Anonymous wrote:Depends on your definition of "big deal." I had to pay an extra $1000 for my accountant to prepare the gift tax return when I gave me kid $150,000 for a down payment. I didn't expect that and it surprised and annoyed me. Apparently the return is a little complicated.

Your accountant ripped you off. I filed the form myself and it took five minutes...

Anonymous wrote:If you are going over the 14 million you certainly can afford legal guidance ffs.

Right? And your accountant will have a form for you to file in the years you exceed the gift limit. This seems trollish because anyone with that large of an estate should know this already.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People make a big deal about not exceeding the $19,000 per person annual gift ceiling, but how onerous is it really to file a tax form for annual gifts above the $19,000 limit? As far as I understand it, you're not actually paying any tax itself until you exceed the lifetime maximum of almost $14M.

I am the OP of the other post about gift taxes and I am concerned about exceeding the lifetime maximum amount. Please don't flame me for this. We will also be gifting substantially to charities. I know that we will need to consult an estate tax attorney and I realize now it was a mistake to start the thread that I started.

You've now started 2 threads and still don't seem to understand the $19,000 annual gift exclusion vs the $13.99M lifetime gift tax exclusion. That's fine but these are not complicated rules. Google can easily explain this to you.

Sheesh - DCUM can always be counted on for nasty snark! I started one thread -- not this one. Somebody else started this thread and I made the one response above. I understand very well the gift and estate tax exclusions. I also realize it was fruitless to ask what other people to have done to equalize gifts to their children. I'm not planning on dying anytime soon, but my estate will likely incur federal and state estate taxes if tax laws continue at the current rates -- so the estate will likely be above the $30M estate limit for couples. I have already received advice that it would be better to leave the money to my heirs than to give it to the government and that is what I am looking to do: gift the maximum amount every year to my children while making sure that they receive equal amounts. I have done some reading about trusts that could allow me to gift the unmarried child assets in trust now so as to equalize my giving in real time. I am now going to sign off and won't read anymore on either of these threads. Instead I am going to consult an attorney - which I should have done in the first place.
You are welcome for the opportunity to post snarky comments.

If you are going over the 14 million you certainly can afford legal guidance ffs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People make a big deal about not exceeding the $19,000 per person annual gift ceiling, but how onerous is it really to file a tax form for annual gifts above the $19,000 limit? As far as I understand it, you're not actually paying any tax itself until you exceed the lifetime maximum of almost $14M.

I am the OP of the other post about gift taxes and I am concerned about exceeding the lifetime maximum amount. Please don't flame me for this. We will also be gifting substantially to charities. I know that we will need to consult an estate tax attorney and I realize now it was a mistake to start the thread that I started.

You've now started 2 threads and still don't seem to understand the $19,000 annual gift exclusion vs the $13.99M lifetime gift tax exclusion. That's fine but these are not complicated rules. Google can easily explain this to you.

The gift tax return is a pain in the butt so if you are going to exceed the $19,000 limit do it in a big way. Remember, a husband and wife can each gift $19k to as many people as you want. Also, you can directly pay for schooling or medical expenses and that's not considered gifting. We've paid for a driveway to be repaved and directly paid the paver.

One consideration is whether your state of residence has a lower gift tax threshold than the federal government.

Anonymous wrote:People make a big deal about not exceeding the $19,000 per person annual gift ceiling, but how onerous is it really to file a tax form for annual gifts above the $19,000 limit? As far as I understand it, you're not actually paying any tax itself until you exceed the lifetime maximum of almost $14M.

I am the OP of the other post about gift taxes and I am concerned about exceeding the lifetime maximum amount. Please don't flame me for this. We will also be gifting substantially to charities. I know that we will need to consult an estate tax attorney and I realize now it was a mistake to start the thread that I started.

Anonymous wrote:I asked about this and there is a whole thread on it here. I find the law makes little sense. Why even say there is an annual limit and force people to fill out a form or pay someone else to fill out a form??

For overages, I'll likely pay for something medical, which is allowable. Then, I don't have to worry about the form...

The $14m exemption from the estate tax also applies to the gift tax. The point of that is to keep people from avoiding the estate tax by giving away assets while they are alive. The reason for the form is so the IRS can keep track of how much of the $14m exemption that you’ve used.

In practice, the IRS will never know if you exceed the $19k per year by relatively small amounts more than 5 years or so before your death. When they do an estate tax audit, they’ll go back through records for a few years before you die and see if you have given away excess money. But if you give your kids $150k when you are 60 and don’t report it and then die at 90, the IRS will never know.

I asked about this and there is a whole thread on it here. I find the law makes little sense. Why even say there is an annual limit and force people to fill out a form or pay someone else to fill out a form??

For overages, I'll likely pay for something medical, which is allowable. Then, I don't have to worry about the form...

Depends on your definition of "big deal." I had to pay an extra $1000 for my accountant to prepare the gift tax return when I gave me kid $150,000 for a down payment. I didn't expect that and it surprised and annoyed me. Apparently the return is a little complicated.

You are correct Op, and honestly, just pay for stuff directly for the person.

It was no big deal

People make a big deal about not exceeding the $19,000 per person annual gift ceiling, but how onerous is it really to file a tax form for annual gifts above the $19,000 limit? As far as I understand it, you're not actually paying any tax itself until you exceed the lifetime maximum of almost $14M.