Step-Up in Basis and Capital Gains in Estate Planning: Minimizing Tax on Transfers, Basis Adjustment Methods

Estate planning attorneys employ many strategies designed to minimize or eliminate tax liability. Counsel must carefully craft planning techniques to reduce the impact of capital gains on certain assets in light of potential tax law changes.

Certain assets are prime to generate potential capital gains, such as real estate, business interests, stock, and other assets. To avoid the negative impact of capital gains on these assets, counsel can use various tax basis adjustment and tax planning methods, such as the use of SLATs and GRATs, installment sales, promissory notes, and upstream gifting. Counsel may consider the undoing of trusts to ensure the estate plan's goals.

Listen as our panel discusses key considerations for clients to minimize capital gains through basis adjustments, tax, and estate planning methods to achieve tax savings.

I. Identifying low basis assets subject to potential income tax consequences

II. Transfer strategies

III. Key issues and strategies for business owners

IV. Post-mortem tools for achieving income tax basis step-up

V. Potential tax risks of basis adjustment strategies

The panel will discuss these and other key issues:

• What are the most effective strategies for minimizing capital gains in estate planning?
• What planning issues arise in the sale or transfer of real estate, business interests, stock, and other assets?
• Which class of assets benefit from basis adjustment transactions?
• Structuring sale and exchange transactions to maximize tax basis
• Tax and other risks involved in basis adjustment transactions and strategies

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Apply techniques to preserve income tax basis step-up
• Understand criteria for obtaining exclusions under Section 1202
• Identify low basis assets that could trigger adverse income tax consequences
• Recognize the impact of tax reform on spousal portability planning
• Identify beneficial estate tax inclusions
• Ascertain tax planning methods to minimize tax basis for sale and exchange transactions

• Field of Study: Taxes
• Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
• Advance Preparation: None
• Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
• Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
• Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
• Prerequisite:

  Three years+ business or public firm experience preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers or accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of pass-through taxation, including taxation of partnerships, S corporations and sole proprietorships, qualified business income, net operating losses and loss limitations; familiarity with net operating loss carry-backs, carry-forwards and carried interests.

  
  

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.