Annual Gift Tax Exclusion to Rise to $16,000 in 2022, Boosting ABLE Cap

The IRS has announced that the annual gift exclusion will rise to $16,000 for calendar year 2022.  The amount an individual can gift to any person without filing a gift tax return has remained at $15,000 since 2018.

This is of particular interest to families with special needs because the ABLE contribution cap is tied to the annual gift tax exclusion, meaning that the maximum annual contribution to an ABLE account will now be $16,000.

In addition, the basic estate tax exclusion amount for the estates of decedents dying during calendar year 2022 will be $12,060,000 for individuals and $24,120,000 for couples, up from $11.7 million and 23.4 million for calendar year 2021. 

The increase in the estate tax exclusion means that the lifetime tax exclusion for gifts should also rise to $12,060,000, as should the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption.

For details on many of these and other inflation adjustments to tax benefits, go to: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-21-45.pdf