The IRS has announced inflation adjustment tax items for 2015.  Of interest on the estate and gift side, the annual exclusion remains at $14,000.  However, the exclusion amount for taxpayers dying in 2015 increased from $5,340,000 to $5,430,000.  Thus, a married couple can protect $10,860,000 from federal estate tax.  With Republicans capturing both houses of Congress, it remains likely that the exemption amount will remain at $5 million, with the inflation adjustment.  The uncertainty of worrying about a reduction in the exemption amount to only $1 million per person for planning purposes is now a distant memory.