LRO presents IRS migration and federal gift‑tax primer in estate‑tax briefing
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Summary
Legislative Revenue Office provided the committee with IRS migration data by age and AGI and a brief primer on the federal gift tax and basis rules to inform estate‑tax discussions. The data show historical net in‑migration trends that flattened or reversed in recent years and examples for 65+ taxpayers.
The House Committee on Revenue received an update from the Legislative Revenue Office with IRS‑sourced migration data and a short primer on the federal gift tax to support ongoing estate‑tax discussions.
John Hart of the Legislative Revenue Office said the office posted a handout in OLISS covering federal gift‑tax mechanics and migration data by age and adjusted gross income. Hart summarized federal rules: the federal gift and estate tax are unified, there is an annual gift exclusion (stated in committee materials as $19,000 per person for the year in the handout), and certain payments such as tuition, medical payments, spousal and charitable gifts are excluded from gift‑tax treatment. Hart also noted how tax basis differs for lifetime gifts (recipient takes donor’s basis) versus assets received through an estate (basis generally stepped to fair‑market value at date of death in the examples provided).
Hart presented IRS return‑based migration tables showing inflow and outflow of tax returns and AGI by age group. He cautioned the committee that returns are an imperfect proxy for migration because they reflect where taxpayers want correspondence mailed and do not capture non‑filers; nonetheless the data provide useful patterns. For all ages, LRO’s charts show historically net in‑migration for Oregon but two recent years of roughly even or negative net returns. For taxpayers age 65 and older the data previously showed net in‑migration; for a subset of taxpayers age 65+ with AGI over $200,000, returns still indicated net in‑migration through 2021, though AGI flows showed a slight outflow in 2022.
Committee members asked when 2023 data would be available; Hart said the IRS schedule governs availability and he would follow up with the committee on timing. Members noted the importance of age‑ and income‑specific migration patterns for estate‑tax policymaking, because demographic and income composition can change both population totals and the tax base.
The committee did not take formal action; LRO said it would provide more data or updates as requested.