The IRS has issued updated exemption amounts for estate and gift taxes for the 2020 calendar year:
- The Federal Estate and Gift Tax exemption amount, which is the amount of assets below which no federal estate or gift taxes are imposed, is indexed for inflation. The available exemption in 2020 has increased to $11,580,000 per person ($23,160,000 for a married couple), up from $11,400,000 in 2019.
- The annual exclusion amount, which is the amount that any person may gift to any other person without using any of his or her lifetime exemption has not changed, and remains at $15,000 for 2020.
- Massachusetts does not have a gift tax. The Massachusetts estate tax (one of the two most onerous in the nation) does not have an exemption, but, rather a threshold of $1,000,000. If more than $1,000,000 passes to anyone other than a spouse Massachusetts imposes a tax on the entire amount so passing.
Related: Non-Tax Reasons For Estate Planning
