By Chris Kissell, Money Talks News
Have you gotten to retirement with a fat nest egg? Congratulations! All those years of toil and saving have paid off.
If you are exceedingly fortunate and plan to pass on a big inheritance to your children or a charity, you still have one big retirement-planning mission remaining: Protecting your wealth from disappearing into the coffers of state and federal governments.
Depending on where you live, achieving that goal can be difficult, or relatively easy. In fact, 33 states charge no estate or inheritance taxes.
But 12 states and the District of Columbia charge estate taxes, and six charge inheritance taxes.
And pity the poor residents of the alleged “Free” State — Maryland levies both types of taxes.
The full list of such states, and the District of Columbia, in each category is as follows:
States that charge estate taxes
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- New York
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
States that charge inheritance taxes
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
Estate taxes versus inheritance taxes
Your estate is taxed based on the total value of everything you own at the time of your death. According to Nolo:
“This includes all the obvious assets, like real estate and bank accounts, plus some that aren’t so obvious — for example, the proceeds of a life insurance policy that the deceased person owned.”
By contrast, inheritance taxes depend on who inherits your assets. For example, taxes may not be due if your spouse inherits your assets, but taxes might be due if the assets go to your children or someone more distantly related to you.
If you live in one of the states on the two lists above, don’t panic. Estate taxes typically are assessed only if your assets exceed a certain level, such as $1 million. And some states have much higher thresholds.
As for inheritance taxes, rates typically are modest if you leave your assets to close relatives. For example, Nolo says that in Nebraska, close relatives who inherit $40,000 or less face no taxes, and just 1% is charged on assets over that amount left to those family members.
However, taxes of 13% will be due in Nebraska on amounts above $15,000 left to more distant relatives, and 18% will be due on amounts above $10,000 that you leave to others, such as nonrelatives or organizations.
Avoiding these taxes
The higher exemption levels associated with most state estate and inheritance tax systems are not much solace to people with very large estates who hope to pass down their cash.
So, what can you do if you are in this fortunate circumstance? You could move to a new state or accept your fate, while taking solace in the knowledge that federal tax reform legislation significantly raised the exemption levels for federal estate taxes.
In 2019, your estate will not be subject to federal estate taxes unless your assets exceed $11.4 million — then, the tax will apply only to the amount above $11.4 million.
Creating a trust is another option. Trusts are often used to bypass estate taxes, as Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson details in “Ask Stacy: I’m Afraid to Leave an Inheritance for My Kids — What Should I Do?”
For more tips on protecting your assets from taxes, check out “8 Documents That Are Essential to Planning Your Estate.” And if you’re looking for a good deal on the estate documents you need, head over to the website of Money Talks News partner Rocket Lawyer.
