Gift-tax annual exclusion to increase to $13,000

Projections by CCH Tax and Accounting put the federal gift-tax annual exclusion at $13,000 in 2009, an increase of $1,000 from the current $12,000 annual exclusion level. The exclusion is subject to adjustment for inflation, but only in $1,000 increments.

This means that an individual may make an annual contribution to a 529 plan for the benefit of a child or other individual for as much as $65,000 ($130,000 joint) without exceeding the annual-exclusion limit by making the special five-year election. This assumes the individual makes no other annual-exclusion gifts to that same child during the five-year election period.
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