Wealth Transfer Tax Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Authors

Jeffrey A. Maine, University of Maine School of LawFollow
John A. Miller, University of Idaho College of Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

On December 17, 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Among its many impacts, the TCJA increased the inflation-adjusted estate tax basic exclusion amount to $10,000,000 on a temporary basis. This has dramatic implications for many existing and future estate plans, including a major crossover impact on income tax planning. In this Article, we explain the operation of the federal wealth transfer taxes (the estate tax, the gift tax, and the generation skipping transfer tax) in the wake of the TCJA and dissect the basic tax planning techniques for wealth transmission. The overall design of this Article is to bring the reader into the current wealth transfer tax planning picture while providing references to more detailed treatments of particular topics within this broad field.

Publication Title

Brigham Young University Law Review

Volume

46

Issue

6

Article Number

1142

First Page

1411

Last Page

1487

Suggested Bluebook Citation

John A. Miller & Jeffrey A. Maine, Wealth Transfer Tax Planning after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 46 BYU L. REV. 1411 (2021).