TAX AND ESTATE PLANNING FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES

    Request A Case Evaluation Or Tax Resolution Development Plan

    Get a Tax Resolution Development Plan from us first before you attempt to deal with the IRS. There are several options for you to meet or connect with Board Certified Tax Attorney Jeffrey B. Kahn. Jeff will review your situation and go over your options and best strategy to resolve your tax problems. This is more than a mere consultation. You will get the strategy or plan to move forward to resolve your tax problems! Jeff’s office can set up a date and time that is convenient for you. By the end of your Tax Resolution Development Plan Session, if you desire to hire us to implement the strategy or plan, Jeff would quote you our fees and apply in full the session fee paid for the Tax Resolution Development Plan Session.

    Types Of Initial Sessions:

    Most Popular GoToMeeting Virtual Tax Development Resolution Plan Session
    Maximum Duration: 60 minutes - Session
    Fee: $375.00 (Credited if hired*)
    Requires a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile device compatible with GoToMeeting. Please allow up to a 10-minute window following the appointment time for us to start the meeting. How secure is GoToMeeting? Your sessions are completely private and secure. All of GoToMeetings solutions feature end-to-end Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption. No unencrypted information is ever stored on our system.


    Face Time or Standard Telephone Tax Development Resolution Plan Session
    Maximum Duration: 60 minutes - Session
    Fee: $350.00 (Credited if hired*)
    Face Time requires an Apple device. Please allow up to a 10-minute window following the appointment time for us to get in contact with you. If you are located outside the U.S. please call us at the appointed time.


    Standard Fee Face-To-Face Tax Development Resolution Plan Session
    Maximum Duration: 60 minutes - Session
    Fee: $600.00 (Credited if hired*)
    Session is held at any of our offices or any other location you designate such as your financial adviser’s office or your accountant’s office, your place of business or your residence.


    Jeff’s office can take your credit card information to charge the session fee which secures your session.

    * The session fee is non-refundable and any allotted duration of time unused is not refunded; however, the full session fee will be applied as a credit toward future service if you choose to engage our firm.

    TAX

    There are an estimated 650,000 same-sex couples in the United States, and 114,000 of them are legally married. In addition to Washington D.C., the following states permit same-sex couples to legally wed: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire,New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act means same-sex couples who are legally married will now be eligible for federal benefits, and significantly changes their financial planning options. As a result of this decision, the surviving spouse in the Windsor case was able to get back $363,053 in federal estate tax.Same-sex couples now have access to the same retirement benefits, tax breaks and health coverage as married heterosexual couples.

    Here are some of the things that same-sex couples should be considering:

    Estate Planning

    Same-sex couples with at least one partner with a high-net worth can now have more financial planning tools at their disposal. They can now take advantage of the estate tax exemption, and leave one another an unlimited estate without being taxed.

    Portability. The surviving spouse also has the ability to add the unused estate tax exclusion (now $5.25 million) of the spouse who died most recently to their own. This concept is called
    “Portability”. To take advantage of portability, the executor handling the estate of the spouse who died will need to transfer the unused exclusion to the survivor, who can then use it to make lifetime gifts or pass assets through his or her estate. The prerequisite is filing an estate tax return when the first spouse dies, even if no tax is owed. This return is due nine months after death with a six-month extension allowed. If the executor doesn’t file the return or misses
    the deadline, the spouse loses the right to portability.

    Making Gifts. Currently, you can give up to $14,000 each year to as many recipients as you would like without incurring gift tax. Spouses can combine this annual exclusion – a process called gift-splitting – to jointly give $28,000 to any person tax-free. Spouses can gift-split by giving $14,000 each, $28,000 from a joint account or $28,000 from one of their individual accounts. These restrictions apply whether you make outright gifts to individuals or put the funds into trusts for their benefit. Any gift that’s more than the annual exclusion counts against the lifetime gift tax exclusion – the amount that each individual can give away during life without triggering gift tax. Once you have passed the limit, which is $5.25 million, gift tax of up to 40% applies. Couples can also gift-split with their applicable exclusion amount and together transfer up to $10.5 million through lifetime gifts.

    Income Tax Planning – Filing Status

    You may now have a refund waiting for you to claim! In states that recognize same-sex marriage, married couples will no longer have to file with the IRS under a single status. They now have the option to file Married Jointly and therefore save a lot in Federal income taxes. Couples who had to file single can go back two years
    (and some cases three years) and filed amended income tax returns changing their filing status
    and getting a refund of the overpaid tax.

    How much can you save?

    Example 1:

    Scott and Doug were legally married in 2011. Scott earned $100,000 in annual wages in 2011 and 2012.

    Doug was a full-time student and earned no income in either year. Scott filed Single for Federal Income Tax Purposes in both years.

    Year Amount Paid Amended Return Savings
    2011 $18,964 $12,506 $6,458
    2012 $18,738 $12,191 $6,547
    Total: $13,005

    Example 2:

    Same facts except Scott earned $200,000 in annual wages.

    Year Amount Paid Amended Return Savings
    2011 $47,762 $38,750 $9,012
    2012 $47,311 $38,319 $8,992
    Total: $18,004

    Social Security/Retirement Benefits, IRA’s and other Retirement Accounts

    If one spouse dies, and he or she had higher Social Security benefits, the remaining partner can now claim them. There is now also the ability to stretch out an IRA account. If one spouse dies leaving the other spouse as beneficiary of an IRA or retirement account, the surviving spouse can basically claim it as his or her own That spouse doesn’t have to take it if he or she is not of retirement age, and can choose to stretch it out further. The surviving spouse can roll the assets into his or her own IRA and postpone required minimum distributions until the year after he or she turns 70½.

    Estate Taxes

    If your spouse died in the last three years and a Federal Estate Tax Return was filed and estate tax paid, we can review this return and the applicable estate plan documents to see if an amended estate tax return can be filed to secure a refund of the overpaid taxes.

    Our firm is geared up to review your past three years of Federal income tax returns and estate plan documents to make sure you are taking advantage of all the Federal tax benefits available.we can amend and file your Federal income tax returns to claim your tax refunds and amend or prepare estate plan documents to fully avail you of these benefits. Even if your prior income tax returns were audited, we can file amended income tax returns to change the filing status to Married Filing Joint. For many same-sex couples, the submission of amended Federal income tax returns should result in an overpayment of Federal income taxes and the IRS sending you a check. Don’t delay as the Statute Of Limitations to claim an income tax refund is two years.

    For more information on estate planning and the documents involved, click here.

    For answers to your questions about estate planning or for estate tax help, contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey B. Kahn, P.C.  For a prompt evaluation of your situation, we encourage you to complete our Estate Planning Questionnaire or call us toll-free at 866.494.6829 to schedule a consultation.