If you go over the exemption amount, NYS charges estate tax on the entire estate; not just the amount over the limit. I googled on it, but everything is at least a year old. Is there any reason to think they might do away with it?
Seems like a good way to drive people out of the state, but what do I know.
There's a phase in but that's approximately right.
Nope. Not on the political radar that I've heard, and I've heard a lot from my state candidates about other things.
Anyone who arranges their life to avoid taxes rather than to live someplace they enjoy living left New York decades ago. If you live in NYC, you pay state and city sales tax and state and city income tax every year you don't die, then if you're rich enough (the exclusion will be the same as Fed'l after 2019) you pay estate tax too.
R's, John
And there are ways to shelter some of your estate from estate tax (e.g. putting the assets in trusts) that are far easier than moving to another state.
Who do I talk to about that? An estate attorney, a tax attorney, an accountant?
Does money put into trusts count as gifts?
An estate attorney familiar with NYS law.
That's a good question to ask the attorney in the initial interview.
R's, John
You could talk to any of those - but make sure they are based in NY. In theory you can do that under federal law, but it's a lot more complicated, and harder, than it sounds by that statement.
For example you could set up an irrevocable insurance trust, and exclude both the insurance premiums paid and the death benefit from your estate. Or you can have an irrevocable trust go into some sort of business (or be a partner in your business), and conceivably tax its profits at a lower rate than yours.
Then there are "defective" trusts, where you pay income tax on any income the trust earns, but it's not technically yours, and your estate does not pay estate tax on it when you die.
But for normal, every day revocable trusts, you can't shelter anything.
The answer to that depends on the kind of trust, exactly what its terms say, and who set it up. If you put money into a revocable trust that you set up, the answer generally is no, it's not considered a completed gift.
At the risk of asking a question that can't be answered... Trump intends on doing away with estate tax, but not bumping up bases. (is that the plural of basis?) If he succeeds, does it seem likely that NYS would follow suit?
It would be awfully confusing to have two completely different systems.
There are many instances where there are different or conflicting systems. Only your NYS legislators can determine if NY will follow any federal changes.
Ira Smilovitz, EA
Last I heard it would be similar to the Canadian system of Estate Taxes
- you mark to market and pay capital gains. With some level of exemption.
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