Take Advantage of the Lifetime Estate and Gift Tax Exemption While You Still Can: Kiplinger Tax Letter
And while you’re at it, check out whether you live in a state with an estate or inheritance tax.

Getting the right tax advice and tips is vital in the complex tax world we live in. The Kiplinger Tax Letter helps you stay right on the money with the latest news and forecasts, with insight from our highly experienced team (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe). You can only get the full array of advice by subscribing to the Tax Letter, but we will regularly feature snippets from it online, and here is one of those samples…
The lifetime estate and gift tax exemption for 2023 deaths is $12,920,000. After 2025, the exemption will fall back to $5 million, adjusted for inflation, unless Congress agrees to extend the higher amount. The odds of any extension depend on which party controls the White House and Congress after the 2024 election.
Federal estate and gift tax exemption
Most tax-free gifts you make now won’t trigger post-2025 estate tax bills. Estates use the higher lifetime exemptions for gifts to calculate post-2025 estate taxes. So, many people who made or make big gifts from 2018 through 2025 won’t lose out on the benefit of the larger exemption amount if it drops back down in 2026.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
But not all gifts would qualify. Under an IRS proposed regulation, completed gifts that are later included in the decedent’s gross estate at death would be subject to the exclusion amount in effect in the year of the donor’s death. Implicated strategies include grantor-retained income trusts and transactions involving promissory notes.
State estate and inheritance taxes
The District of Columbia and 12 states levy their own estate taxes on some decedents: Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. The estate tax exemption amounts in these 13 locales vary widely from state to state. Only Connecticut has hiked its exemption amount close to the current federal level. Six states now have inheritance taxes: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Iowa’s inheritance tax is currently being phased out and is slated to end after 2024.
This first appeared in The Kiplinger Tax Letter. It helps you navigate the complex world of tax by keeping you up-to-date on new and pending changes in tax laws, providing tips to lower your business and personal taxes, and forecasting what the White House and Congress might do with taxes. Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.
Related Content

Joy is an experienced CPA and tax attorney with an L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. After many years working for big law and accounting firms, Joy saw the light and now puts her education, legal experience and in-depth knowledge of federal tax law to use writing for Kiplinger. She writes and edits The Kiplinger Tax Letter and contributes federal tax and retirement stories to kiplinger.com and Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. Her articles have been picked up by the Washington Post and other media outlets. Joy has also appeared as a tax expert in newspapers, on television and on radio discussing federal tax developments.
-
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing Lower as Government Shutdown Nears
The main benchmarks erased some if not all of their early morning gains, putting the lid on a tough month and quarter.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Powerball Jackpot Hits $925M Ahead of Saturday’s Drawing
Powerball has had 30 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
How Tax Laws Can Help You If You're a Victim of a Hurricane, Wildfire or Other Federally Declared Disaster
Kiplinger Tax Letter Did you know that some losses — attributable to federally declared disasters — can be deducted, in addition to the tax filing and payment extensions?
By Joy Taylor Published
-
How Long to Keep Tax Returns and Records? Kiplinger Tax Letter
Kiplinger Tax Letter The answer depends on what type of document and the kinds of transactions you engage in.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
More People Are Paying This Tax On Investment Income Each Year: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Tax Letter The number of returns reporting the net investment income tax has more than doubled and revenue from the tax has grown by $38 billion over the past decade.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
Tax Preparers E-Filing Rules Review: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Tax Letter Tax preparers who expect to file more than 10 returns in a year are expected to file them electronically. But there are some exceptions.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
Don't Overlook Tax on Crypto Staking Rewards: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Tax Letter The IRS has issued guidance on crypto staking rewards, but broker reporting on digital asset sales won't start until 2025.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
Is Tax Relief for Marijuana Businesses Coming?: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Kiplinger Tax Letter Marijuana businesses get tax relief in some states to help with their thorny income tax issues.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
IRS Targets Unreported Foreign Accounts: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Tax Letter The IRS devotes significant resources to ensure timely reporting of overseas financial accounts.
By Joy Taylor Published
-
Claiming the Employee Retention Tax Credit is an IRS Audit Red Flag: Kiplinger Tax Letter
Tax Letter Tackling improper ERTC claims is one of the IRS’s biggest enforcement priorities.
By Joy Taylor Published