Visual Presentation of Gift Tax Changes

On December 17, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 into law. This bill makes significant changes to the gift tax from 2010 to 2011 and 2012. The gift tax rate will remain at 35% for 2011 and 2012, but the exemption is increased from $1 million to $5 million, the exemption will be reunified with the estate tax exemption, the exemption will be portable between spouses, and the exemption will be indexed for inflation.

Hani Sarji, author of Estate of Confusion, created a chart to summarize these changes: 
Hani Sarji, Gift Tax Under The 2010 Tax Relief Act (P.L. 111-312): Different Rules For 2010, 2011 & 2012, Estate of Confusion, Dec. 29, 2010.  See also Hani Sarji, Gift Tax: Changes Made by the 2010 Tax Relief Act, Estate of Confusion, Dec. 2010 for a concise visual presentation of the changes.