With the federal estate tax exclusion at $5 million through 2012, a vast number of estates will not incur any federal tax. Even if the exclusion drops back to the $1 million dollar limit in 2013, the majority of estates will have little or no federal estate tax liability.

President Barack Obama’s proposed 2012 budget calls for changes to the existing tax regulations that primarily target the top two tax brackets.

President Barack Obama signed into law Dec. 17 a tax compromise bill that preserves Bush-era income tax rates for two years, while establishing a maximum estate tax rate of 35% on inheritances exceeding $5 million through 2012.

Update: Obama ends uncertainty about income, estate tax rates for 2011, 2012

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a tax compromise worked out between the president and Republicans, sending the bill …  Read →

The Senate sent a formal signal Dec., 15 that it wants the tax compromise worked out between Republicans and President Barack Obama to pass.

Members of the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives say they will not allow the compromise extending Bush-era tax cuts for two more years to go to the House floor for vote.

President Obama’s compromise on extending “Bush-era” tax cuts is good in the sense that folks finally know what to expect, at least for the next two years. That’s if Congress approves the plan, which appears somewhat likely.

President Barack Obama said he has compromised with Republicans, serving up an extension on Bush-era tax cuts in return for more unemployment benefits and other economic recovery steps.

Because Congress was preoccupied with health care reform legislation, it did not address the automatic repeal of the estate tax, which happened as the calendar flipped to 2010.

This Wall Street …  Read →

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to make current estate tax laws permanent, potentially ending confusion and changes to the law’s provisions over the next two years.