How Does the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Work in Estate Planning?

The generation-skipping transfer tax, also called the generation-skipping tax, can apply when a grandparent leaves assets to a grandchild—skipping over their parents in the line of inheritance. It can also be triggered, when leaving assets to someone who’s at least 37½ years younger than you. If you are thinking about “skipping” any of your heirs when passing on assets, it is important to know what that may mean tax-wise and how to fill out the requisite form. An experienced estate planning attorney can help you and counsel you on the best way to pass along your estate to your beneficiaries.

KAKE.com’s recent article entitled “What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?” says the tax code imposes both gift and estate taxes on transfers of assets above certain limits. For 2020, you can exclude gifts of up to $15,000 per person from the gift tax, with the limit twice as much for married couples who file a joint return. Estate tax applies to estates larger than $11,580,000 for 2020, increased to $11,700,000 in 2021.

The gift tax rate can be as high as 40%, and the estate tax is also 40% at the top end. The IRS uses the generation-skipping transfer tax to collect its portion of any wealth that is transferred across families, when not passed directly from parent to child. Assets subject to the generation-skipping tax are taxed at a flat 40% rate.

Note that the GSTT can apply to both direct transfers of assets to your beneficiaries and to assets passing through a trust. A trust can be subject to the GSTT, if all trust beneficiaries are considered to be skip persons who have a direct interest in the trust.

The generation-skipping tax is a separate tax from the estate tax, but it applies alongside it. Similar to the estate tax, this tax begins when an estate’s value exceeds the annual exemption limits. The 40% GSTT would be applied to any transfers of assets above the exempt amount, in addition to the regular 40% estate tax.

That is the way the IRS gets its money on wealth, as it moves from one person to another. If you passed your estate to your child, who then passes it to their child then no GSTT would apply. The IRS would just collect estate taxes from each successive generation. However, if you skip your child and leave assets to your grandchild, it eliminates a link from the taxation chain, and the GSTT lets the IRS replace that link.

You can use your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption limits, which can help to offset how much is owed for the generation-skipping tax. However, any unused portion of the exemption counted toward the generation-skipping tax is lost when you pass away.

If you’d like to minimize estate and gift taxes as much as possible, there are several options. Your experienced estate planning attorney might suggest giving assets to your grandchildren or another generation-skipping person annually, rather than at the end of your life. That’s because you can give up to $15,000 per person each year without incurring gift tax, or up to $30,000 per person if you’re married and file a joint return. Just keep the lifetime exemption limits in mind when planning gifts.

You could also make payments on behalf of a beneficiary to avoid tax. For instance, to help your granddaughter with college costs, any direct payments you make to the school to cover tuition would generally be tax-free. The same is true for direct payments made to healthcare providers, if you’re paying medical expenses on behalf of another.

Another option may be a generation-skipping trust that lets you transfer assets to the trust and pay estate taxes at the time of the transfer. The assets you put into the trust must stay there during the skipped generation’s lifetime. Once they die, the trust assets can be passed on tax-free to the next generation.

There’s also a dynasty trust. This trust can let you pass assets to future generations without triggering estate, gift, or generation-skipping taxes. However, they are meant to be long-term trusts. You can name your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and subsequent generations as beneficiaries and the transfer of assets to the trust is irrevocable. Therefore, when you place the assets in the trust, you will not be able to take them back out again. You can see why it’s so important to understand the implications, before creating this type of trust.

The generation-skipping tax can make a big impact on the assets you’re able to leave to heirs. If you’re considering using this type of trust to pass on assets or you’re interested in exploring other ways to transfer assets while minimizing taxes, speak to an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: KAKE.com (Feb. 6, 2021) “What Is the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax?”