COMING SOON — MARYLAND ESTATE TAX RELIEF:
Last week, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law raising the estate tax exemption. The Maryland estate tax exemption has been pegged at $1.0 million dollars for years. With many other states having higher (or unlimited) exemptions, Maryland residents were incentivized to move out of State as they transitioned into retirement. The federal estate tax exemption is currently set at $5.34 million dollars. Unless vetoed by Gov. O’Malley, the new law would raise the Maryland exemption to $1.5 million next year and $2 million in 2016. Thereafter, the exemption will rise to $3 million in 2017 and $4 million in 2018 before finally being tied (“coupled”) to the federal exemption in 2019. The federal exemption, which is indexed to inflation, is projected to be $5.9 million in 2019.