Question

what is the federal gift and estate tax exemption for 319?

Answer 1

The federal estate tax is a tax imposed on property that is transferred from an estate after a decedent’s death. The Estate Tax is not imposed until the total value of an estate exceeds meets a certain threshold.

That threshold is called the Federal Estate Tax Exemption Amount. Estates whose value exceeds the exemption amount are taxed at the federal estate tax rate of 40% in 2020. The total value of an estate is found by taking the fair market value of the decedent’s assets at the time of death but not at the time of purchase.

This is commonly referred to as the decedents “Gross Estate”. After the decedent’s Gross Estate is determined the estate representatives may take certain deductions which will lower the value of the decedents Gross Estate. What is left is the “Taxable Estate”. If the Taxable Estate value is over the current Federal Estate Exemption amount, then the estate will be required to pay the Estate Tax on all amounts over the exemption amount.

In 2019 estate tax exclusion amounts to $11.4 million for single exclusion and $22.8 million for married exclusion.