Posts Tagged ‘gift’

What gift to get for that awkward family member

  We have all received a few dodgy presents in our time. More often than not these fall into the ‘novelty’ category – and they are just that, a novelty; which soon wears off. I’m sure there are very few of us who would not admit to also having bought such a present. Not that these gifts are without their place, a gift is something designed to give its recipient pleasure, and if it makes them happy for even a few moments then it was probably worth it. It is after all, the thought that counts.   But many gifts are thoughtless, and are bought with no motivation other than a simple sense of obligation. These are often for family members we have little contact with at other times of the year- Christmas and birthdays, the last bastion of the extended family in the 21st century.   These are the presents that are bought with the least thought, or at least, the least information about what their recipient would like and therefore the least chance of getting a present they would enjoy for any significant period of time or find, dare I say it, useful.   And so in these situations we resort to the generic staples for the recipient’s age group. The very young will receive a toy (which, to be fair, they would probably be delighted with), but then it gets harder and harder- the teenagers receive the ubiquitous store credit vouchers, the young adults receive household knickknacks and ‘gift sets’ of cheap aftershave and shower gel, and before long we are buying grandma a box of chocolates.   Now obviously there are no simple answers to this conundrum as the problem by its very nature arises from everybody being different. And so we have to focus on unifying factors, universal truisms that can be applied to age groups.   So what can we say of adults? Everybody has their favourite tipple. In fact, I guarantee that if you discover what a person likes, and then buy them that favourite bottle of plonk every year, they would be nothing but grateful. An appreciated present is a good present.   For older people of say, middle age onwards, there is another unifying condition – aches and pains. Almost everybody has some kind of recurring complaint, and a gift that helps to relieve that really would be ‘a gift that keeps on giving’. Magnotherapy devices such as magnetic bracelets can help to treat many conditions from rheumatoid arthritis and carpel tunnel syndrome to a bad back or any other joint or muscle pain. Besides the relief from symptoms they would enjoy every day, they would also be wearing your present every day- a daily reminder of your gift that will remind them of you for years to come.   Another appreciated and more unusual gift is a magazine subscription – especially if you know that they regularly buy the magazine for themselves anyway. And again, they will be reminded of you all year- it is like giving 12 gifts spread out over an entire year at once.    

gift tax question? Too many tax laws…?

What is the difference between the unified credit of $345,800 and the application exclusion amount of $1,000,000?

Thanks.

can i gift over 12,000.00 without a gift TAX?

Mr. Smith wants to gift 10,000,000 to his nephew Timmy. I understand he could Gift the first 1,000,000 gift tax free using his unified tax credit exemption.
Suppose Mr. smith has 100 close trusted friends. As a way to continue gifting tax free to Timmy Could he gift 12,000 to each of the 100 friends (1,200,000 total) And they in turn would gift 12,000 to Timmy. And continue doing this for as many years as Mr. Smith would so desire?

Last gift tax question…I promise…and thank you?

Two questions: If you do you some of the gift tax unified credit is that credit taken from the estate tax unified credit?

In Irs.gov they said a gift tax of $26,000 came out to be $5,120. I thought the gift tax was 40% or 45%? Does no make sense…

Last time and thank you again.

How do I gift my property in increments so I don’t run down my unified gift credit?

I’m trying to avoid paying gift taxes, so I want to gift my property in 10k increments until I have < 1m in ownership of the home, at which point I’ll gift the rest of it away.

Is this possible? How does this work practically? This is how I think it works (please correct if it’s wrong):

1. Gift 10k in property each year.
2. When well < 1m, I have the property appraised.
2. Subtract previous gifts from appraised value to arrive at my stake in the property.
3. Gift this and report it to IRS

Is it possible to make my folks jt. tenant and gift them a small percentage of my property (say 1%)?

I want to avoid running down my unified tax credit and ensure that my property doesn’t go through probate should something happen to me. I live in CA and I don’t know how small a gift can be.

Does Massachusetts have any state gift taxes?

My parents live in Massachusetts and I live in California and they want to give me some money as a gift. I believe there would be no federal taxes as the gift is well below the unified credit amount. Since it is the giver who has to file taxes and my parents live in MA, are there any gift taxes there? Also, would I as the receiver need to file any tax forms even though I don’t have to pay any taxes on this gift?

Parents want to gift property to me. How do you determine property value for unified tax credit purposes?

Is it based on the purchasing price.
Or is it based on its current market value. In which case, do we need to justify its value with an estimate from an appraiser?