When meeting with your attorney, accountant, tax preparer or other advisor
this year, take this handy checklist along and ask if any of these quick
tips apply to you.
1. Making gifts that are meaningful: the federal gift tax exclusion
- California Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (Cal PC 3900, et seq.)
- IRC Section 529 educational gifts (Grandpa and Grandma’s college fund)
- The annual federal gift tax exclusion for 2014 is pegged at $14,000
- How about a “kiddie trust” to make a youngster a long-term
co-investor with you?
- Special life insurance trusts for children and others
2. Property tax planning: Proposition 13 provisions
- Proposition 58: Transfers between parents and children might protect lower
property tax rates.
- Proposition 60 and 90: Retain property tax basis in a residential move
for persons over age 55 (county-specific rules apply as passed by the
Board of Supervisors)
3. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA)
- Direct IRA contributions to charities reinstated for 2013. Legislation
for 2014 is pending. You might benefit if you are in a tax bracket which
negates itemized deductions. It also counts for your minimum required
distributions at 701/2 years of age.
- Large sums of retirement investments: Large amounts of IRA or other retirement
funds may be subject to a combined federal and state tax exceeding 51.9%.
When you pass away, this significant tax burden will be passed on to your
beneficiaries. Consider setting up a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
as your IRA beneficiary, which provides a tax benefit and can still distribute
income to your heirs for a lifetime.
4. Estate Planning
- Are you or your spouse non-citizens? Consider a Qualified Domestic Trust
provision.
- Use joint tenancy and pay-on-death provisions with care. They result in
automatic transfers.
- Choose ownership of life insurance carefully to reduce a gross estate.
- If you are planning to update your estate, remember the portability of
unused estate tax exclusions for the second spouse to die.
- Be sure to include provisions to make elder care easier on your children.
- Advance Healthcare Directive (Cal PC 4701): update for HIPAA and CMIA law changes.
- If you have a professional corporation, you can put it into your living
trust. Follow the rules.
5. Income Tax Planning
- Selling property that will generate high capital gains? Need to reinvest
proceeds of the sale for steady income? Consider a charitable remainder
trust solution as an option to a conventional sale.
6. A Death in the Family
- Avoiding probate for the small estate (Cal PC 13100, et seq.) The limiting
amount has been raised to $150,000.
- Avoiding probate between husbands and wives (Cal PC 13500, et seq.)
- With the expanded unified credit for estate and gift taxes, most people
will not be required to file an estate tax return; however, it may be
advantageous for you to file the return to lock in the new portability
of the credit for the surviving spouse. Ask your tax advisor.