We published an overview portability election article last month, Late Filing Costs Estate $1.5M—Will Yours Be Next?

The election is important. That’s why we are publishing this deeper dive into the portability election.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) permanently increased the federal estate and gift tax exemption to a whopping $15 million per person (to be adjusted for inflation each year).

You can give away while alive and/or bequeath at death this much money or property free of federal estate and gift tax.

Married individuals each get a $15 million exemption. Thus, their combined estate and gift tax exemption is $30 million.

When one spouse dies, the executor of their estate can transfer or “port” the unused portion of that spouse’s exemption to the surviving spouse to increase their own lifetime exemption. The unused estate tax exemption that is transferred to the surviving spouse is called the “deceased spousal unused exclusion” (DSUE) amount.

The surviving spouse can use the DSUE amount in addition to their own gift and estate tax exemption for making future gifts or ... Log in to view full article.