Estate, Gift and Charitable Tax

Texas currently imposes no state estate tax or inheritance tax. Federal estate tax, income tax, property tax, multistate rules, probate, and post-death filing obligations remain separate questions.

The annual gift tax exclusion is not a legal limit on giving. A larger transfer may require Form 709 and use lifetime exclusion without producing an immediate gift-tax payment.

A lifetime gift generally carries the donor’s adjusted tax basis. Property acquired from a decedent generally receives date-of-death value, but community property, income rights, loss property, and other exceptions require careful review.

Federal estate-tax portability can make a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion available to the survivor. The executor must make a valid Form 706 election, and simplified late relief applies only when its conditions are met.

Generation-skipping transfer tax is a separate federal system for certain transfers to skip persons and trusts. Transfer type, generation assignment, exemption allocation, inclusion ratio, and prior returns determine the actual tax result.

Charitable giving can pass through a direct bequest, beneficiary designation, donor-advised fund, or split-interest trust. The asset, timing, family interests, administration, charitable acceptance, and deduction rules should point to one coordinated path.