Section 1: 30–40%T4
Estate and Gift Tax Planning
Exam insight
The unified transfer tax system links lifetime gifts and transfers at death, and TCP tests your ability to use exemption, the marital deduction, trusts, and valuation tools to minimize transfer tax. You must weigh lifetime gifting against the step-up in basis available at death.
What AICPA wants you to know
- 1Explain the unified transfer tax system and the use of the lifetime exemption against gifts and the estate.
- 2Apply the 2026 basic exclusion of 15,000,000 per decedent made permanent under the OBBBA and the 40 percent top rate.
- 3Use the unlimited marital deduction, portability of the DSUE, and bypass (credit-shelter) trusts.
- 4Identify valuation discounts and how grantor trusts shift income and growth.
- 5Compare charitable giving vehicles and their estate and income tax benefits.
- 6Weigh the lifetime gift carryover basis against the step-up in basis at death.
Patterns in this topic
The exam re-skins the same archetypes. Recognize these here, then drill them in the Pattern Lab.
The Wealth Transfer PlanUnify gifts and estate under one 15,000,000 exemption and 40 percent rate, then shelter growth with the marital deduction, portability, or a bypass trust.The Basis PlannerSet basis by how property arrived: donor carryover for gifts (with a dual loss basis), date-of-death step-up for inheritances, and add-back for wash sales.
Exam tip
Study smarter: before you expand each card, cover the screen and try to recall what the concept means from its title alone. Retrieving it from memory builds the recall the exam actually tests, and it beats re-reading.