The IRS recently announced the inflation adjusted figures for gift and estate tax exemption amounts for 2016.

The annual exclusion amount remains at $14,000.  That is the amount that can be gifted to US citizens each year without eroding the per person exemption amount.

The exemption amount increases from $5,430,000, to $5,450,000, or $10,900,000 for a married couple.  Thus, married couples with less than $10, 900,000 do not pay estate tax upon their deaths on assets passing to family and friends.  The $10,900,000 can also be used for lifetime gifting without incurring gift tax, which remains an advantageous strategy for affluent clients seeking to leave more to family and less to the IRS.