Minimizing taxes when transferring money between parents and adult children

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Okay, then I assume you wouldn't mind sending me a cashier's check for that amount...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No free advice for someone inheriting 11 million!

Lol,that was funny and spot on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Anyone giving away $28k should have an accountant and someone professional they can ask about these things.

$28k IS a large amount of money and thinking it is NOT is weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Anyone giving away $28k should have an accountant and someone professional they can ask about these things.

$28k IS a large amount of money and thinking it is NOT is weird.

You don't need an accountant to write a check for $28k. I'm not even sure what value an accountant would add. Do you mean a tax attorney or cpa? If so you're wasting your money if you need to pay someone to tell you to file a tax form after you've given away more than 14k to a family member. Most tax attorneys would laugh if you called them up and asked for advice on this matter. Now that I think about it this is more a question for an estate planner. You really need millions and millions (well above the estate tax threshold) to make it worthwhile. The federal estate tax exemption is $5.45 million. So there's no point in hiring an estate planner to figure out your 14k gifts for you unless you have an estate worth over $5.45 million.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Okay, then I assume you wouldn't mind sending me a cashier's check for that amount...

No. But if I were to need to give my parents 28k I wouldn't need to hire a professional. I'd have my husband write a 14k check and I'd write a 14k check. No need for a professional!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Anyone giving away $28k should have an accountant and someone professional they can ask about these things.

$28k IS a large amount of money and thinking it is NOT is weird.

You don't need an accountant to write a check for $28k. I'm not even sure what value an accountant would add. Do you mean a tax attorney or cpa? If so you're wasting your money if you need to pay someone to tell you to file a tax form after you've given away more than 14k to a family member. Most tax attorneys would laugh if you called them up and asked for advice on this matter. Now that I think about it this is more a question for an estate planner. You really need millions and millions (well above the estate tax threshold) to make it worthwhile. The federal estate tax exemption is $5.45 million. So there's no point in hiring an estate planner to figure out your 14k gifts for you unless you have an estate worth over $5.45 million.

I work for a CPA and people call in with these questions on a daily basis. They don't know the limits or the law and they DO call in and ask our CPAs for advice before cutting checks.

If someone is truly clueless and doesn't know these things, then yes, they ask their CPA, estate planner, financial person these questions. There is a point to hiring them and using them for their expert knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait...so when I was younger and my parents paid for private school, college and my masters...all those tuition costs will later be added up and count against the 5.45M estate tax exemption (11M couple) when my parents pass on? They've got a bunch of real estate and I think it'll be above the 11M threshold. Or are tuition costs exempt?

Oh, no! You may have to pay some taxes on your $11 million inheritance? Whatever will you do?! You'd better stop buying Starbucks now, OP, just to plan for it.

This is OP. I am not the poster talking about $11 million; that was someone else. My parents have nowhere even close to that amount! So I guess I had misunderstood the gift tax; I thought anything more than that per year was taxed. Thanks for setting me straight.

Would there be any tax advantage to getting a condo sale check made out to me versus to them? i am guessing not.

Silly question, but if your parents have gifted you $14k and can gift you another $14k (as they each can give you that amount) don't they have an accountant or financial adviser that THEY can ask about this? Seems you finding out this info for them when they are giving such a large amount is weird. They need to know this stuff and not take the word of what you're learning off of an internet forum. Get some actual professional advice.

$28k isn't a large amount of money.

Okay, then I assume you wouldn't mind sending me a cashier's check for that amount...

No. But if I were to need to give my parents 28k I wouldn't need to hire a professional. I'd have my husband write a 14k check and I'd write a 14k check. No need for a professional!

This is you. Do you speak for every single person ever out there who has written a check to a family member and wants to ask advice on doing so?