Right now, if your estate is worth less than roughly $13 million (about $26 million for a married couple), you don’t have to worry about your heirs paying a federal estate tax. But that’s likely to change. The sunset of the current estate and income tax regime is far from certain. Still, given the breadth of the potential changes, it may make sense to plan for the possibilities.

Whole life insurance offers an income tax-free death benefit as well as deferred cash value growth.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that life insurance proceeds received by a corporation to cover the repurchase of the deceased shareholder’s stock interest must be included in the value of the corporation for federal estate tax purposes. Those proceeds are not offset by the corporation’s obligation to repurchase the deceased shareholder’s stock.

This article will illustrate how standard deduction and marginal tax bracket changes might affect your income, tell you how to maximize your retirement savings in 2024 and show how some proactive tax planning can help you save more money.