Redmond Office Law Blog

As we begin the new year we also face new estate tax issues. In 2001, the IRS created a 10 year schedule regarding the estate tax laws. In 2010, the estate tax was to expire resulting in no estate taxes for any individual dying the in the year 2010. However, there are capital gains issues that the beneficiaries may face. There is a possibility that law makers will revisit this issue early in 2010 and decide to override the tax’s expiration and implement a new law. Even if they do decide on an amount that can be passed tax free at the time of death, our law makers still need to decide how much any excess will be taxed. In 2009, any excess was taxed at the rate of 45% and that number has varied over the years as well.