Mesquite Insurance Agent discusses tax bill in front of Congress.

Mesquite Insurance Agent discusses the 3 Estate Tax Bills on the Table in Washington now. 

There are currently three bills in Congress dealing with estate tax reform.  The Tax Bills before Congress are S. 722, H.R. 2032, and H.R. 436.

S. 722 was introduced in the Senate back in March.  This bill is a middle class tax reform package that includes an estate tax proposal that freezes the exclusion and rate at 2009 levels. 

The House H.R. 2032 bill would make permanent the exemption level at $2 million, index that level for inflation, and establish progressive tax rates of 45% for estates valued between $2 million and $5 million, 50% for estates valued at $5 to $10 million, and 55% for estates valued over $10 million.  This bill will also include reunification, portability, the state estate tax credit, and indexing for inflation. 

House bill H.R. 436 is the third one introduced by the House.  This would freeze the exclusion and rate at 2009 levels and reunify the estate and gift tax credit.  It would however limit the valuation discount for family limited partnerships, and set forth valuation rules for transfer of non-business assets.  Reunification of gift and estate tax exemptions would simplify estate planning by removing an artificial barrier that can inhibit earlier intergenerational transfers of business interest and other assets, and it would increase economic growth. 

As of now the gift tax exemption is capped at $1 million and the estate tax exemption is $3.5 million.  Reunifying the lifetime credit would not give an individual $7 million for gift and estate transfers, it would provide that if an individual used up the $3.5 million exemption through gifts, that person would no longer have an estate tax exemption.  Portability is the transfer of  a deceased spouse’s unused exemption to the surviving spouse.   Portability would also provide that the unused portion would automatically rollover to the surviving spouse.   This would help to  simplify estate planning and estate administration.

Mesquite Insurance Agent Sam Morris is the owner of Sam Morris Insurance Agency.  Sam has been providing long term care insurance, along with residential property coverage, auto insurance coverage, disability income coverage, and general liability coverage to clients in Garland and East Dallas since 2000. Sam is a veteran of the armed services and makes it his personal mission to make sure that you have the right coverage… not too much nor too little. Please call 972-240-8075 today for a personal consultation with Sam.