President Obama proposed 2014 budget:  Changing the Estate Tax and Gift Tax Rates AGAIN!!!

From January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2012,  Congress seemed intent on making planning for death more complicated than it already is by  creating a series of “temporary” estate tax laws.   These temporary tax rates and estate tax and gift tax exclusion amounts created turmoil for software companies, lawyers, accountants and ordinary people.

As part of the 2012 “Fiscal Cliff” compromise, President Obama signed legislation that appeared to make permanent the 2012 estate tax exclusion amount of $5 million for estate and gift taxes and a top estate tax rate of 40 percent.    The exclusion amounts would be indexed for inflation.  The statements from Congress and the President made it seem we FINALLY had permanent rules regarding federal estate and gift taxes.  Software companies could stop revising code.   Families could make permanent plans for death.  

So much for compromise.  The Obama “Green Book” Budget for 2014 puts us back in the guessing game about estate and gift tax rules.     Page 138 of the budget has these words:  “Beginning 2018, the proposal would make permanent the estate, GST and gift tax parameters as they applied during 2009.  The top tax rate would be 45 percent and the exclusion amount would be $3.5 million for estate and GST taxes, and $1 million for gift taxes. There would be no indexing for inflation.”

You can find out more here:

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/Documents/General-Explanations-FY2014.pdf