Life insurance is not taxable for income tax in most situations. A Term life insurance death benefit that is paid to a beneficiary in a lump sum, and does not put the estate over 5.25M, would not incur estate or income taxes.
If there is some interest earned on the death benefit due to being paid in installments, if the owner of the policy transferred the policy ownership to someone else before death, if the estate is over the exempted limit, or if the beneficiary of the policy is the estate, then there may be some taxes charged. Contact a tax attorney for specific situations.
President, Lane Independent Agency, Southern California
Life insurance benefits are not taxable to the beneficiary generally. However, if the amount of the estate passing to that beneficiary is large enough, they may become taxable. This is very rarely the case, and can usually be dealt with by the proper planning with an appropriate trust. The need for that is only if over 5.34 million dollars. However, in any event, you should talk with both your life insurance agent and your estate planning consultant. I would be glad to assist you with both. GARY LANE. garylane@cox.net. 714 422 9616.
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If there is some interest earned on the death benefit due to being paid in installments, if the owner of the policy transferred the policy ownership to someone else before death, if the estate is over the exempted limit, or if the beneficiary of the policy is the estate, then there may be some taxes charged. Contact a tax attorney for specific situations.