Tax Considerations: Gifts, Estates, and Inheritance

What this video covers

• How the unified credit works as a single shared bucket for lifetime gifts and estate transfers, and why 2026's $15 million figure matters
• The annual gift tax exclusion of $19,000 per recipient per year, and why gifts within this limit do not reduce the lifetime unified credit
• How gift-splitting works for married couples and the federal gift tax return requirement to elect it
• The 529 plan superfunding rules: five-year election, the $95,000 single-donor limit, and what happens if the donor dies within the five years
• Carryover basis for gifted securities, including the 20-year holding period transfer and the dual-basis-loss rule for depreciated assets
• Step-up in basis to date-of-death fair market value for inherited taxable securities, and why the holding period is automatically long-term
• The two major exam traps: tax-deferred accounts like traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and variable annuities receive zero step-up in basis, and the SECURE Act's 10-year distribution rule for most non-spouse inherited traditional IRAs