What is portability?

Portability allows a surviving spouse to use a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion for estate taxes. This year, the estate tax exemption is $12.06 million per person. That means a married couple can have $24.12 million if the surviving spouse elects to “port” the deceased spouse’s exemption amount.

Why am I mentioning this now?

The IRS recently issued a revenue procedure (Rev. Proc. 2022-32) that allows estates to elect "portability" of a deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount as much as five years after the decedent's date of death.

If your spouse died sometime between August 16, 2017 (5 years ago today) and you have not filed an IRS Form 706, you must do so ASAP. I do not file these for clients, but I can refer you to a CPA who can assist you with this process.

If you want to talk about taxes and estate planning, please contact me.