JK Lasser's New Rules for Estate, Retirement, and Tax Planning, 6th Edition
by Stewart H. Welch III, J. Winston Busby
CHAPTER 3The Estate Tax System
Determining Your Estate Net Worth
Although minimizing the amount of estate taxes you will owe should not be your only goal, it is certainly an important one. The estate tax system places a tax on the transfer of wealth for the purpose of redistributing it to the masses. The transfer tax system comprises less than 1 percent of the revenue raised through taxation in the United States. While the estate planning revisions of the TCJA focused on eliminating death taxes on all but super wealthy Americans, it's still very important to pay close attention to the estate tax laws. Why? Because Congress seems compelled to change the limits every few years, and they will rise or fall depending on who has control of Congress. For example, since 2001, Congress has made eight significant changes to the estate tax exemption limits. The amount has varied from an exemption as low as $675,000 (2001) to a 100 percent exemption (2010) to the recent high of $11,180,000 (2018). Table 3.1 is a reminder of the current estate and gift tax limits.
TABLE 3.1 Applicable Federal Gift and Estate Tax Exemption Amounts
| Year of Death | Gift Tax Exemption ($) | Estate Tax Exemption ($) |
| 2018a | 11,180,000 | 11,180,000 |
aFor subsequent years, the gift and estate tax exemptions are indexed for inflation. For current year updates, visit the Resource Center at www.welchgroup.com; click on “Links,” then “ESTATE BOOK UPDATES.”
Understanding the Estate Tax System
It seems like everything ...