You are not limited to gifting assets or cash to your loved ones or friends only when you pass away. There are many ways to leverage annual gifting to remove assets from your estate and still accomplish your personal goals. 
One of the best annual planning strategies is to consider your opportunities for gifting during the year. This can help you reduce your estate tax liability and still pass on important assets and gifts to your loved ones. Every year individuals are entitled to make gifts using what is known as the annual exclusion amount without impacting any of your lifetime applicable exclusion amount or incurring gift taxes.
In 2021 that annual exclusion amount was $15,000 per individual, meaning that a married couple can gift up to $30,000 together. In 2022, the annual gift exclusion increases to $16,000. If it has been a while since you have revisited your gifting strategy, now is the perfect opportunity to meet with a knowledgeable estate planning lawyer and to discuss all of your options. The insight of an attorney can make a big difference in how you choose to move forward.
Do you need help figuring out how to fit in annual gifting for 2021 or how to better use it in 2022? Sitting down with an estate planning lawyer can help you target this and determine what works well for you.
Our office is here for year-end consultations. Contact our Pasadena estate planning office today.
