Category: Non-Grantor Trust

What Is a Tax Reimbursement Clause?

What Is a Tax Reimbursement Clause?

What Is a Tax Reimbursement Clause? To understand a tax reimbursement clause, you must first understand what a grantor trust is, and how it works. A grantor trust means the person creating the trust, also called a trustor or grantor, is responsible to pay the income tax on income earned by the trust.

According to the article “Tax Reimbursement Clauses: What They Are And Why You Need To Know” from Forbes, these clauses were established when marginal income tax rates were much higher than they are today and taxpayers tried to save taxes by shifting income to a trust which paid a much lower income tax. Congress reacted by creating rules to cause the income of some trusts to be taxed to the grantor. However, tax experts reimagined the new laws and found a way to use the clause to benefit estate plans.

In 1986, when non-grantor trusts were taxed in a harsher way, grantor trusts were used for estate tax planning purposes. When assets were shifted into a trust, the goal is to have them grow rapidly and be protected by the trust. An increase in value of assets in the trust means less value in your taxable estate and outside the reach of creditors.

If you pay the income tax on the income earned by the trust, it grows faster because the value of the trust is compounding on a tax-free basis. Tax free compounding growth is considered one of the most powerful ways to build wealth.

As you pay income taxes on trust income, the trust grows faster and the assets in and value of the remaining estate is reduced. This also reduces the assets subject to the estate tax.

The purpose of the clause is to provide funds to the grantor to pay the income tax on the income earned by the grantor trust. What if the grantor trust tax becomes too much of a good thing, or if you don’t want to keep paying the income tax on the trust’s income?

If the trust can reimburse you for the income tax, it may help with cash flow concerns.

Talk with your estate planning attorney about the pros and cons of including a tax reimbursement clause in your trust. Some estate planning attorneys insist that a tax reimbursement clause must be included in every grantor trust, while others never use them. They are concerned that they may increase the risk of all trust assets being included in your estate as a result of the tax reimbursement clause being viewed as a retained right in the trust, or you as a beneficiary of the trust.

The decision depends upon your situation and your state laws. The improper use of a tax reimbursement clause might cause estate inclusion, in which case great care needs to be used before including this provision. However, there have been so many cases of taxpayers misusing tax reimbursement clauses that not including them may also make sense.

Every trust has its own language and the exercise of any tax reimbursement clause must comply with the terms of the trust.

Talk with your estate planning attorney about understanding what a tax reimbursement clause is and if it is appropriate for you. If you would like to learn more about taxes and estate planning, please visit our previous posts. 

Reference: Forbes (Jan. 8, 2023) “Tax Reimbursement Clauses: What They Are And Why You Need To Know”

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Non-Grantor Trusts can be useful

Non-Grantor Trusts can be Useful

Yahoo News’ recent article entitled “How a Non-Grantor Trust Works” says that a grantor trust lets the grantor (the person creating the trust) maintain certain powers of the trust. No matter the scope of the powers involved, what’s unique about grantor trusts is their tax treatment—the trust grantor is responsible for paying income tax on the trust assets. Any income the trust generates or receives is taxable to the grantor, who reports it on their personal tax return. Non-Grantor Trusts can be useful in a number of situations.

A non-grantor trust is any trust that isn’t a grantor trust. As a result, they can’t revoke or change the terms of the trust or make changes to trust beneficiaries. This lack of control means that a non-grantor trust is treated as a separate tax entity. Therefore, the trust itself must pay taxes on any income that’s received and file a tax return. A non-grantor trust can offer certain tax benefits to the trust grantor: (i) the grantor wouldn’t have to pay tax on the trust income, which may be a benefit where the grantor prefers to assume no further financial responsibility for the trust or its assets; and (ii) there can be positive tax implications, if the trust beneficiaries are in a lower tax bracket than the grantor. When trust income is distributed to beneficiaries in a lower tax bracket, it may be taxed at a lower rate than it would if the grantor were being taxed.

Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about a non-grantor trust if you run a business, since the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction lets eligible taxpayers deduct up to 20% of qualified business income, as well as 20% of qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends and qualified publicly traded partnership (PTP) income. If you own a business, and your income is above the allowed threshold to qualify for the QBI deduction, you could create a non-grantor trust as a work-around and divide the ownership of your business assets and its associated income. This may let you qualify for the QBI deduction.

However, there are some potential drawbacks with non-grantor trusts. Remember, the trust grantor lacks control of what happens with trust assets. It is also important to consider how any transactions between you as the grantor and the trust may be taxed. Certain interactions, including the movement of assets or income between the two, is taxable because you and the trust are two separate entities, which may mean taxes for one or the other.

In addition, an incomplete non-grantor (ING) trust is a type of trust that’s used for asset protection. It’s frequently used by those who live in states with high income tax rates or no state income tax. If you live in a state with high income tax rates, you could create an incomplete non-grantor trust and fund it using appreciated assets that have a low tax basis. If the trust is created in a state that has lower income tax rates or no state income tax, it may reduce the grantor’s tax bill when later selling those assets.

Incomplete non-grantor trusts can also allow you to transfer ownership of assets to the trust without paying gift tax. There are also the other tax benefits associated with non-grantor trusts.

Non-grantor trusts can be useful in a variety of circumstances. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney if one would be useful for your tax and estate planning situation. If you would like to learn more about trusts, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Yahoo News (Nov. 9, 2021) “How a Non-Grantor Trust Works”

Photo by Brett Jordan from Pexels

 

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Information in our blogs is very general in nature and should not be acted upon without first consulting with an attorney. Please feel free to contact Texas Trust Law to schedule a complimentary consultation.
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