In my conversations with you, we talk about estate planning and gifting money. A common refrain I hear is, “We want to give money away now so they can enjoy it while we’re still around.” You can quickly see the annual and gift limits here, which may change after the election.
For 2024, an individual can make a gift of up to $18,000 per year to another individual without federal tax liability (consult your attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific situation).
You can see in the timeline below that the gift tax exclusions have been trending higher each year for some time, but that doesn’t mean they always will. Politicians have their eyes on that money.
| Year | Recent historical lifetime gift and estate tax exclusions |
| 2009 | $3,500,000 |
| 2010 | $5,000,000 |
| 2011 | $5,000,000 |
| 2012 | $5,120,000 |
| 2013 | $5,250,000 |
| 2014 | $5,340,000 |
| 2015 | $5,430,000 |
| 2016 | $5,450,000 |
| 2017 | $5,490,000 |
| 2018 | $11,180,000 |
| 2019 | $11,400,000 |
| 2020 | $11,580,000 |
| 2021 | $11,700,000 |
| 2022 | $12,060,000 |
| 2023 | $12,920,000 |
| 2024 | $13,610,000 |
But don’t let the estate rules wag the dog. You need to make sure you take care of you. For example, if you’re exceeding my recommended draw rate and still want to gift money, that’s a major reason to pause and take a step back.
How about the idea of taxing unrealized gains? If this gets any traction, you can bet the tax for billionaires will trickle down to millionaires. Once a law is in place, it’s easier to capture a larger crowd. This is a direct attack on successful Americans.
Action Line: When you’re ready to talk, let’s talk. But only if you’re serious. Contact me here: ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
