The good news is that assets held in a revocable living trust are not subject to capital gains tax upon transfer into the trust. This is because the trust is disregarded for tax purposes, and the assets are still considered yours.
An easy and impactful way to reduce your capital gains taxes is to use tax-advantaged accounts. Retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans, and individual retirement accounts offer tax-deferred investment. You don't pay income or capital gains taxes on assets while they remain in the account.
Irrevocable Trusts
Using an irrevocable trust allows you to minimize estate tax, protect assets from creditors and provide for family members who are under 18 years old, financially dependent, or who may have special needs.
Tax exempt: The CRT's investment income is exempt from tax. This makes the CRT a good option for asset diversification. You may consider donating low-basis assets to the trust so that when sold, no income tax is generated to you and you eliminate the capital gains tax on the sale of the asset.
A charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) pays a percentage of the value of the trust each year to noncharitable beneficiaries. The payments generally must equal at least 5% and no more than 50% of the fair market value of the assets, valued annually.
A Living Trust can help avoid or reduce estate taxes, gift taxes and income taxes, too.
Selecting the wrong trustee is easily the biggest blunder parents can make when setting up a trust fund. As estate planning attorneys, we've seen first-hand how this critical error undermines so many parents' good intentions.
Protect Assets
Putting a house in an irrevocable trust protects it from creditors who might come calling after your passing – or even before. It's removed from your estate and is no longer subject to credit judgments. Similarly, you can even protect your assets from your family.
A few options to legally avoid paying capital gains tax on investment property include buying your property with a retirement account, converting the property from an investment property to a primary residence, utilizing tax harvesting, and using Section 1031 of the IRS code for deferring taxes.
Here's how it works: Taxpayers can claim a full capital gains tax exemption for their principal place of residence (PPOR). They also can claim this exemption for up to six years if they move out of their PPOR and then rent it out. There are some qualifying conditions for leaving your principal place of residence.
The rule is a tax exemption that lets you use a trust to transfer appreciated assets to the trust's beneficiaries without paying the capital gains tax. Your “basis” in an asset is the price you paid for the asset. A “step-up” in basis is when the IRS lets you adjust the basis of the asset to its current value.
An exemption trust is a trust designed to drastically reduce or eliminate federal estate taxes for a married couple's estate. This type of estate plan is established as an irrevocable trust that will hold the assets of the first member of the couple to die.
A revocable trust does not avoid capital gains tax because the trust's creator still owns the assets held in the trust. This means that any profits or losses generated by the assets in the trust are still taxable to the original owner.
There are a variety of assets that you cannot or should not place in a living trust. These include: Retirement accounts. Accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, 403(b) and certain qualified annuities should not be transferred into your living trust.
An irrevocable trust could be a good option for people 65 and older who are Medicaid-eligible because it protects the elderly individual from having to dispose of their assets in order to qualify for Medicaid or nursing home care.
A Trust is preferred over a Will because it is quick. Example: When your parents were to pass away, If they have a trust, all the Trustee needs to do is review the terms of the Trust. It will give you instructions on how they distribute the assets that are in the Trust. Then they can make the distribution.
The downside of irrevocable trust is that you can't change it. And you can't act as your own trustee either. Once the trust is set up and the assets are transferred, you no longer have control over them, which can be a huge danger if you aren't confident about the reason you're setting up the trust to begin with.
The long-favored grantor-retained annuity trusts (GRATs) can confer big tax savings during recessions. These trusts pay a fixed annuity during the trust term, which is usually two years, and any appreciation of the assets' value is not subject to estate tax.
The beneficiary doesn't owe tax if the funds are considered part of the trust's principal because the funds are considered a return of money that was already taxed before it went into the trust.
Charitable remainder trusts are particularly suited for funding with appreciated non-cash assets because any capital gains tax will be deferred until the time that income is distributed out to the income beneficiary.
Relative to charitable trusts, foundations have less red tape and more potential tax advantages. These are two of the main reasons why many prefer this tax planning option. You might be able to save money by going with a foundation, but you should also prepare to potentially pay an excise tax.
Most Charitable Trusts are irrevocable, meaning once they are set up, the decision cannot be easily reversed, and assets cannot be returned to the donor.