I just finished up another legislative session. I was speaking before a group a few days ago and I was discussing taxes. A fella in the back chimed in saying that he didn’t think Tennessee had an income tax. He’s right and wrong. We do not have a tax on earned income but we do have a very specific tax on investment income and it most often impacts seniors living off of their retirement savings.
There is a movement, which I support, to eliminate the tax completely. Unfortunately, it has not passed. Yet. The General Assembly did, however, increase the tax exemption this year. Beginning January 1, 2016, filers over 65 years old are exempt from tax if they are single and earn less than $37,000 or if they are married and earn less than $68,000.
While this is not specifically an estate planning issue, I have a number of clients who monitor this blog.