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36 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM TAX TIPS Gift Giving Plans BY JOHN SAVIGNANO, CPA Start thinking about your gift giving plans. There are things you can do to reduce your tax bill when giving to family members or donating to charity. Note, the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption. Congress nearly doubled the break in the new tax law. For 2018 deaths, the figure is $11,180,000…$22,360,000 for couples if portability is timely elected on Form 706 after the death of the first-to-die spouse. This higher amount is set to expire after 2025. Don’t waste the annual gift tax exclusion. You can give up to $15,000 each to a child, grandchild or any other person in 2018 without having to pay gift tax or tap your lifetime estate and gift tax exemption. Your spouse can also give $15,000 to the same done, making the tax-free gift $30,000. For example, if you are married with four children and seven young grandchildren, you can give up to $30,000 in 2018 to each of your kin without gift tax consequences. That’s $450,000 in tax-free gifts, assuming that you include your kids’ spouses. Making yearly gifts greater than the $15,000 exclusion amount…$30,000 if married…will trigger the requirement to file a gift tax return for the year. But no tax will be due unless you’ve already made more than $11,180,000 in gifts during your lifetime. Make the most of your generosity when donating to charitable organizations. Contribute appreciated assets, such as stocks or shares in mutual funds. Provided you’ve owned the property for more than a year, you can deduct its full value in most cases. And neither you nor the charity has to pay tax on the appreciation. Don’t donate property that has declined in value since you acquired it. The charity won’t get to deduct the built-in loss when it disposes of the asset. Take advantage of a charitable tax break for IRA owners age 70 ½ or older. You can transfer up to $100,000 per year from your traditional IRA directly to charity. Such charitable transfers count as part of your required minimum distribution. But unlike other payouts, these direct gifts are not included in your taxable income. The IRA-tocharity strategy can be a good way to get tax savings from charitable gifts for taxpayers not taking charitable write-offs because of higher standard deductions. Here are two ways to help your kids or grandkids with their education. Contributing to a 529 plan is a great option. You can shelter from gift tax as much as $75,000 in a single year per beneficiary ($150,000 if your spouse joins in). If you contribute the maximum, you’ll be treated as gifting $15,000 (or $30,000) to that beneficiary in 2018 and in each of the next four years…2019 through 2022. Payins are excluded from your estate as long as you live through the fifth year. Note that 529s are no longer just for college. Tax-free distributions of up to $10,000 can now be taken each year to help pay for private or parochial K-12 tuition. The $10,000 annual cap doesn’t apply to 529 plan withdrawals to pay for college. Paying a person’s tuition directly to the school is tax-favored, too. The payment is not treated as a gift for purposes of the gift and estate tax rules. John Savignano is a partner with Savignano Accountants & Advisors located at 47-46 Vernon Blvd., Second Floor, in Long Island City. If you have any questions or require additional information, please call John at 718-707-0955. LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS MONTH September is Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), a great opportunity to get educated on the importance of life insurance. It can seem daunting to get all your financial ducks in a row. But the beauty of any journey: It doesn’t happen all at once. Step by step. Goal by goal. Do that next good thing by putting financial protection in place with life insurance. Then, no matter what happens in your financial—or life— journey, your loved ones will be OK financially. Take that first step on your financial fitness journey today by contacting Adalberto Garcia for your free consultation at: (407) 749-9526 or Advisors@ Savignano-CPA.com. Taxes in Retirement Retirement planning has three main components. 1. How much income will you probably NEED to maintain the lifestyle you want? 2. Then you estimate how much money you probably will HAVE from all sources. 3. That leaves you with an amount you need to SAVE personally to make up for the shortfall. When analyzing how much you should SAVE to make up for any shortfall, TAXES often play a significant role in decision making. To learn and see how taxes will play a role in your retirement, contact our advisor, Adalberto Garcia for a free consultation at: (407) 749-9526 or Advisors@ Savignano-CPA.com. Attorney At Law 25-59 Steinway Street Astoria, NY 11103 718-278-3900 WINNER BEST ATTORNEY AND BEST PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY Call Now & End Your Tax Nightmare! �� Co-Author of the best selling book “Breaking the Tax Code” �� Salvatore P. Candela, EA, ATA, ABA Enrolled Agent - Tax Advisor ��