As 2025 approaches—and with looming changes to the federal estate and gift tax landscape—year-end planning becomes mission critical. In this post, CPAs will discover high-impact year-end moves in estate and gift tax planning, and how integrating Hive Tax’s AI tax research & planning tools can supercharge your workflow. Stay ahead, reduce risk, and deliver stronger client outcomes.
Why Year-End Planning Matters Now
Year-end is the natural deadline for many wealth-transfer moves. In the estate and gift tax space, delays can mean lost opportunity, suboptimal timing, or exposure to legislative shifts. With projected changes to exemption amounts and sunset provisions on the horizon, clients rely on you to act decisively.
But in a landscape of ever-shifting rules, traditional research for each client’s unique facts can consume too much time. That’s where agentic AI in tax—AI tools that can drive decisions and planning insights autonomously—comes in. Combined with domain-specific platforms like Hive Tax, CPAs can streamline research, scenario modeling, and planning deliberations.
Below, we walk through:
- Key year-end planning moves in estate and gift tax
- The latest 2025 legislative and exemption updates
- How to embed Hive Tax AI into your planning workflow
- Sample planning checklists
- Final thoughts and next steps
1. High-Impact Year-End Moves in Estate & Gift Planning
Below are some of the most effective strategies to consider before December 31:
A. Use the Annual Gift Tax Exclusion Fully
- For 2025, the annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per donee (up from $18,000 in 2024) .
- Married couples can “split gifts,” effectively doubling that amount per recipient.
- Gifts must generally be present interest gifts to qualify.
- You can make these gifts in cash, securities, or even fractional interests in closely held entities (subject to valuation support).
- If unused, the opportunity is lost for that calendar year.
B. Pay Medical & Educational Expenses Directly
- Payments directly to medical providers or educational institutions are excluded from the gift tax rules and do not count toward the annual exclusion.
- This is often overlooked but powerful: you can reduce your client’s gross estate without tapping their lifetime exemption.
C. Pre-Fund 529 and Other Trust Moves
- Gifts into 529 plans are treated as gifts and can be sheltered under annual exclusion rules.
- Consider using trust structures—such as Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs), Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), or Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)—to shift future appreciation outside the client’s taxable estate. But coordinate drafting now to ensure proper “present interest” design.
D. Make Taxable Gifts to Lock in Values
- In years when valuations are favorable (e.g., depressed markets), it may make sense to gift assets beyond the exclusion, consuming part of the lifetime exemption while valuations are advantageous.
- This is especially relevant if clients expect valuations to increase or anticipate legislative rollback of exemptions.
E. Portability & Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE)
- For married clients, ensure that portability elections are handled properly, as unused exemption from a deceased spouse can be added to the surviving spouse’s.
- Even if an estate doesn’t owe tax, the portability election often must be made via Form 706, which can require timely attention.
F. Revisit Charitable & Grantor Trust Techniques
- Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) or Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) may provide a dual benefit: supporting philanthropic goals while reducing estate basis or shifting growth.
- Also consider valuation discounting techniques (e.g., minority or lack-of-marketability discounts) in family entities, subject to appropriate valuation support.
G. Review and Amend Existing Plans
- Confirm whether existing gift/estate planning documents remain aligned in light of recent tax changes or shifts in client assets (e.g., concentration in a single asset).
- It may be worth “re-gifting” or decanting trusts to ensure flexibility or better alignment.
2. What’s Changing in 2025—and Beyond
Understanding the regulatory backdrop is essential for crafting defensible and forward-looking plans.
A. Increased Exemptions in 2025
- The lifetime estate & gift exemption for 2025 is $13.99 million per individual.
- The annual gift exclusion rose to $19,000 per donee.
- The law that established higher exemptions (under the old TCJA) was set to sunset at the end of 2025, cutting exemptions roughly in half unless Congress acts.
- However, recent legislation (e.g. the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill”) has altered that forecast, making the exemption $15 million starting in 2026 (indexed for inflation) instead of a straight reversion.
B. Rates & Unified Tax System
- The top federal rate for estate and gift tax remains 40%.
- The gift and estate taxes are unified—gifts made during life reduce the exemption available for bequests at death.
- Generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax and its exemption are tightly coupled with the lifetime exemption rules.
C. Filing & Compliance Updates
- Form 709 (gift tax return) is filed annually and must list all reportable gifts made in the year.
- The IRS has implemented Modernized e-File (MeF) for Form 709, improving electronic filing and validation alerts.
- On the estate side, Form 706 is required where the decedent’s gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceed the filing threshold.
- If portability is elected, it must be done by properly filing Form 706, even if the estate is below the filing threshold.
D. Legislative Risk & Reversion Pressure
- If Congress does nothing, exemptions were slated to revert, making 2025 critically important for “using before losing” strategies.
- The future pattern of inflation indexing or further legislative changes adds uncertainty—favor actionable planning options that can adapt.
3. Embedding Hive Tax & Agentic AI into Your Workflow
You don’t have to rebuild your entire process to capture the benefits of AI tools and automation. Here’s how to integrate Hive Tax effectively in year-end estate/gift planning:
A. Accelerated Research & Statutory Awareness
- Use Hive Tax’s built-in AI tax research engine to surface relevant code sections, IRS rulings, and state-specific anomalies tied to estate and gift tax.
- Agentic AI modules can suggest planning angles (e.g. “if client has taxable estate > threshold, consider portability + GRAT vs CLT”) based on client parameters.
B. Scenario Modeling & What-If Analysis
- Input client data (current assets, projected growth, valuations, gift history) into Hive’s planning modules and let the AI generate side-by-side scenarios (e.g. gift now vs later, GRAT vs trust, use exemption vs retain flexibility).
- Run sensitivity analyses on valuation growth or legislative shifts (e.g. exemption cut in half) to stress-test strategies.
C. Automated Compliance & Return Preparation Support
- Hive can assist in drafting Form 709 schedules, gift allocations, or portability statements, reducing manual assembly.
- It can flag missing disclosures, integration issues, or compliance risks (e.g. missing appraisal support, improper trust structuring).
- Because it works on “agentic AI in tax” principles, it can propose next steps (e.g. “if gifting $X, get appraisal by date Y,” or “consider restatement of trust”) rather than just listing statutes.
D. Knowledge Retention & Team Efficiency
- Store previous client patterns, strategies, and research as part of a knowledge base—so when a future client has similar estate/gift issues, your AI assists with historical precedent.
- Use Hive-driven templates and playbooks for recurring year-end flows (e.g. gift campaigns, portability alerts, trust reviews).
E. Quality Control & Peer Review
- After AI proposes a plan, you can review, adjust, and provide commentary—Hive becomes your co-pilot rather than replacing your judgment.
- The AI also helps you document your reasoning trail, which can support audit or client defense later.
4. Year-End Planning Checklist (for CPAs)
| Action | Recommended Timing | Notes |
| Review client balance sheets, valuation shifts, and liquidity | Now–mid Q4 | Identify concentration risks, real estate, illiquid assets |
| Gauge whether clients approach the lifetime exemption | Mid–Q4 | If near threshold, pruning or gifting may be vital |
| Execute full annual exclusion gifts | By Dec 31 | Ensure donee receipt and documentation; apply gift splitting if needed |
| Pay medical/educational expenses directly | Before year end | Use separate checks or transfers to providers or institutions |
| Fund or execute trust-based shifts (SLAT, GRAT, ILIT) | Before year end | Ensure legal drafting and “present interest” requirements |
| Run comparative AI-based scenarios in Hive | Late Q4 | Use alternative assumptions (growth, discount, legislative reversion) |
| Prepare draft Form 709 (and supporting schedules/appraisals) | Before year end | Even if no tax due, filing may still be required |
| Evaluate portability election possibilities | Before year end / at death | May require filing 706 even if no tax due |
| Review and amend estate planning documents | Q4 | Decant, restate, compatibilize with current law |
| Document planning rationale and assumptions | Ongoing | Especially for AI-suggested strategies |
5. Conclusion
Year-end planning in the estate and gift tax arena has never been more urgent or complex. With changing exemptions, expiration risk, and evolving IRS compliance mechanisms, CPAs must act proactively. But speed and rigor don’t have to be mutually exclusive: by incorporating agentic AI tools, such as Hive Tax’s AI research and planning capabilities, you can:
- Cut down time spent on manual research
- Run richer scenario analyses
- Reduce drafting errors and compliance gaps
- Scale your team’s effectiveness
- Offer more value to high-net-worth clients
If you’d like to see Hive Tax in action for estate/gift planning—or explore a pilot with your firm—let’s schedule a demo. Let your AI assistant carry the groundwork so you can focus on strategy, relationships, and client impact.