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Individuals with disabilities and their families have many options to set aside funds without jeopardizing eligibility for means-tested government benefits, but most of the options require the person with a disability to lose control over his or her own money. With the Stephen J. Beck Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, people with disab...

With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017, more family businesses are examining their corporate structure and considering the tax implications. Specifically, companies that are currently structured as “pass-through” entities (e.g., an S corporation, partnership, or LLC taxed as an S corporation or partnership) are...

A GRAT is an estate freeze technique used in estate planning to minimize taxes on large financial gifts to family members. Under this technique, an irrevocable trust is created to which the grantor transfers income-producing or appreciating property in return for the right to receive a distribution of a fixed annuity amount from the trust (at least...

Investors are purchasing and selling virtual currencies (also known as “crypto currencies”) at a faster rate than ever before. Although these virtual currencies are not legal currency in the U.S., the IRS has been slowly issuing guidance on the income taxation and the manner in which individuals should report gains or losses from t...

The tax consequences of expatriation for U.S. citizens and long-term green card holders after June 17, 2008 can be enormous. With the exception of deferred compensation items, interests in non-grantor trusts, and specified tax deferred accounts, all other assets of the expatriating taxpayer are deemed sold at fair market value on the day before the...

When an individual purchases property, inherits property, or is gifted property, they obtain a tax basis in the property. Basis is generally the amount of the taxpayer’s capital investment in the property, which is subsequently increased or decreased for events that occur during their ownership of the property. As the applicable estate and gi...

Education is an expense that impacts many families each year. As the cost of secondary and higher education continue to rise, many families should consider the tax benefits of funding educational expenses. The type of vehicle used to fund educational expenses varies and can include education trusts and qualified tuition programs that are designed a...

There are many considerations that go into making a planned gift, including the maximization of its impact. There are three types of planned giving: lifetime giving, giving at death, and hybrid planned giving. Factors to consider are whether you have the capacity to make sizeable gifts during your lifetime, the potential for income streams during l...

Many nonresidents of the U.S. are unaware that they may be subject to U.S. estate tax based on their ownership of U.S. situs assets. This can can lead to unexpected results for foreign taxpayers who invest in U.S. assets during their lifetime. After the foreign taxpayer’s death, the executor of their estate may have U.S. tax reporting require...

Following recent amendments to the tax code, both the applicable estate and gift tax exemption and the GST exemption were increased to $11,180,000. This nearly doubled the exemptions available in 2017. Taxpayers may consider making additional gifts to already existing dynasty trust in order to further supercharge the trust. They may also consider a...

Tax reform has necessitated a reevaluation of many individual’s estate plans. It significantly increased the ability of high-net-worth individuals and families to pass wealth free of estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes, while increasing the importance of income tax planning due to changes to income tax rates and bracket...

With the passage of the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a significant opportunity exists for investors to defer capital gains tax owed via the establishment of the newly created Federal Opportunity Zones (the “O-Zones”). By investing in Qualified Opportunity Funds, investors can defer tax on capital gains that arose in the last ...

In order to sustain their businesses for the long term, successful business owners tend to be thoughtful in their investments. They act like chess masters, deciding their next five moves in order to maintain a competitive edge and stay in the game. Yet throughout this business cycle, the RSM US Middle Market Business Index has shown that middle mar...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) brought extensive changes and a need to contemplate the doubling of the federal exemption from $5.6 million to $11.2 million for the estate, gift and GST taxes, along with planning for the sunset of the increased exemption amounts on December 31, 2025. Planners should also factor in the Fede...

Incentive trusts are typically defined as trusts with provisions to encourage or discourage certain types of behavior and promote family values. Despite their appeal, they remain underutilized. One of the key reasons for this is that they’re somewhat impractical when used with traditional types of trust administration. Rather than relying on ...