Updated: July 30, 2026

OPRS may receive compensation when readers open an account through partner links on this page. Our analysis is based on independent research, BBB data, and IRS publications.

The federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption sits at $13.99 million per individual for 2025, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2024-40. Under IRC §2010 as amended by the TCJA sunset, that figure is scheduled to fall by roughly half on January 1, 2026, to a projected $7 million per individual.

Couples lose roughly $14 million of combined exemption overnight if no planning is in place. Gold IRA owners stacking retirement balances on top of a residence, brokerage portfolio, business interests, and life insurance face particular exposure. The sunset can flip such a household from under the exemption into estate-taxable in a single tax year.

A household above the projected $7 million per-person threshold should also confirm that its precious-metals dealer is one of the few we still trust for estate-stage gold IRA accounts. See our 2026 list of gold IRA dealers to avoid for the BBB and FTC records behind each verdict.

Table of contents show

The 2026 sunset arithmetic in plain terms

Grouped bar chart of federal estate tax exemption pre and post 2026 TCJA sunset for single and married filers. — Source: IRC Section 2010(c)(3) and TCJA Title I Section 11061 sunset clause.

Precious metals IRA early-withdrawal penalty estimator

Taking money out of a precious metals IRA before age 59 and a half triggers a 10% federal additional tax on top of ordinary income tax. State add-on taxes vary; check your state. The federal penalty is estimated below.

Amount withdrawn (USD) Your age Combined marginal income tax rate (optional %)

Estimate only, not tax advice. The 10% federal additional tax applies to early distributions before age 59 and a half; specific exceptions exist. Your state may add its own tax, and ordinary income tax applies separately. Source: IRS Publication 590-B. Consult a tax advisor.

The right dealer explains every fee up front. Get Augusta's free precious metals IRA company checklist.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the lifetime exemption from a $5 million base (indexed) to a $10 million base (indexed), but only through December 31, 2025. The reversion is automatic unless Congress acts. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Congressional Research Service have both confirmed the mechanics in published reports. The Joint Committee on Taxation projects the 2026 figure between $7.0 million and $7.2 million per individual, depending on inflation through year-end 2025.

For a married couple, the practical difference is roughly $14 million versus $28 million of combined sheltered transfers across life and at death. Take an $11 million estate with $1.2 million in a self-directed gold IRA and the rest in a residence, brokerage, and a life insurance policy. In 2025: zero federal estate tax exposure. In 2026, with both spouses still alive and no planning done: roughly $4 million potentially subject to federal estate tax at 40 percent.

The IRS clarified in final regulations T.D. 9884 (issued November 2019) that gifts made under the elevated TCJA exemption will not be “clawed back” when the lower exemption returns. Lifetime gifts made before the sunset, properly reported on Form 709 in the year of the gift, lock in the higher exemption use even after the sunset reduces the unified figure.

This is the technical foundation of pre-sunset gifting strategy: use it before December 31, 2025, or lose it permanently on January 1, 2026.

Where gold IRA assets sit in the estate picture

An IRA, including a self-directed gold IRA, is a separate legal animal from the rest of the estate at death. Under IRC §2039, the IRA balance at the date of death is included in the gross estate at its fair market value. For a gold IRA, that means the market value of the metals held by the custodian on the date of death, not the historical purchase price.

Three mechanics matter for estate planning around a gold IRA. First, IRA assets get no step-up in basis at death under IRC §1014(c), because distributions are income in respect of a decedent (IRD). The estate-tax inclusion happens at full fair market value, but the future income-tax liability sits on top of the inherited balance, creating the well-known IRA “double-tax” problem at large estates.

Second, the IRA wrapper cannot transfer to an irrevocable trust like a SLAT during the owner’s lifetime. Money leaves an IRA during life via a distribution to the owner, a QCD at age 70 and a half or older, or a direct rollover to another IRA in the same owner’s name. A Roth conversion is the fourth exit path.

The practical implication: the gold IRA must distribute, the owner must pay the income tax, and only the after-tax cash can fund any irrevocable estate vehicle.

Third, the IRA passes by beneficiary designation outside of probate. Under the SECURE Act of 2019, most non-spouse non-eligible designated beneficiaries (children, grandchildren) must empty the inherited IRA within ten years of the owner’s death. The forced timeline interacts with estate-tax inclusion and any GST allocation; the beneficiary designation, the SLAT, and the portability strategy are knit together at this layer.

Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) and the after-tax cash question

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust is the workhorse vehicle for pre-sunset gifting. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust funded with the grantor’s separate property, naming the spouse as primary beneficiary and descendants as remainder beneficiaries. Trust assets are removed from the grantor’s gross estate under IRC §2036 while the spouse retains indirect access during life. A well-drafted SLAT funded with up to $13.99 million per spouse in 2025 locks in the elevated exemption permanently, even after the 2026 sunset.

Two operational issues bear on a household with a sizable gold IRA. First, the SLAT cannot be funded with IRA assets directly. Funding requires after-tax cash, taxable brokerage, real estate, or business interests. A retiree layering a SLAT on top of a $2 million Traditional IRA position must distribute, pay the income tax, then transfer the proceeds.

At a 37 percent federal bracket plus state, that distribution can cost $850,000 or more, leaving roughly $1.15 million to fund the SLAT, with $460,000 of estimated 2026 estate-tax savings on the transferred amount. A Roth conversion ladder spread over five to ten years pre-sunset often captures more value than a single rushed 2025 distribution.

The second operational issue is the reciprocal-trust doctrine. If both spouses fund SLATs for each other with mirror provisions, the IRS can collapse both trusts back into the gross estates of the original grantors. That outcome is governed by the doctrine in Estate of Grace (395 U.S. 316, 1969).

To preserve the estate-tax exclusion, the two SLATs must be meaningfully different: different funding dates, different trustees, different distribution standards, different remainder beneficiary classes, or different powers of appointment. A trust and estates attorney drafts both SLATs as part of one integrated plan and documents the differentiation contemporaneously.

Portability, the DSUE, and Form 706 deadlines

Portability is the simpler counterpart to a SLAT. Under IRC §2010(c)(2)(B), when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse can claim the Deceased Spouse’s Unused Exemption (DSUE) amount, effectively transferring the deceased’s unused lifetime exemption to the survivor. The DSUE is claimed by filing a complete and timely Form 706, the federal estate tax return, even if no estate tax is owed at the first death.

The deadline matters and is more generous than most retirees realize. Revenue Procedure 2022-32 extended the portability election deadline to five years after the first spouse’s date of death, provided no Form 706 was otherwise required (gross estate below the exemption threshold).

For a widow whose husband died in 2023 with a $4 million estate fully under the 2023 exemption of $12.92 million, the portability election can be filed as late as 2028. The DSUE locked in is the 2023 unused exemption, which carries forward at the elevated TCJA figure even into the post-sunset environment.

For a couple with combined estate near or above the projected $14 million post-sunset threshold but below the current $27.98 million combined cap, portability via a timely Form 706 is often the lowest-friction route. The tradeoff: portability captures DSUE at the date of the first death, but future appreciation in the surviving spouse’s estate is not sheltered. A SLAT, by contrast, removes future appreciation on the funded assets going forward, which is why ultra-high-net-worth households layer both.

Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) tax and grandchild planning

The Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) tax under IRC §2601 applies to transfers that skip a generation: grandparent to grandchild, directly or in trust. The GST exemption is a separate allowance from the estate and gift exemption, but for 2025 it is set at the same $13.99 million per individual figure. The same TCJA sunset applies.

A grandparent who wants to lock in GST exemption for grandchildren must allocate the GST exemption before December 31, 2025, typically through a dynasty trust or a SLAT structured with GST allocation.

A common pre-sunset structure layers both exemptions: a SLAT for the spouse (with descendants as remainder beneficiaries) plus an explicit GST allocation on Form 709 applied to the grandchild-skip portion. The grantor should affirm the allocation rather than rely on the automatic rules.

For grandparents who have already funded 529 plans under the five-year forward election (IRC §529(c)(2)(B)), 529 contributions use annual gift exclusion but do not consume GST exemption; the GST exemption remains available for sunset planning. For 529 forward-funding mechanics, see our guide on gifting IRA money to grandchildren.

Six-step sequence to plan a gold IRA estate ahead of the sunset

For a couple with a combined estate above the projected post-sunset threshold and a meaningful gold IRA position, the sequence below covers the discrete steps between the planning decision and December 31, 2025. Each step has its own paper trail and its own irreversible decision point.

Model the post-sunset estate exposure with a fiduciary CPA. Catalogue every asset (residence, brokerage, life insurance, business interests, retirement accounts, gold IRA at current custodian valuation), apply the projected 2026 exemption near $7 million per individual, and compute the 40 percent tax on the excess. If exposure is meaningful, the planning case is made.
Decide the portability versus SLAT framework with a trust and estates attorney. Portability via Form 706 is simpler and preserves the deceased spouse’s exemption at the first death. A SLAT funded pre-sunset locks in the elevated exemption and removes future appreciation from the grantor’s estate. Many households layer both. A SLAT funding is irreversible once executed.
Plan the IRA distribution sequence to fund the SLAT (if used). The gold IRA cannot fund a SLAT directly; after-tax cash must funnel through the grantor’s bank account first. A $2 million Traditional IRA distribution can trigger more than $850,000 in federal and state income tax. A Roth conversion ladder spread across multiple years pre-sunset often preserves more after-tax value than a single 2025 distribution.
Liquidate or in-kind distribute the gold IRA portion if needed. A self-directed gold IRA can distribute as cash (custodian sells and wires) or in-kind (metals shipped to the owner, FMV on distribution date becomes the new cost basis). The dealer behind the position is the single biggest cost variable: wide spreads erode the SLAT funding pool. Many estate-stage retirees find the dealer chosen during accumulation is not the right fit at liquidation; for OPRS readers facing this question, our cautionary list of 2026 gold IRA dealers we warn against walks through the BBB and FTC actions that disqualify specific operators.
Execute the SLAT funding and file Form 709 in the year of the gift. Sign and fund the SLAT with after-tax cash by December 31, 2025. File Form 709 in April 2026, reporting the gift and any GST allocation. T.D. 9884 protects the elevated exemption used in 2025; missing the filing or under-reporting can unwind that protection.
Update IRA beneficiary designations. Common patterns: name the SLAT as contingent (with see-through trust language), name the spouse as primary with the SLAT as contingent, or name a charity for IRD-bearing IRA balances to preserve after-tax assets for heirs. Coordinate the designation form with the IRA custodian to ensure acceptance.

Decision flow for 2026 estate exemption sunset planning: branches on whether one spouse has already died (yes routes to portability election via timely Form 706), whether combined estate exceeds the projected post-sunset threshold (yes routes to a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust), and whether grandchildren are intended beneficiaries (yes routes to GST exemption allocation on Form 709). — Decision flow for 2026 estate exemption sunset planning. The branches are not mutually exclusive; a household with combined estate above the post-sunset threshold typically layers portability, a SLAT, and GST allocation in the same planning year.

The diagram above is navigable as text. First, has one spouse already died? If yes, a timely Form 706 (within five years per Rev. Proc. 2022-32) captures the DSUE. Second, does the combined estate exceed the projected ~$14 million post-sunset threshold? If yes, a SLAT funded with after-tax cash before December 31, 2025 locks in the elevated exemption.

Third, are grandchildren intended beneficiaries? If yes, allocate GST exemption on Form 709 in the gift year. The fourth branch (Roth conversion ladder) is the funding-source decision for couples with large Traditional IRA balances.

Five mistakes that destroy pre-sunset estate planning

Each mistake below has cost OPRS readers (or their heirs) the very protection the planning was meant to deliver. The corrections are mechanical; the failure is always at the same step.

Funding a SLAT with IRA assets directly. The IRA wrapper cannot be transferred to an irrevocable trust during life. A custodian asked to retitle an IRA into a SLAT will refuse, or worse, process a deemed distribution that triggers ordinary income tax plus a 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty if the owner is under 59 and a half. Correction: take the distribution, pay the income tax, transfer only the after-tax cash. Plan the sequence with the CPA before signing the SLAT.
Mirror-image SLATs that trigger the reciprocal-trust doctrine. Two SLATs drafted identically can be collapsed back into the original grantors’ estates (Estate of Grace, 395 U.S. 316). Correction: differentiate the two SLATs in funding date (months apart), trustee, distribution standard, remainder beneficiaries, and powers of appointment. Document the differentiation contemporaneously, not after the fact.
Missing the Form 706 portability deadline. The Rev. Proc. 2022-32 five-year extension is generous, not unlimited. A surviving spouse who waits more than five years loses the DSUE permanently. Correction: for any widow or widower whose spouse died within the past five years with an estate below the threshold, file the late portability election now using the “Portability Only” simplified Form 706.
Forgetting GST allocation on Form 709 in the gift year. Automatic GST allocation does not cover every trust structure. A grantor may discover years later that the allocation was never made, exposing the grandchild remainder to 40 percent GST tax. Correction: affirm the GST allocation explicitly on Form 709 in the gift year, regardless of the automatic rules. The cost of affirming is negligible; the cost of omitting can be seven figures.
Naming a SLAT as IRA beneficiary without see-through trust language. Under Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-4, an IRA paid to a trust must qualify as a see-through trust to apply the SECURE Act ten-year payout rather than the harsher five-year rule. A SLAT with class beneficiaries that include charities, or accumulation beyond the ten-year window, can fail. Correction: draft the IRA-beneficiary section as either a conduit trust or an accumulation trust with explicit see-through language.

How does the 2026 estate exemption sunset interact with a gold IRA?

The sunset cuts the per-individual lifetime exemption from $13.99 million in 2025 to a projected $7 million in 2026. A gold IRA stays in the gross estate at fair market value under IRC §2039, the same as any other IRA. What changes is the exemption available to shelter the estate from the 40 percent federal estate tax.

Households crossing the projected post-sunset threshold near $14 million combined should plan before December 31, 2025; T.D. 9884 preserves the elevated exemption for gifts made before the sunset.

Can a Roth IRA be transferred into a SLAT before the sunset?

No. A Roth IRA, like a Traditional IRA, cannot transfer the IRA wrapper into an irrevocable trust during the owner’s lifetime. The owner can take a Roth IRA qualified distribution (if the five-year rule and the age-59-and-a-half test are met under IRC §408A(d)(2)) and transfer the after-tax cash to a SLAT.

The advantage of the Roth path is that the qualified distribution is federally tax-free, so the full pre-distribution value funds the SLAT with no income-tax friction. Households planning a SLAT funding in 2025 who hold large Roth balances should consider Roth as the funding source before Traditional IRA distributions, since the after-tax pool is larger per pre-distribution dollar.

Does the portability election save the same amount as a SLAT?

Not exactly. Portability preserves the deceased spouse’s unused exemption at the figure in effect on the date of death. A 2025 death locks in up to $13.99 million of DSUE that the survivor can use even after the sunset. A SLAT, by contrast, removes the funded assets and all future appreciation from the grantor’s estate.

A $13.99 million SLAT funded in 2025 that grows to $25 million over twenty years shelters $11 million of growth that portability does not. SLATs capture more value over time for couples with long horizons and appreciating assets, at higher cost and complexity.

How does the GST exemption affect grandchild planning ahead of the sunset?

The GST exemption is a separate $13.99 million-per-individual allowance for 2025, also sunsetting to roughly $7 million in 2026. Transfers to grandchildren or to a trust with grandchild remainder beneficiaries above the GST exemption attract the 40 percent GST tax.

Grandparents who want to lock in dynasty-trust planning should allocate GST exemption before the sunset on Form 709 in the gift year. The allocation can apply to a SLAT (with descendant remainder) or a separate dynasty trust. The technical knot is failing to affirm the allocation; the automatic rules do not always cover the chosen structure.

What happens if Congress extends the TCJA before January 1, 2026?

If Congress extends the TCJA elevated exemption past December 31, 2025, the higher figure continues and the sunset is averted. T.D. 9884 protects the use of the elevated exemption either way; gifts made before the sunset are not unwound.

Pre-sunset planning is rarely “wasted” if Congress extends: a 2025 SLAT funded with after-tax cash remains effective (assets outside the estate, appreciation sheltered, exemption preserved). The downside is the planning cost if the sunset is averted, which most attorneys consider modest relative to the protected value. As of late 2025, no extension legislation has passed.

For households above the projected $14 million combined post-sunset threshold, the planning runway closes on December 31, 2025.

Four elements need to be settled before any irreversible step. (1) The post-sunset exposure modeled by a fiduciary CPA at current asset values. (2) The framework chosen among portability, SLAT funding, GST allocation, or a layered combination. (3) The IRA distribution and Roth conversion sequence sized to fund the SLAT without overshooting income brackets. (4) The dealer choice at the in-kind distribution or liquidation step, settled in advance with the custodian.

Reverse any one and the family arithmetic shifts materially.

Gold IRA Under the 2026 Estate Exemption Sunset: Planning From $13.61M to ~$7M