Planning topic · Wealth transfer
When you give, what you give and whose name holds it change the tax result a great deal — more so for cross-border families. We compute the tax and file the right forms; wills and trust documents are drafted by your attorney, and we work alongside.
Why tax first
Many arrangements are made with good intentions and turn out costly in tax.
Our scope is tax: computing the tax under each option, preparing the returns and talking with your attorney. We do not draft legal documents or recommend insurance or investment products.
When
A gift or a change of ownership usually cannot be undone.
One by one
Not all of them apply to your family. Step one is deciding which do.
For 2026 each donor may give $19,000 to each recipient; above that the gift goes on Form 709 and uses lifetime exemption. From 2026 the lifetime exemption is $15 million per person, indexed, with no scheduled expiry.
Exemption already used, gifts planned this year, and whether spouses should split gifts.
An asset given in life keeps the donor’s basis; an inherited asset generally takes its value at the date of death. Retirement accounts get no such reset, and there are other exceptions.
Cost and present value, whether the children will sell, and the income tax under each route.
Gifts to a U.S.-citizen spouse are unlimited. Gifts to a non-citizen spouse have a 2026 annual exclusion of $194,000; a bequest to a non-citizen spouse needs a qualifying trust arrangement to get the marital deduction.
Each spouse’s citizenship and status, whose name holds what, and the amounts moved each year.
Tuition paid directly to a school and medical costs paid directly to a provider are not gifts and do not use the annual exclusion. It must be direct; books and room and board are not covered.
How much grandparents or parents want to fund, and the way it is paid.
When a non-citizen not domiciled in the U.S. dies, U.S.-situs assets — including U.S. real estate and stock of U.S. corporations — above $60,000 must be reported and may bear U.S. estate tax; there is no U.S.–China estate tax treaty. Bank deposits not connected with a U.S. business are not U.S.-situs.
The kind and amount of the parents’ U.S. assets, how they are held, and whether that should change.
A U.S. tax resident receiving more than $100,000 in a year from a foreign individual or estate files Form 3520 — no tax. Money routed through a foreign company or partnership has a far lower threshold and may be treated as income.
Whose account sends the money, in how many transfers and in which year, and the source-of-funds records to keep.
A trust is not always a separate taxpayer: income of many trusts is still taxed to the person who set them up. A trust that is separate files Form 1041 and reaches the top rate above $16,000 of taxable income for 2026; income distributed is taxed to beneficiaries. Foreign trusts add Forms 3520 and 3520-A, with heavy penalties.
The powers in the trust document, who is treated as owner, any foreign element, and the yearly filings.
Most beneficiaries other than a spouse must empty an inherited retirement account by the end of the tenth year after the owner’s death; if the owner had already begun required distributions, yearly withdrawals continue as well.
Beneficiary designations, the type of account, the pace of withdrawals and the effect on the beneficiary’s tax rate.
Common mistakes
Usually when the transfer came first and the tax question second.
How we work
The same levels as our tax planning service. Legal documents are drafted by attorneys; we handle the tax.
Go through the family members’ status, the assets and your intentions. The CPA explains which taxes and filings are involved; you receive a written recap.
Gift, estate and income tax compared across options, with the filings each one brings — for you and your attorney to decide.
Gift tax returns, estate tax returns, trust returns, foreign gift and foreign trust reports, and a review each year.
Typical situations
Hypothetical situations that show how planning works — not client results. Conclusions differ for everyone.
A rental bought twenty years ago has appreciated greatly; the parents consider transferring it now to their adult children.
Parents in China want to help their children buy a U.S. home and also hold a U.S. brokerage account themselves.
A grandparent abroad set up a foreign trust years ago, and it now begins distributions to grandchildren in the U.S.
No. Trusts and wills are legal documents drafted by attorneys. We handle the tax side — computing, comparing and reporting — and work with your attorney.
No. We explain how arrangements are taxed and neither sell nor recommend any insurance or investment product.
U.S. gift tax falls on the donor. In most cases a gift above the annual exclusion is only reported and counted against the lifetime exemption, with no tax actually paid.
A gift of funds held abroad by a non-U.S. person generally involves no U.S. gift tax. As a U.S. tax resident you report on Form 3520 once the year’s total exceeds $100,000.
Estate and gift tax turn on domicile, judged from facts and intent, which is not identical to income-tax residency. A green card is strong evidence but not the only test.
An inherited house generally takes its value at the date of death as basis, and only later growth is taxed — so a sale soon after usually shows little gain.
Some states have their own estate or inheritance tax with far lower exemptions — Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and New York among them. North Carolina and California currently have none. The figures change yearly and must be checked for the year.
Yes. Gifts and bequests later made to U.S. persons by someone who meets the expatriation tests are taxed to the U.S. recipient at 40%. Plan before giving up status.
Fixed fees, quoted before work starts. They follow the scope and complexity of the work, never the amount of tax saved.
Request
About 3 minutes. Sending a request costs nothing and is not an engagement.
Book a one-on-one paid consultation with a CPA. The fee is credited if you move on to planning.
This page is general tax information, not tax advice for your situation and not legal, investment or insurance advice. For wills, trusts and other legal documents consult an attorney. The dollar amounts are 2026 figures, adjusted each year, and state rules differ.
