Estate & Gift Tax Center
Separate federal estate, gift, GST, basis, reporting, and state death-tax questions with visible year and source labels.
9 reference entries
A dated guide to the 2026 per-donor, per-recipient gift exclusion, present-interest requirement, reporting boundary, and relationship to the lifetime exemption.
Key idea: The 2026 federal annual exclusion is $19,000 for qualifying gifts from one donor to one recipient; two spouses may each have an exclusion, but ownership, consent, and reporting still matter.
Read the complete guideCommunity-property law classifies ownership between spouses and can affect control, division, creditor exposure, federal reporting, and basis at death; nine states use a general community-property system and some states permit elective arrangements.
Key idea: Domicile, source of funds, agreements, and tracing can determine classification.
Read the complete guideThe federal estate tax applies to a decedent's taxable estate after statutory deductions and credits; filing can also be relevant for elections even when no tax is ultimately payable.
Key idea: The gross estate can include probate and nonprobate interests, certain insurance, retained interests, and prior-transfer effects.
Read the complete guideFederal gift tax is a transfer-tax system imposed on certain lifetime transfers by the donor; many gifts use exclusions or the donor's available applicable exclusion without producing current tax.
Key idea: The annual exclusion, basic exclusion, and form rules are tax-year specific.
Read the complete guideGST tax is a separate federal transfer-tax system for certain transfers to skip persons or skip trusts; exemption allocation and trust inclusion ratios require specific analysis.
Key idea: GST tax can arise as a direct skip, taxable distribution, or taxable termination.
Read the complete guideProperty acquired from a decedent often receives a basis tied to fair market value at the applicable valuation date under federal law, but exceptions, entity rules, community property, and estate-inclusion questions matter.
Key idea: A higher basis can reduce later gain; a lower value can also step basis down.
Read the complete guideUnderstand the 2026 $15 million federal basic exclusion, how taxable lifetime gifts affect the death-time computation, and why portability, GST exemption, and state tax require separate analysis.
Key idea: The $15,000,000 figure applies for gifts made in 2026 and estates of decedents dying in 2026; a transfer in another year must use the law and instructions applicable to that year.
Read the complete guidePortability can allow a surviving spouse to use a deceased spouse's unused federal exclusion, but the deceased spouse's estate generally must make a valid election on Form 706 or qualify for available relief.
Key idea: Portability is a federal election; state treatment may differ.
Read the complete guideA state estate tax is generally assessed by reference to the estate, while an inheritance tax generally depends on what a beneficiary receives and the beneficiary's class; domicile and in-state property can both matter.
Key idea: State thresholds, rates, deductions, elections, and forms do not necessarily follow federal law.
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