CAN I REPURCHASE THE HOME FROM THE TRUSTEE IN A QPRT?

A common question is asked, “If I create a QPRT and I put my house in, during the term of the trust, can I buy it back from the trust?” The answer is no. It’s too good of a deal. So when the term ends, however, when your exclusive right to live in the house ends, it terminates, and now the house actually belongs to the trust, or the beneficiaries of the trust, you can always enter into a deal and buy the house again from them, at fair market value. You’ll put the house back in your estate, but you’ll move cash from your estate into the hands of the beneficiaries, or the trust for the beneficiaries.

Note: The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 signed into law in December 2017 increased the exemption amounts mentioned in these videos. The personal estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax lifetime exemption was increased to $11.18 million per person. The annual gift tax exclusion was increased to $15,000 per donee per year.

Both amounts are indexed for inflation and may increase year over year until December 31, 2025, when the law sunsets and reverts to 2017 values