Easy to learn, easy to use, and astoundingly powerful!
Leimberg & Lackner’s DecoupleCruncher is your solution to the incredibly complex task of crunching the numbers
in cases between 2005 and 2009 where your client has property in one or more decoupled (or quasi-decoupled)
states, including CT, DC, IL, KS, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VA, VT, WA, and WI.
You can use DecoupleCruncher in two ways:
- As a lifetime planning tool
- As an aid in preparing your clients’ federal and state estate tax returns.
Rather than your having to spend dozens of hours researching the rules and grinding through the math,
DecoupleCruncher will do literally hundreds of computations (many of them with interrelated variables) in a matter
of seconds.
Created by Steve Leimberg, co-author of NumberCruncher software which is used by the IRS and Vince Lackner,
author of the highly popular 6-in-1 for Windows, DecoupleCruncher will get you the answers you need quickly
and authoritatively.
Here is a screen-by-screen description of what DecoupleCruncher can do for you:
Note: Click images for full-screen view
Single-State Calculations
This screen is designed to do the computations for estates
where 100% of the property is located in the decedent’s state
of domicile. This is the master screen and starting place for
all calculations.
This screen automatically computes the client’s Tentative
Taxable Estate, Applicable State and Federal Exclusions,
Federal and State Tax, Combined Tax (total of federal and
state), and Percentage of Gross Estate Lost to Tax.
DecoupleCruncher does the interdependent variable
calculations in all five states which mandate such calculations:
DC, IL, NE, VA, and WI.
This screen also allows you to Navigate to Multiple-State
Calculations, Compute the Advantage of Lifetime Gifts, See or
Refine the Details of your Calculations, Obtain Help for This
Screen, Obtain Technical Support (via e-mail), and Navigate to
an Optimal Marital Deduction Screen.
Multiple-State Calculations
This screen is designed to do the computations for estates
where the property is located in more than one state, at least
one of which is a decoupled state. It will do multiple-state
calculations for up to four states.
It can handle the following configurations:
- 4 Decoupled States
- 3 Decoupled States,
- 2 Decoupled States, Plus unlimited No-Tax States, Plus unlimited Inheritance Tax States
This screen automatically computes the client’s Tentative
Taxable Estate, Applicable State and Federal Exclusions
(for up to four states), Federal and State Tax (for up to
four states), Combined Tax (total of federal and state), and
Percentage of Gross Estate Lost to Tax.
Single-State 706 Details
This screen allows you to refine the calculation of the federal
estate tax by inputting adjusted taxable gifts, gift taxes paid or
payable, and any adjustment to unified credit.
This screen provides all the details necessary to complete
Lines 1 through 12 of the 706. It also illustrates the impact of the state death tax deduction:
(a) savings in federal estate tax and (b) net cost of state death
tax. This can be useful in helping a client to evaluate the
potential tax advantage of moving from one state to another.
Single-State Death Tax Credit Details
This screen provides a review of the calculations necessary when
the decedent was domiciled in one of the decoupled states.
It also allows you to further refine the calculation of the
federal estate tax.
DecoupleCruncher performs the appropriate calculations for
estates of decedents dying in any year between 2005 and
2009, including the calculation of the state death tax
deduction based upon a hypothetical (“phantom”) 706.
This screen illustrates all the details necessary to complete
Lines 1 through 12 of the 706, and calculates Line 3b of
the actual 706, which represents the state death tax for the
decedent’s state of domicile.
It also illustrates the impact of the state death tax deduction:
(a) savings in federal estate tax and (b) net cost of state death
tax. This can be useful in helping a client to evaluate the
potential tax advantage of moving from one state to another.
Multi-State Death Tax Credit Details
This screen provides a review of the calculations
necessary when the decedent was domiciled in one
of the decoupled states or owned property in one or
more of the decoupled states, and allows you to
refine the calculation of the federal estate tax.
DecoupleCruncher performs the appropriate
calculations for estates of decedents dying in any
year between 2005 and 2009, and illustrates all
the details necessary to complete Lines 1 through
12 of the 706.
This screen calculates Line 3b of the actual 706,
and also breaks down the amount of death tax for
each state.
It also illustrates the impact of the state death tax
deduction: (a) savings in federal estate tax and (b)
net cost of state death tax. This can be useful
in helping a client to evaluate the potential tax
advantage of moving from one state to another.
Multi-State Soak-Up Share of Tax
This screen provides a review of the calculations
necessary when the decedent was domiciled in one
of the “soak-up” decoupled states (CT, DC, MA,
ME/2005, NC, NJ, RI, VA, VT) or owned property in
one or more of the decoupled states.
For each decoupled state, this screen will
automatically calculate:
1) The Maximum Credit for State Death Taxes
based on Table B of the Instructions for
Form 706 (2004 and earlier).
2) The Net U.S. Estate Tax based on (a) the
Table A Unified Rate Schedule and (b) the
Maximum Unified Credit applicable to the
particular decoupled state.
3) The tentative State Tax equal to the lesser of
#1 or #2.
4) The percent of gross estate located outside
of the domiciliary soak-up state
5)The pro rata share of the tentative State Tax
allocable to those other states based on the
portion of the overall property located in
those states.
6) The State Taxes actually paid to those
other states.
7) The lesser of #5 or #6.
8) The tax payable to the domiciliary state
(#3 above minus #7). Because the estate
receives credit only for the lesser of #5
(pro rata share of tax on out-of-state
property) or #6 (tax actually paid to the
other states), the domiciliary state “soaks
up” the tax that is not collected by the
other states. This can lead to surprising tax
results for estates with significant property
in no-tax or low-tax states.
Multi-State Pro-Rata Share of Tax
This “killer” screen provides a review of the
calculations necessary when the decedent was
domiciled in one of “pro-rata” decoupled states
(IL, KS, MD, ME/2006 and later, MN, NE, NY, OR,
WA, WI) or owned property in one or more of the
decoupled states.
For each decoupled state, this screen will
automatically calculate:
1) The Maximum Credit for State Death Taxes
based on Table B of the Instructions for
Form 706 (2004 and earlier).
2) The Net U.S. Estate Tax based on (a) the
Table A Unified Rate Schedule and (b) the
Maximum Unified Credit applicable to the
particular decoupled state.
3) The tentative State Tax equal to the lesser
of #1 or #2.
4) The percent of gross estate located in that state
5) The pro-rata share of the tentative State Tax
based on the portion of the overall property
located in that state.
Screens 8 through 14. Provide state-specific details for CT, KS, NE and WA.
Advantage of Lifetime Gift
This screen illustrates the sometimes-remarkable
advantage of making lifetime gifts (including late-inlife
and even “death-bed” gifts). It shows the total
tax before and after the lifetime gifts.
Optimal Marital Deduction
This screen illustrates the calculations necessary to
achieve the “optimal marital deduction”, depending
on language contained in the governing instruments
(Will, Trust, etc.).
It provides you with two choices when calculating
this deduction, the Real Federal Tax Method and the
Hypothetical Federal Tax Method.
This screen also computes the following:
1) State death tax for one or more states
2) Reduction of gross estate by taxable legacies,
federal tax, and state tax, in order to arrive at
the net marital deduction. This assumes that
the state death tax is paid from the
marital trust.
3) The federal tax, state tax, and total tax.
Taxes Saved by Paying State Tax
from Marital in First Estate
This screen illustrates the total tax savings possible
by paying the state death tax from the marital trust
instead of from the credit shelter trust, and allows
you to choose the source for payment of the state
death tax.
It also illustrates the impact of taxable legacies
(non-deductible bequests and other transfers).
Latest Version: 2007.03
For site (group) licensing, call Kathy Maphis at 610 924 0515.
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