John E. Cargill

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4853) will provide for federal estate and gift tax exemptions of five million dollars for individuals and ten million dollars for married couples, and a marginal estate/gift tax rate of thirty-five percent for amounts in excess of these levels.  These rules will be temporary and apply for 2011 and 2012.  Current law provides for no federal estate/gift tax for individuals dying in 2010.

The most recent proposal for federal estate and gift taxation would provide for exemptions of five million dollars for individuals and ten million dollars for married couples, and a marginal tax rate of thirty-five percent for amounts in excess of these levels.  These rules would be temporary and would apply for 2011 and 2012.  Current law provides for no federal estate/gift tax for individuals dying in 2010, but if no action is taken by the federal legislative and executive branches the taxes are scheduled to reappear in 2011 with individual exemptions of one million dollars and a marginal rate of fifty-five percent for amounts above this level.