With the approval of the Executive Budget for 2015-16, several changes to the New York State estate tax law took effect. These changes amend the significant revamping of the state estate tax system from the year before. The legislation applies the new estate tax exclusions for all individuals who die after April 1, 2014, rather than only those who die within a year. It also clarifies the three-year gift add-back provision.
Tax Issues for new Widows and Widowers
It’s a traumatic experience to lose a spouse. While there is little that can be done to replace this physical and emotional loss, the Tax Code provides some relief for newly widowed taxpayers. Here is a summary of some of the tax breaks for the newly widowed:
Filing Status
Some Things To Know About New York State Tax
It’s not news that most people complain about having to pay taxes. New Yorkers seem to especially complain about their state and local tax burden. The Tax Foundation, with a database that currently covers the years 1977-2012, interprets the tax burden of individual taxpayers by measuring what they actually spend in local and state taxes. Its. According to its rankings of states with the highest state and local tax burdens, Americans paid an average rate of 9.9 percent in state and local taxes in 2012. Further, the state with the highest state-local tax burden was New York at 12.7 %. In fact, the top three states – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – have been ranked as the top three in this category since 2005. Not surprisingly, New York’s tax laws are relatively complex compared to other U.S. states. Here are some things to know about taxes in the Empire State.
Gifts and Inheritances Under the Tax Code (26 U.S.C. §102)
Section 61 of the Tax Code states that “except as otherwise provided in this subtitle gross income means all income from whatever source derived”. Thus, the federal tax law requires taxpayers to pay income taxes on earnings, commissions, rents, royalties, retirement benefits, investment profits, tips, fringe benefits, bonuses and almost anything else of value, unless the Internal Revenue Code specifically provides an exception to the general rule contained in §61. An exception to the general rule is §102 of the Internal Revenue Code.