In a recent article featured in the Palm Beach Post Estate Planning Guide, Gunster private wealth services co-chair Lisa Schneider discusses the compelling reason for wealthy New Yorkers to migrate south for more than just the winter months.
Although the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act at the end of 2017 created additional planning opportunities at the federal level, the spread between the federal and New York State estate tax exemptions has increased significantly. Back in 2014, in order to keep up with the then increased federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemptions of $5 million (indexed for inflation), New York increased its estate tax exclusion amount from $1 million to the exemption amount then provided under federal law. The result was an increase in the New York estate tax exclusion amount to the 2014 federal exemption level of $5.25 million. Without any further action on the part of the New York State legislature, the New York estate tax exclusion was set to increase along with the federal estate, gift and GST exemption amount to approximately $5.6 million as of Jan. 1, 2019.
Although the increase in the New York estate tax exemption was clearly motivated by the increase in the federal estate, gift and GST exemptions, it has fallen short of convincing New Yorkers to maintain residency in the Empire State.
Schneider leads Gunster’s trust & estates practice where she focuses her practice on counseling families as to wealth preservation and transfer tax techniques, with a focus on planning for complex family structures and business succession.
Read the full article: Don’t fall off the New York tax cliff!
