FISCAL CLIFF NOTES – DEATH TAXES INCREASE SLIGHTLY

ATRA prevents steep increases in estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax that were slated to occur for individuals dying and gifts made after 2012 by permanently keeping the exemption level at $5,000,000. However, the Act also permanently increases the top estate, gift and rate to 40%. The Act also continues the portability feature that allows the estate of the first spouse to die to transfer his or her unused exclusion to the surviving spouse.