If you follow estate planning news, you have probably heard a lot of alarm about the federal estate tax exemption in recent months. The good news: the exemption did not sunset as originally scheduled. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, made the elevated exemption permanent and increased it to $15 million per individual starting in 2026. But before high-net-worth families in Georgia exhale and move on, there is something important to understand about what “permanent” actually means, and why now is still one of the best windows for strategic estate tax planning in Georgia that we have seen in decades.

Where Things Actually Stand With the Estate Tax Exemption

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 roughly doubled the federal estate tax exemption, from around $5.6 million per person to over $11 million, indexed for inflation. By 2025, the exemption had grown to approximately $13.99 million per individual, or roughly $27.98 million for a married couple.

This elevated exemption was originally set to expire at the end of 2025, which would have caused it to revert to approximately $7 million per person. A lot of clients were watching that deadline carefully. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, resolved that uncertainty by permanently extending the exemption and increasing it to $15 million per individual (or $30 million for a married couple) beginning January 1, 2026, with annual inflation adjustments after that.

Here is the important caveat. “Permanent” in tax law means “until Congress changes it again.” The estate tax exemption has been modified many times over the past 25 years: raised, lowered, temporarily eliminated, and brought back. Most experienced estate planning attorneys, ourselves included, believe the exemption will be revisited again in the future. It is one of Congress’s favorite tools for raising revenue when they need it.

So yes, the immediate cliff has been avoided. But the estate tax is not gone, and the exemption is not untouchable. Families with taxable estates, or estates that could become taxable, should still be planning actively.

Who Actually Has an Estate Tax Problem in Georgia

Most people do not. The current exemption means that the vast majority of Georgia families will never owe federal estate tax, and Georgia itself has no state estate tax. But for high-net-worth individuals, and especially business owners, the calculus is different.

Consider a business owner who has built a company worth $20 million. On paper, that is well above the current exemption. Add in real estate, investment accounts, and life insurance, and the taxable estate grows further. At the current 40 percent estate tax rate, the exposure can be enormous.

And here is what often surprises business owners: estate value and liquidity are not the same thing. A $25 million estate tied up primarily in a privately held business does not have $25 million in cash sitting around to pay an estate tax bill. That mismatch is one of the most common planning problems we see, and it has a way of forcing families to sell businesses or assets at bad times and bad prices.

Why the Current Moment Still Matters for Estate Tax Planning in Georgia

Even with the exemption now “permanent,” there is a strong strategic argument for acting now. Here is why.

Gifts made using the current high exemption are grandfathered. The IRS issued regulations confirming that if you use your exemption to make gifts today, and Congress later reduces the exemption, you will not face a clawback on those gifts. In other words, you can lock in the current high exemption through strategic giving, and that protection disappears if and when the law changes.

Separately, the planning strategies that work best, like irrevocable trusts, family gifting programs, and business succession structures, take time to implement correctly. They also need time to work. A trust structure set up this year has years of compounding growth to work with. One set up the day before Congress changes the rules does not.

We think of this as the core argument for estate tax planning Georgia families should take seriously: the window is open right now, the tools are well-established, and there is no strategic benefit to waiting.

Key Strategies for Estate Tax Planning in Georgia

There is no single approach that works for every family. But there are several strategies that are particularly relevant for high-net-worth Georgia clients right now.

Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)

A SLAT allows one spouse to transfer assets into an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the other spouse (and often children or other beneficiaries). The transferring spouse removes those assets from their taxable estate while the beneficiary spouse can still access trust distributions. This is one of the most popular strategies for locking in the current exemption while maintaining some household access to the assets.

Annual Gifting Programs

Each year, you can give up to a certain amount per recipient without using any of your lifetime exemption. For 2025, that annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient. For a family with multiple children and grandchildren, a consistent annual gifting program can move significant assets out of the taxable estate over time without triggering any gift tax reporting.

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)

Life insurance proceeds are generally included in your taxable estate if you own the policy at death. An ILIT removes the policy from your estate while still directing the proceeds to your heirs. This is especially valuable for business owners who use life insurance to fund buy-sell agreements or provide liquidity for estate taxes.

Business Succession Planning

For business owners, the estate plan and the exit plan are often the same conversation. Transferring business interests to the next generation, or structuring a buyout correctly, can reduce estate taxes significantly while also making sure the transition happens on your terms. This is an area where our team at Jacobs Law Group has deep experience, particularly where estate planning intersects with mergers and acquisitions.

What About Portability?

Portability is a provision in the tax code that allows a surviving spouse to use any unused estate tax exemption from their deceased spouse. So if one spouse dies with a $13.99 million exemption and only uses $3 million of it, the remaining $10.99 million can transfer to the surviving spouse’s exemption, potentially giving them nearly $28 million of total protection.

But portability is not automatic. The estate of the first spouse to die must file a federal estate tax return and elect portability, even if no estate tax is owed. The standard deadline is nine months from death, with a six-month extension available. If an estate without a filing requirement misses that window, there is a late-election option under IRS Rev. Proc. 2022-32 that allows up to five years, but it is a more complicated process and not a safety net to count on. We see this trip up families regularly, especially when the estate seems simple and no one thinks a return is necessary.

The Role of Dynamic Planning

Estate tax law is one of the most politically volatile areas of the tax code. What is true today may not be true in three years. Plans built around today’s exemption need to be reviewed and adjusted as the law evolves.

This is the whole premise behind our Dynamic Estate Planning approach. We do not hand you a set of documents and disappear. We maintain an ongoing relationship, review your plan regularly, and help you respond when Congress does what Congress does. Estate tax planning in Georgia is not a one-time project. It is a long-term discipline, and it works best when you have a team that stays engaged over time.

Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Tax Planning in Georgia

What is the federal estate tax exemption in 2025?
For 2025, the federal estate tax exemption is $13.99 million per individual, or roughly $27.98 million for a married couple using portability. Starting January 1, 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raises that to $15 million per person ($30 million for couples), with annual inflation adjustments going forward. This is the amount you can pass to heirs without owing any federal estate tax, and unlike prior law, there is no longer a sunset date attached to it.
Did the estate tax exemption sunset?
The exemption was originally set to revert to approximately $7 million per person at the end of 2025. But that sunset did not happen. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, made the higher exemption permanent and raised it further to $15 million per individual starting in 2026. That said, most estate planning attorneys, including our team at Jacobs Law Group, advise clients not to become complacent. Congress has changed the estate tax rules many times over the decades, and it will likely do so again. The exemption being “permanent” in statute does not mean it is permanent in practice.
Does Georgia have a state estate tax?
No. Georgia does not impose a state estate tax or an inheritance tax. Georgia residents are only subject to the federal estate tax. This is one area where Georgia is relatively favorable compared to states like Massachusetts, Oregon, or Washington, which have their own state-level estate taxes with much lower exemptions.
What is “portability” and how does it work?
Portability allows a surviving spouse to use any unused portion of their deceased spouse’s estate tax exemption. So if one spouse dies and their estate is well below the exemption, the remaining amount can be transferred to the surviving spouse and added to their own exemption. To use portability, the estate of the first spouse to die must file a federal estate tax return electing portability within the required timeframe, even if no tax is owed. Missing this deadline means losing the benefit.
What strategies help reduce estate taxes for high-net-worth families?
There are several approaches commonly used for estate tax planning Georgia families might consider. Irrevocable trusts, such as SLATs, GRATs, and ILITs, allow you to transfer wealth out of your taxable estate while maintaining some indirect benefits. Annual gifting lets you transfer up to the annual gift tax exclusion amount per recipient each year without using your lifetime exemption. Family limited partnerships and LLCs can reduce the taxable value of transferred interests. And charitable planning tools like charitable remainder trusts or donor-advised funds let you give to causes you care about while reducing your estate. The right combination depends on your goals, your family, and the size of your estate.
What happens if Congress lowers the estate tax exemption in the future?
Gifts made using the current higher exemption are generally grandfathered, meaning you will not owe estate tax retroactively on gifts made under the old, higher limit if the exemption later drops. This is one reason why estate planning attorneys recommend acting now rather than waiting. If you have the capacity to make strategic gifts at the current exemption level, doing so while it is available is a sound strategy. Waiting creates the risk that the planning window shrinks.
Do I need to worry about estate taxes if my estate is below the exemption?
Maybe not today, but potentially in the future. Exemption levels can change, and your estate can grow. Business owners in particular often see their estate value increase significantly as their business appreciates. It is worth reviewing your estate plan with an attorney periodically so you know where you stand and can act if circumstances change. The goal of estate tax planning Georgia families should pursue is not just addressing today’s rules but building flexibility into the plan so it adapts when the rules change.

Legal Disclaimer: This post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Estate tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. The information here reflects current law as of the date of publication and should not be relied upon as legal guidance. Please consult with a qualified estate planning attorney and tax professional regarding your specific situation. Jacobs Law Group serves clients throughout Georgia and Florida.

The estate tax exemption is at a historic high right now. If your estate is large enough that this matters, or if it might be in the future, the time for estate tax planning in Georgia is now. Contact Jacobs Law Group to talk through your situation and what strategies make sense for where you are today.