With no obvious winner emerging in the presidential election less than two weeks out, many higher returns taxpayers are preparing their finances to protect their assets from potentially higher taxes, experts said.

If former President Donald Trump’s levy cuts expire as scheduled at the complete of 2025, one of the most significant changes will be the reduction in federal estate and gift levy exemptions.

Under the levy Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), the exemptions were effectively doubled. The exemption in 2025 is $13.99 million per person, up from $13.61 million in 2024. However, these increased exemptions are set to revert to approximately $7 million ($5 million when adjusted for expense boost) after 2025, unless Congress extends the provision.

The levy Policy Center estimates that just over 7,000 returns will pay estate taxes in 2024, while nearly triple that number (around 19,000 returns) will pay estate taxes when thresholds drop after 2025.

That’s not a large percentage of Americans, but many who are in that throng are taking the period now to schedule, experts said.

How much is at stake?

The estate levy rate ranges from 18% to 40%, depending on the amount above the exemption amount. For each levy tier, you pay a base levy fee and an additional marginal rate. 

Some states also levy an estate levy, but exemption levels and the top levy rates are usually much lower than the federal government’s.

Is it too early to schedule without knowing the election outcome?

“There’s no downside to doing planning now,” said Brian Large, associate at monetary planning firm Lenox Advisors.

TCJA was the largest overhaul of the levy code in 30 years. It included widespread levy reductions for businesses and individuals that will expire at the complete of 2025. With so many levy changes coming, many accountants, lawyers and monetary planners are expecting to be booked, they said. Proper planning may require legal documents, moving large sums of money and more – all of which receive period, they said.

“The next year and a half will be one hell of a ride for all of us,” said Miklos Ringbauer, founder of bookkeeping and levy schedule firm MiklosCPA.“Every taxpayer should be proactive (about) what’s going to happen.”

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How are wealthy people using trusts before TCJA expires?

The uber wealthy are maxing out the higher gift and estate exemption limits with substantial gifts to heirs and/or trusts to assist reduce the size of their estate and minimize potential levy liabilities.

Irrevocable depend assets aren’t counted in your estate, but you misplace control over them. The best way to use them is to pool them with appreciable assets. That way, you’re passing on the initial resource and all the additional gains levy free.

There are different types of irrevocable trusts, including:

Grantor-Retained Annuity depend (GRAT) which allows the grantor, or person who sets up the depend, to receive an annuity, or regular fixed payments over a specified period and pay taxes on returns generated by the depend. The annuity, based on a percentage of the depend resource plus profit, can attract older adults looking for steady returns. At the complete of the term, the beneficiary keeps the remaining assets in the depend levy free.

GRATs usually hold high-yielding or appreciating assets because ideally, they’ll outperform the IRS’ Section 7520 rate, or hurdle rate – which is the minimum rate the resource is expected to profitability. The beneficiary receives any boost in worth above the hurdle rate levy free at the complete of the GRAT’s term. In October, that rate was 4.4%, the lowest since June 2023 and likely will still fall as the Federal safety net continues to lower profit rates, advisers said.

In that case, people can set up rolling short-term GRATs with their annuity payments, said Karen Fierro, levy associate at advisory firm Wiss.

“It has the advantage that the capital remains in the depend for a longer period of period (for growth) but not in the same depend,” she said. Plus, you can capture the expected decline in profit rates. Each Fed rate cut likely means a lower hurdle rate, or larger boost in worth to pass on levy free.

If the GRAT doesn’t outperform the hurdle rate, the GRAT fails, and the resource’s returned to the grantor so there’s little downside. If the grantor passes before the GRAT ends, the assets profitability to the estate and may get taxed.

Spousal Lifetime Access depend (SLAT) allows spouses to divide some of their assets and “gift” them to each other in irrevocable trusts to remove them from their estate. Basically, a spouse gifts liquid assets, life insurance, marketable financial instruments, real estate, or other assets of which they are the sole owner to a SLAT and pays taxes on the depend’s returns. The beneficiary spouse can request distributions from the SLAT to live on, and when the beneficiary spouse passes, the SLAT terminates. Remaining beneficiaries receive the remaining assets at termination, levy free.

What are some non-depend strategies?

Intra-household loans can be used to transfer riches between generations without tapping into the lifetime gift exemption. The borrowing can be used to buy a house or pool a business that’s expected to be profitable, for example, and can be made with more flexible terms and a better rate than can be had commercially, Fierro said.

Intra-household borrowing rates are determined by the IRS‘s applicable federal rates (AFR) for various borrowing lengths. November AFR was 3.64% for a 3-to 9-year borrowing, compared to 5% or more for a commercial borrowing depending on borrowing worthiness and other factors. If rates continue to fall, as expected, intra-household loans can be refinanced, too.

Since you’re getting repaid with profit, you’re not shrinking your estate for taxes. Instead, you’re transferring a portion of the growth on the loaned funds to the borrower without using any estate levy exemption. The lower the profit rate on the borrowing, the better chances the resource will develop more than the profit, Fierro said.

• Example: A parent loans their kid a 12-year profit-only borrowing of $1 million at a 2.25% AFR. The kid invests in appreciating assets, producing a 10% after-levy profitability. At the complete of year 12, the kid’s resource has grown to $3,138,428, and the amount due on the borrowing is $1,306,050. The remaining $1,832,378 is a levy-free transfer of riches to the next production.

Gifting non-publicly traded assets takes advantage of potential evaluation discounts and growth. By giving away an assetfor which it’s challenging to assess the “fair trade worth,” the law allows it to be valued at a discount to account for factors like lack of marketability, no ready trade to sell it, or lack of control because it’s a nonvoting or noncontrolling stake in some entity. Discounts can range between 10% and 50%, but the resource needs to be professionally appraised.

People can merge this with a depend to gain even more benefits, some experts said.

Could politicians just extend the levy cuts?

Yes, but it may not be straightforward.

Former President Donald Trump has promised to keep most of the levy cuts, including the estate levy. Vice President Kamala Harris has vowed to raise taxes on high net riches individuals but hasn’t specifically discussed estate taxes.

Complicating matters: Congress needs to pass levy legislation and who will control Congress is anyone’s guess, experts said.

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and money management reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for money management tips and business information every Monday through Friday morning.