We practice on Long Island, and there are a lot of financially successful people in our area. New Yorkers who have been able to accumulate a significant store of wealth should be aware of the estate taxes that can enter the picture.
Estate tax laws are not necessarily static. When you originally talk to an estate planning attorney, your estate plan is going to be created based on the situation that existed at that time. Tax laws can change, and your personal financial position can improve over the years.
As a result, you should set up a consultation with an estate planning attorney every couple of years to make sure that your existing plan is up to date.
New York State Estate Tax Exclusion
The above having been stated, let’s get into the meat of the matter. There are 14 states in the United States that have state-level estate taxes. Though the odds are against it, we happen to be one of these minority states.
We have an unlimited marital deduction on the state level. You can transfer unlimited property to your spouse free of taxation as long as you are American citizens, and this is true regardless of the gender of the people who are legally married.
When it comes to transfers to people other than your spouse, you can transfer a certain amount of money and/or property before the estate tax would be applied, because there is a credit or exclusion. This exclusion is in flux at the present time on the state level, and you should be aware of the coming changes.
This post is being written during the month of January in 2016. At this moment, the exact amount of the New York state estate tax exclusion is $3.125 million. On April first, there is going to be a change. The estate tax exclusion in New York is going to go up by $1.0625 million.
An identical increase will take place on the first day of April in 2017. At that time, the New York state estate tax exclusion will be $5.25 million. We should point out the fact that the maximum rate of the New York estate tax is 16 percent, and no changes are pending at the present time.
Federal Estate Tax
In addition to the New York state estate tax, Long Islanders and other people throughout the state have to be aware of the potential impact of the federal estate tax. For the time being, you can be exposed to the New York state estate tax even if you do not have any federal exposure, because the federal credit is higher.
Every year this figure can be adjusted to account for inflation, so do not be surprised if it is somewhat larger next year, but the federal estate tax exclusion stands at $5.45 million for the rest of 2016.
The unlimited marital estate tax deduction that we touched upon previously also applies to spousal transfers on the federal level.
As we have stated, the New York state estate tax exclusion will be $5.25 million as of April first 2017. That figure will remain in place until New Year’s Day in 2019. On that day, the New York state estate tax exclusion will be raised to match the amount of the federal exclusion that is in place at that time.
Visit Our Forbes Page
If you are a financially successful New Yorker, it is very likely that you are a frequent visitor to the Forbes.com website. This site is a go-to place for people who are looking for sound, actionable financial information.
We are well aware of this, and we enjoy the content on the site as well. This led us to the development of a relationship with Forbes in our own right. We are expert contributors in the field of estate planning and elder law, and you can learn a great deal if you absorb the content that we contribute.
If you are hungry for more information, you can visit our Forbes page right now and spend some time building on your knowledge.
Schedule a Consultation
Written information is great, and that is why we make such an effort to push out content from various different channels. At the same time, there is no real substitute for direct interaction with an estate planning attorney.
If you would like to discuss your estate planning objectives with a licensed professional, we would be glad to help. You can give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or send us a message through our contact page to set up a consultation.
Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
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