Charitable Giving at DeathCharitable Giving at Death

Jonathan Tidd

The federal estate tax is, in a sense, voluntary, because the estate tax charitable deduction allowed under Internal Revenue Code Section 2055(a) can reduce any taxable estate to zero. On the other hand, relatively few estates are now subject to federal estate tax because of the estate tax exemption of $5 million.¹ Yet, even for owners of estates with assets of less than $5 million, the provisions of Section 2055, and the corresponding regulations, can be important. Moreover, for charitable givers, the federal income tax can play an important role in good planning and drafting.

In addition, proper planning and drafting can help avoid non-tax problems with respect to at-death charitable dispositions — such as the interpretatio...