PLANNING

Wealthy & Worried

Depending on the size of your estate, you may need to be concerned about estate taxes. 

• Estates of $5,490,000 (in 2017, $5,450,000 in 2016) are effectively exempt from the federal gift and estate tax. Estates over that amount may be subject to the tax at a top rate of 40 percent. 
• Similarly, there is another tax, called the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, that is imposed on transfers of wealth that are made to grandchildren (and lower generations). The GST tax exemption is $5,490,000 (in 2017, $5,450,000 in 2016) and the GST tax rate is 40 percent. 
• Whether your estate will be subject to state death taxes depends on the size of your estate and the tax laws in effect in the state in which you are domiciled.