuming Congress takes no action. (See my column from last

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Consider Making Large Gifts before the 2026 Exemption Reduction Kicks In
January 18, 2024 | Patricia C. Marcin | Tax | Trusts & Estates

The current combined federal estate and gift tax exemption amount of $13.61 million per person ($27.22 million per married couple) is scheduled to “sunset” automatically on January 1, 2026, and revert to $5 million indexed for inflation (guesstimated at $7 million), unless Congress takes action. This exemption amount applies to the total taxable gifts made

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Don’t Give Your House to Your Children (While You’re Alive)
January 2, 2024 | Jeffrey S. Greener | Tax | Trusts & Estates

Many of us would like our children to inherit our home once we are gone. More than a few of us think it makes sense to give our home to our children while we are still living. That is not a good idea! Here’s why.

Loss of Step-Up in Basis

Gifting your home to someone

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Planning for the Interest Charge on Installment Sales: Decanting a Grantor Trust?
October 20, 2022 | Louis Vlahos | Tax | Trusts & Estates

Louis Vlahos’ article, “Planning for the Interest Charge on Installment Sales: Decanting a Grantor Trust?”, was published in the New York State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Law Section Journal. Rivkin Radler member Nicholas G. Moneta is the publication’s Editor-in-Chief.

The article discusses the concept that the special interest charge imposed on the deferred tax

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Treasury Issues Final Rule on Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership
September 29, 2022 | Katherine A. Heptig | Bernadette Kasnicki | Louis Vlahos | Tax | Compliance, Investigations & White Collar

In an effort to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activity, the United States Department of the Treasury just issued a final rule [RIN: 1506-AB49]. The rule requires certain businesses to file reports with FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) that identify two categories of individuals: the beneficial

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NJ Publishes Guidance on Cannabis Sales & Use Tax and Social Equity Excise Fee
September 19, 2022 | Louis Vlahos | Tim Gonzalez | Cannabis | Tax

The New Jersey Division of Taxation recently provided guidance[1] on registration and licensing requirements, Social Equity Excise Fees, and the Sales & Use tax applicable to companies operating in the cannabis industry.[2]

The following provides important takeaways from the Division’s publication.

Registration & Licensing

To operate a cannabis business in New Jersey a company must

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Changing Your Residence for Estate Tax Purposes Is Complicated
February 7, 2022 | Patricia C. Marcin | Tax | Trusts & Estates

It has been a long, cold winter, and many of us are yearning for warmer weather. With New York’s fiscal crisis due to the pandemic, and the prospect of higher taxes, many are thinking about changing their primary residence to a warmer and “friendlier” taxing jurisdiction. While an easy topic of cocktail party talk, changing

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Disposing of Assets Under The Ways and Means Committee’s Proposals
September 21, 2021 | Louis Vlahos | Tax

First Step

Last Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved that portion of the 2022 budget legislation with which it was tasked by the Congressional Budget resolution of August 24. The text of the bill prepared by the Committee – almost nine hundred pages long – was passed along party lines, except for one

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Tax Hikes, Effective Dates, and Selling a Business
September 13, 2021 | Louis Vlahos | Tax

Living the Dream

“How was your weekend?” Thank you for asking. Awful.[i]

“Why?” you ask. (Humor me. Pretend you’re interested.) I’ll tell you.

One word, with 535 syllables: Congress.[ii]

When the reconciliation budget resolutions were passed by the Senate and then the House,[iii] the committees to which reconciliation instructions were given were also directed “to

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