Would Your Estate Be Liable for Death Taxes?

[MTI]

'Paris Hilton Tax' Vs. 'Death Tax': A Lesser-Known Fiscal Debate | WGBH News

Almost nobody pays it. "Everybody dies, but just the richest 2 in 1,000 estates would be hit by the estate tax right now," he explains.

[Skippy]

Short answer: No.

[Mike D]

Nah, anyone who inherits my "estate" would probably get a deduction for "income loss".

[t walgamuth]

I wish.

[Botnst]

Having already been taxed on my estate many times over the years I sure hope my wealth can finally be passed to my children without the fooking vampires flocking in.

[Kuan]

Liquidate the whole thing and write a whole life policy.

[Air&Road]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Having already been taxed on my estate many times over the years I sure hope my wealth can finally be passed to my children without the fooking vampires flocking in.

BINGO!

The money in that estate assumedly was earned legally. If not, some law enforcement organization somewhere is NOT doing their job. If it was earned legally, it has ALREADY been taxed and probably pretty heavily. What makes the politicians think that they have a right to tax it again?

[Botnst]

They do it all the time.

[dynalow]

If you live in New Jersey, the answer is: very likely. The NJ estate tax hits taxable estates over $675,000. The old fed rules of 2001 were frozen in time back then.
If you own a home, have a few investments and have some life insurance (estate taxable everywhere I know of), you probably should move!

We also have a second flavor of death tax for your taste buds, the NJ inheritance tax. It exempts Class A ( lineal family members generally) and taxes transfers to everyone else to varying degrees.

It's all Good!......... for my business.

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Having already been taxed on my estate many times over the years I sure hope my wealth can finally be passed to my children without the fooking vampires flocking in.

You would think. But they've never seen a revenue vein they couldn't tap.

My fear with any increase based on a "rich" threshold is that once that threshold doesn't bring in the expected revenue, that threshold gets lower and lower and closer to us working stiffs who have sacrificed to prepare for our retirement years and who are sufficiently insured for our families' well-being should we meet an untimely demise.

$5 million @ 35% didn't bring in enough so let's make it 3.5 mil @ 45%. A couple years later when they're still spending more than they bring in, it drops to 2 mil @ 50%. Repeat.

The revenue from increasing the taxes on those "rich" folks making $200K individual/250K household won't be enough for the junkies. The next thing you know "those making $150K/187.5K year aren't paying their fair share." Things get too close for comfort real fast for many folks who are living far-from-lavish lifestyles, especially here in the comparatively expensive Northeast (and I would guess the West Coast). $200K/yr. will get you an upper-middle class lifestyle here. Not bad by any means, but far from what I'd consider "rich" with an endless supply to excess money to tap into.

[Air&Road]

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

You would think. But they've never seen a revenue vein they couldn't tap.

My fear with any increase based on a "rich" threshold is that once that threshold doesn't bring in the expected revenue, that threshold gets lower and lower and closer to us working stiffs who have sacrificed to prepare for our retirement years and who are sufficiently insured for our families' well-being should we meet an untimely demise.

$5 million @ 35% didn't bring in enough so let's make it 3.5 mil @ 45%. A couple years later when they're still spending more than they bring in, it drops to 2 mil @ 50%. Repeat.

The revenue from increasing the taxes on those "rich" folks making $200K individual/250K household won't be enough for the junkies. The next thing you know "those making $150K/187.5K year aren't paying their fair share." Things get too close for comfort real fast for many folks who are living far-from-lavish lifestyles, especially here in the comparatively expensive Northeast (and I would guess the West Coast). $200K/yr. will get you an upper-middle class lifestyle here. Not bad by any means, but far from what I'd consider "rich."

Yes, Obama has done a VERY effective job creating the class warfare mantra. Those rich boogie men, must be eliminated from the face of the Earth.

He obviously has yet to figure out that those top earners provide a HUGE portion of the Feds revenue.

[BobK]

Communist and capitalist talking:
Capitalist: So you believe all wealth should be shared, right?

Communist: Da! If you have 20 millions rubles you should give me 10 million.

Capitalist: So if you have 2 million rubles you would give me 1 million?

Communist: Da. I would give you 1 million.

Capitalist: And if you have 100,000 rubles you would give me 50,000?

Communist: Da. I would give you 50,000.

Capitalist: and if you have 100 rubles you would give me 50?

Communist: Nyet! I have 100 rubles!

fair only seems to work when they are taking money from THE OTHER GUY.

I rather start with a 10% tax on every dollar ANY PERSON makes. Net profit, wages, whatever. Everybody has some skin in the game then. If that doesn't bring in enough, then we take more at a flat rate.

And please note I said person. People pay taxes, corporations do not, they simple pass along the tax to the investors - like YOUR 401k or pension fund, or perhaps your wages or eventually your job.

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by dynalow

If you live in New Jersey, the answer is: very likely. The NJ estate tax hits taxable estates over $675,000. The old fed rules of 2001 were frozen in time back then.
If you own a home, have a few investments and have some life insurance (estate taxable everywhere I know of), you probably should move!

We also have a second flavor of death tax for your taste buds, the NJ inheritance tax. It exempts Class A ( lineal family members generally) and taxes transfers to everyone else to varying degrees.

It's all Good!......... for my business.

CT is marginally better but I suspect as "we" continue to model "ourselves" after the federal government; albeit with solid-majority, single-party rule; those estate thresholds will continue to shrink. I believe we're the last state with a gift tax (12%), so giving it away before you die doesn't let you off the hook.

With my mom now out of the equation (she would never have let them move far from the grandkids), my father has already started scoping out locations for a retirement home (most likely near-coastal Carolina) and will take his money out of the state. He'll always be in the federal clutches since he'd never consider moving out of the country, but he'll mitigate the situation wherever he can.

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by Air&Road

Yes, Obama has done a VERY effective job creating the class warfare mantra. Those rich boogie men, must be eliminated from the face of the Earth.

He obviously has yet to figure out that those top earners provide a HUGE portion of the Feds revenue.

It's not just Obama. He's just the latest. When the median income is $44K and change, $200K seems like a world away. But it's about as far as the view of $1MM/yr. from $200K.

I happen to think rates need to increase on everyone thanks to the mess we're in, not just a select few.

[dynalow]

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

CT is marginally better but I suspect as "we" continue to model "ourselves" after the federal government; albeit with solid-majority, single-party rule; those estate thresholds will continue to shrink. I believe we're the last state with a gift tax (12%), so giving it away before you die doesn't let you off the hook.

With my mom now out of the equation (she would never have let them move far from the grandkids), my father has already started scoping out locations for a retirement home (most likely near-coastal Carolina) and will take his money out of the state. He'll always be in the federal clutches since he'd never consider moving out of the country, but he'll mitigate the situation wherever he can.

Mitigate......

My ex-brother in law & his second wife decided last year to sell their 2 floor Tribeca dwelling and their beach house in NJ and move to FL. State death taxes were going to kill them eventually. So, they bought the FL new home, and put the others on the market. Last time I spoke to my nephew about it, he told me the only offer (14M) they had received on the NY property was turned down. The NJ Beach property was wiped from the earth by Sandy last month while under contract awaiting settlement. (Bad timing)

IIRC, NY state has a 1 million estate exemption, so, like your dad, they're looking to shelter whatever they can.
Owning property in several states can complicate estate administration greatly.