estate tax

What the Trump Tax Plan Means for Your Retirement

On April 26, 2017, the Trump administration released its highly anticipated tax reform plan. The administration said the goals of the plan include growing the economy, creating jobs and simplifying the tax code. The changes proposed are significant and if passed (and that is a big “if”) could have a major impact on your retirement planning.

What You Must Know About Taxation of EE Series Bonds

Remember those savings bonds Grandma and Grandpa bought for you every year to put away for school? If you’re like most people, you – or your parents – put them in a drawer or safety deposit box until they were needed. After all, how much is there really to do with them? The answer, at least from a tax perspective, can be surprising. Here are five things you should know about the tax treatment of Series EE Bonds.

Estate Tax or Step-up in Basis…Pick One!

Today, federal estate tax has become a non-issue for all but the wealthiest of American families. As has been the case since the early 1980s, spouses can generally leave an unlimited amount of assets to one another without such a transfer being subject to estate tax. Most transfers to someone other than a spouse also avoid estate tax under current law. But will it stay that way?

Japanese Estate Tax Rate Proposal vs. Current U.S. Law

The Japanese prime minister has come up with a new estate tax rate proposal that is far different than current United States estate tax law. Ed Slott and Company IRA Technical Consultant Jeffrey Levine looks at the Japanese proposal and how it compares to U.S. law (along with some helpful information on the United States' estate tax benefits) in the IRAtv video found at this link or embedded below.

Election Week Videos: Taxes on the Rise; Will Government Change Roth IRAs?

The Slott Report's Election Week 2012 coverage is coming to a close, just as a "mega" storm has its eyes set on the Northeast and Election Days is just 11 days away. We hope you refer back to our coverage all week to determine what IRA, tax and retirement planning issues you should read up on before the Election and watch out for no matter who comes out victorious.

Flexibility in an Uncertain Estate Planning World: IRAs and Trusts

We are in a now all too familiar position. We don't know what the estate tax rules will be in 2013. The exemption amount is scheduled to drop back to $1,000,000 per person, and it will not be portable. We have no idea what Congress may or may not do about the situation. And, because 2012 is an election year, they may not do anything until late in 2013 or perhaps early in 2014. Do you need a trust to protect your estate tax exemption, or don't you? Should you name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, or not?

Content Citation Guidelines

Below is the required verbiage that must be added to any re-branded piece from Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC. The verbiage must be used any time you take text from a piece and put it onto your own letterhead, within your newsletter, on your website, etc. Verbiage varies based on where you’re taking the content from.

Please be advised that prior to distributing re-branded content, you must send a proof to [email protected] for approval.

For white papers/other outflow pieces:

Copyright © [year of publication], [Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC – depending on what it says on the original piece] Reprinted with permission [Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC – depending on what it says on the original piece] takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this information.

For charts:

Copyright © [year of publication], Ed Slott and Company, LLC Reprinted with permission Ed Slott and Company, LLC takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this information.

For Slott Report articles:

Copyright © [year of article], Ed Slott and Company, LLC Reprinted from The Slott Report, [insert date of article], with permission. [Insert article URL] Ed Slott and Company, LLC takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this article.

Please contact Matt Smith at [email protected] or (516) 536-8282 with any questions.