We went over the “fiscal cliff”—if only for a few hours—now what?

Technically speaking, we actually went "over the fiscal cliff," as many significant tax increases and spending cuts automatically took effect at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2012. Later that day, however, on January 1, 2013, retroactive legislation (going back at least several hours) passed the Senate, and then later the House. Our new law, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), permanently extends important tax provisions and temporarily extends others. Following is a very brief overview of ATRA: Transfer (Estate, Gift & GST) Taxes: Now for the big surprise—ATRA makes permanent the $5 million exemption amounts for the estate,...

15 December

0 Comments

Sticky

RE: An Open Letter to My Parents—2013 Annual Exclusion Goes Up to $14,000

Posted by David M. Grant

in Estate Tax Planning

Dear Mom and Dad, Good news, for the first time since 2009 the IRS has raised the gift amount allowable under the annual exclusion. In 2013 a person will be able to give $14,000 to any and each donee, free of gift tax (see Rev. Proc. 2012-41). As an example, in 2013 I will be able to give each of my five children $14,000, or $70,000 total. Because my wife will also be permitted to make use of her own annual exclusion amount, together we can give up to $140,000 to our children next year, free of gift tax, under our combined...

01 August

0 Comments

Sticky

Go for the Gold – Taxation of Olympic Prizes

Posted by David M. Grant

in Estate Tax Planning

[caption id="attachment_1024" align="alignleft" width="272"] Olympic Medals[/caption] The Weekly Standard recently posted an article on the tax liability associated with earning Olympic medals. As reported in the article, "Americans who win bronze will pay a $2 tax on the medal itself. But the bronze comes with a modest prize—$10,000 as an honorarium for devoting your entire life to being the third best athlete on the planet in your chosen discipline. And the IRS will take $3,500 of that, thank you very much. There are also prizes that accompany each medal: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Silver medalists will owe $5,385. You...

01 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Obama’s New Tax Proposals

Posted by David M. Grant

in Estate Tax Planning

By David M. Grant, Esq., Partner at Grant Morris Dodds Recently President Obama released his 2013 budget proposal. Following is a summary of his budget points as it relates to income tax, estate tax, gift tax, and Generation Skipping Transfer (GST) tax reform: Limitation on Itemized Deductions and Personal Exemption Phase-out. The proposal would reinstate the limitation on itemized deductions and the personal exemption phase-out for upper-income taxpayers. The Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) thresholds would return to the 2009 levels, and would be indexed for inflation thereafter. The thresholds would be $250,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns, $225,000 for head-of household taxpayers,...

702-938-2244

Tax Tag

We went over the “fiscal cliff”—if only for a few hours—now what?

RE: An Open Letter to My Parents—2013 Annual Exclusion Goes Up to $14,000

Go for the Gold – Taxation of Olympic Prizes

Obama’s New Tax Proposals

Featured Articles