Complete List of Tax Topics

Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes, Publication 950 (12/2009)

What's New

• The applicable exclusion amount for estates of decedents dying in calendar year 2009 is $3,500,000. See Unified Credit (Applicable Exclusion Amount), later, for more information.
• The annual gift exclusion for 2009 increased to $13,000. See Annual exclusion, later, for more information.

Introduction

If you give someone money or property during your life, you may be subject to federal gift tax. The money and property you own when you die (your estate) may be subject to federal estate tax and the gross income of your estate may be subject to federal income tax. The purpose of this publication is to give you a general understanding of when these taxes apply and when they do not. It explains how much money or property you can give away during your lifetime or leave to your heirs at your death before any tax will be owed. Gifts you make during your life or bequests from your estate can also be subject to the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, if the gifts or bequests are to a person, such as a grandchild, who is more than one generation younger than you.

No tax owed.

Even if tax applies to your gifts or your estate, it may be eliminated by the unified credit, discussed later. However, many estates are subject to federal income tax. See Income Tax on an Estate on page 11.

No return needed.

Gift tax returns are filed annually. However, you generally do not need to file a gift tax return unless you give someone, other than your spouse, money or property worth more than the annual exclusion (discussed on page 6) for that year, or a gift not subject to the annual exclusion. An estate tax return generally will not be needed unless the estate is worth more than the applicable exclusion amount for the year of death. This amount is shown in the table under Unified Credit (Applicable Exclusion Amount), later.

No tax payable by the person receiving your gift or bequest.

Generally, the person who receives your gift or your bequest will not have to pay any federal gift tax or estate tax because of it. Also, that person will not have to pay income tax on the value of the gift or inheritance received. However, covered gifts or bequests received from expatriates after June 16, 2008, may be subject to tax. Consult your tax adviser for more information.

No income tax deduction.

Making a gift or leaving your estate to your heirs does not ordinarily affect your federal income tax. You cannot deduct the value of gifts you make (other than gifts that are deductible charitable contributions).

What this publication contains.

If you are not sure whether the gift tax, the estate tax, the income tax, or the GST tax applies to your situation, the rest of this publication may help you. It explains in general terms:

• When tax is not owed because of the unified credit,
• When the gift tax does and does not apply,
• When the estate tax does and does not apply,
• When to file a return for the gift tax or the estate tax,
• When the GST tax may apply, and
• When the income tax may apply to an estate.

This publication does not contain any information about state or local taxes. That information should be available from your local taxing authority.

Where to find out more.

This publication does not contain all the rules and exceptions for federal estate, gift, income, or GST taxes. Nor does it contain all the rules that apply to nonresident aliens. If you need more information, see the following publication, forms, and instructions.

• Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators;
• Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return;
• Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return;
• Form 706-NA, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return; and
• Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts.

To order these forms, call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, you can call 1-800-829-4059. To get these forms using your personal computer, go to www.irs.gov.

Unified Credit (Applicable Exclusion Amount)

A credit is an amount that reduces or eliminates tax. A unified credit applies to both the gift tax and the estate tax. You must subtract the unified credit from any gift tax that you owe. Any unified credit you use against your gift tax in 1 year reduces the amount of credit that you can use against your gift tax in a later year. The total amount used during life against your gift tax reduces the credit available to use against your estate tax.

The unified credit against taxable gifts remains at $345,800 (exempting $1 million from tax) through 2009, while the unified credit against estate tax increases during the same period. The following table shows the unified credit and applicable exclusion amount for the calendar years in which a gift is made or a decedent dies after 2001.

For examples of how the credit works, see Applying the Unified Credit to Gift Tax and Applying the Unified Credit to Estate Tax, later.

Gift Tax

The gift tax applies to transfers by gift of property. You make a gift if you give property (including money), or the use of or income from property, without expecting to receive something of at least equal value in return. If you sell something at less than its full value or if you make an interest-free or reduced-interest loan, you may be making a gift. In 2010, any transfer of money or property in trust is a taxable gift unless the trust is treated as wholly owned by the donor or the donor's spouse.

The general rule is that any gift is a taxable gift. However, there are many exceptions to this rule.

Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts:

• Gifts, excluding gifts of future interests, that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year,
• Tuition or medical expenses you pay directly to a medical or educational institution for someone,
• Gifts to your spouse,
• Gifts to a political organization for its use, and
• Gifts to charities.

Example 1.

In 2009, you give your niece a cash gift of $8,000. It is your only gift to her this year. The gift is not a taxable gift because it is not more than the $13,000 annual exclusion.

Example 2.

You pay the $15,000 college tuition of your friend directly to his college. Because the payment qualifies for the educational exclusion, the gift is not a taxable gift.

Example 3.

In 2009, you give $25,000 to your 25-year-old daughter. The first $13,000 of your gift is not subject to the gift tax because of the annual exclusion. The remaining $12,000 is a taxable gift. As explained later under Applying the Unified Credit to Gift Tax, you may not have to pay the gift tax on the remaining $12,000. However, you do have to file a gift tax return.

More information.

Gift Splitting

If you or your spouse makes a gift to a third party, the gift can be considered as made one-half by you and one-half by your spouse. This is known as gift splitting. Both of you must consent (agree) to split the gift. If you do, you each can take the annual exclusion for your part of the gift.

In 2009, gift splitting allows married couples to give up to $26,000 to a person without making a taxable gift.

If you split a gift you made, you must file a gift tax return to show that you and your spouse agree to use gift splitting. You must file a Form 709 even if half of the split gift is less than the annual exclusion.

Example.

Harold and his wife, Helen, agree to split the gifts that they made during 2009. Harold gives his nephew, George, $21,000, and Helen gives her niece, Gina, $18,000. Although each gift is more than the annual exclusion ($13,000), by gift splitting they can make these gifts without making a taxable gift. Harold's gift to George is treated as one-half ($10,500) from Harold and one-half ($10,500) from Helen. Helen's gift to Gina is also treated as one-half ($9,000) from Helen and one-half ($9,000) from Harold. In each case, because one-half of the split gift is not more than the annual exclusion, it is not a taxable gift. However, each of them must file a gift tax return.

Applying the Unified Credit to Gift Tax

After you determine which of your gifts are taxable, you figure the amount of gift tax on the total taxable gifts and apply your unified credit for the year.

Example.

In 2009, you give your niece, Mary, a cash gift of $8,000. It is your only gift to her this year. You pay the $15,000 college tuition of your friend, David. You give your 25-year-old daughter, Lisa, $25,000. You also give your 27-year-old son, Ken, $25,000. Before 2009, you had never given a taxable gift. You apply the exceptions to the gift tax and the unified credit as follows:

1. Apply the educational exclusion. Payment of tuition expenses is not subject to the gift tax. Therefore, the gift to David is not a taxable gift.
2. Apply the annual exclusion. The first $13,000 you give someone in 2009 is not a taxable gift. Therefore, your $8,000 gift to Mary, the first $13,000 of your gift to Lisa, and the first $13,000 of your gift to Ken are not taxable gifts.
3. Apply the unified credit. The gift tax on $24,000 ($12,000 remaining from your gift to Lisa plus $12,000 remaining from your gift to Ken) is $4,680. For more information, see the Table for Computing Gift Tax in the Instructions for Form 709. You subtract the $4,680 from your unified credit of $345,800 for 2009. The unified credit that you can use against the gift tax in a later year is $341,120.

Filing a Gift Tax Return

Generally, you must file a gift tax return on Form 709 if any of the following apply.

• You gave gifts to at least one person (other than your spouse) that are more than the annual exclusion for the year.
• You and your spouse are splitting a gift.
• You gave someone (other than your spouse) a gift of a future interest that he or she cannot actually possess, enjoy, or receive income from until some time in the future.
• You gave your spouse an interest in property that will be ended by some future event.

You do not have to file a gift tax return to report gifts to (or for the use of) political organizations and gifts made by paying someone's tuition or medical expenses.

You also do not need to report the following deductible gifts made to charities:

• Your entire interest in property, if no other interest has been transferred for less than adequate consideration or for other than a charitable use or
• A qualified conservation contribution that is a perpetual restriction on the use of real property.

More information.

Estate Tax

Estate tax may apply to your taxable estate at your death. Your taxable estate is your gross estate less allowable deductions.

Gross Estate

Your gross estate includes the value of all property in which you had an interest at the time of death. Your gross estate also includes the following:

• Life insurance proceeds payable to your estate or, if you owned the policy, to your heirs;
• The value of certain annuities payable to your estate or your heirs; and
• The value of certain property you transferred within 3 years before your death.

Taxable Estate

The allowable deductions used in determining your taxable estate include:

• Funeral expenses paid out of your estate,
• Debts you owed at the time of death,
• The marital deduction (generally, the value of the property that passes from your estate to your surviving spouse),
• The charitable deduction (generally, the value of the property that passes from your estate to the United States, any state, a political subdivision of a state, the District of Columbia, or to a qualifying charity for exclusively charitable purposes), and
• The state death tax deduction (generally any estate, inheritance, legacy, or succession taxes paid as the result of the decedent's death to any state or the District of Columbia.

More information.

Applying the Unified Credit to Estate Tax

Basically, any unified credit not used to eliminate gift tax can be used to eliminate or reduce estate tax. However, to determine the unified credit used against the estate tax, you must complete Form 706.

Filing an Estate Tax Return

An estate tax return, Form 706, must be filed if the gross estate, plus any adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is more than the filing requirement for the year of death.

Adjusted taxable gifts is the total of the taxable gifts you made after 1976 that are not included in your gross estate. The specific gift tax exemption applies only to gifts made after September 8, 1976, and before 1977.

Filing requirement.

More information.

Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax

The GST tax may apply to gifts or direct skips occurring at your death to skip persons. The GST tax is calculated on the value of the gift or bequest, after subtraction of any allocated GST exemption, at the maximum estate tax rate for the year involved. Each individual has a GST exemption equal to the applicable exclusion amount for the year involved.

A direct skip is a transfer made during your life or occurring at your death that is:

• Subject to the gift or estate tax,
• Of an interest in property, and
• Made to a skip person.

A skip person is generally a person who is assigned to a generation that is two or more generations below the generation assignment of the donor. For instance, your grandchild will generally be a skip person to you or your spouse. The GST tax is computed on the amount of the gift or bequest transferred to a skip person, after subtraction of any GST exemption allocated to the gift or bequest at the maximum gift and estate tax rates.

More information.

Income Tax on an Estate

Your estate may have an income tax filing requirement for each year that it has $600 or more of gross income or has a beneficiary who is a nonresident alien, from the date of death until the final distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries. The tax is figured on the estate's income in a manner similar to that for individuals.

Filing an income tax return.

Schedule K-1.

• Excess deductions on termination, which are treated as itemized deductions;
• Unused capital loss carryovers;
• Unused net operating loss carryovers; and
• Payment of estimated taxes.

More information.