Law Office of Donald D. Vanarelli Blog

The gift tax annual exclusion is the maximum amount which a taxpayer can gift each year to any beneficiary without being required to use his or her $1 million lifetime gift exemption amount. If gifts are limited each year to the annual exclusion amount established in the year of the gift, the person making the [...]

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Under the law passed by President Bush, the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRA”), there is no estate tax in 2010, and estates pay only capital gains tax; then the estate tax returns with a $1 million exemption in 2011. President Obama wants to prevent this one year gap by making the [...]

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. As part of the Recovery Act, nearly 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a one-time payment of $250 each. To receive a payment, the beneficiary’s address of record [...]

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President Bush’s tax cut law passed in 2001, called the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub.L. 107-16, 115 Stat. 38, June 7, 2001 (hereafter “EGTRRA”) gradually phased out the estate tax by raising the exemption level and reducing the top rate; in 2009, only estates valued at more than $3.5 million [...]

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The Wall Street Journal recently reported here and here that the new administration has decided to permanently lock the estate tax in at the rate and exemption levels that took effect this year. That change in the law would exempt estates of $3.5 million — $7 million for couples — from any taxation. The value [...]

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New Jersey allows a deduction of medical expenses, including long-term care insurance premiums, to the extent that they exceed 2% of adjusted gross income. N.J. Stat. Sec. 54A:3-3 New York, on the other hand, provides a tax credit of 10% of the premiums for long-term care policies approved by the Superintendent of Insurance pursuant to [...]

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Every year the Internal Revenue Service publishes new rates and tables for a variety of tax exemptions. Here are the 2009 annual estate and gift tax exclusions, effective as of January 1, 2009. 1)  The Annual Gift Tax Exclusion is $13,000 in 2009. As a result of  the 2009 annual gift tax exclusion, any person [...]

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The costs of nursing home care can be deducted on federal individual income tax returns as medical expenses under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 7702B because they are considered “qualified long-term care costs”.  However, the status of assisted living facility (ALF) costs has not been as clear. To assist readers, below we have summarized an [...]

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Congress approved legislation that would allow retirees to defer withdrawals from their 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts in 2009 without triggering a penalty. President Bush is expected to sign the bill. Ordinarily, seniors age 70½ and older are required to withdraw a minimum amount from their tax-deferred retirement savings plans every year and pay [...]

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The recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (aka “the bailout bill”) temporarily raises the basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage (FDIC) from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor. The legislation provides that the basic deposit insurance limit will return to $100,000 after December 31, 2009. “This temporary increase in deposit insurance coverage should [...]

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