Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The Founding Father didn’t know it then, but sometimes those two constants happen in quick succession.
For farm families, estate taxes aren’t just an abstract policy debate — they’re a very real threat to generational farms and the livelihoods they support. While tax policy tends to fly under the radar for most people, recent developments out of Washington, D.C., are once again putting the federal estate tax front and center, especially for the agricultural community.
This time the story starts with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which dramatically increased the federal estate and gift tax exemption. That exemption — essentially the amount of wealth a person can pass on without triggering the federal estate tax — was doubled under the TCJA. For 2024, that amount sits at $13.61 million per person, or $27.22 million for a married couple. But, as with many things in tax law, it came with an expiration date. When the calendar flips to January 1, 2026, the exemption will drop back down to its pre-TCJA levels, adjusted for inflation. That means a single person could pass on only roughly $7 million before the estate tax bill comes due.
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Estate taxes are heinous regardless of the amount or to whom. Everything has already been taxed.