¶ G01
Overview
Purpose. This appendix collects in calendar form the filings, payments and reviews that an asset protection structure requires each year. A structure that is not maintained loses its protection, and a structure that is not reported exposes the client to penalties and to the sovereign creditor (see supra chs. 43, 54). The calendar assumes the usual case: a calendar-year U.S. individual who is treated as owner of a foreign grantor trust, which holds a foreign company and foreign accounts, together with domestic LLCs and, in some plans, a domestic asset protection trust.
Dates. Dates are stated for tax year 2026, with returns filed in 2027. Where a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the return is timely if filed on the next business day. I.R.C. § 7503. The 2027 weekdays have been applied in the tables: March 15 and April 15, 2027 fall on a Monday and a Thursday; February 15, 2027 is Presidents' Day.
Sources. Federal entries are taken from the current IRS form instructions, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2025-45 I.R.B. 695 (2026 inflation adjustments), 31 C.F.R. § 1010.821, and the beneficial ownership final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 52,508 (Aug. 14, 2026). State entries are taken from the current codes of Delaware, Wyoming, Nevada, South Dakota and Alaska; offshore entries from the statutes, regulations and published guidance of the Cook Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, Belize and Switzerland. All were read in November 2026. Amounts change every year, and the current figure must be checked before a filing is made.
Who is responsible. The commonest cause of a missed filing is an assumption that someone else is making it. The calendar therefore names the filer for each item, and the annual review should confirm in writing who is responsible for each (see infra ¶ G70.01; see supra ch. 54). Lawyers who design the structure do not usually prepare the returns; the client's return preparer files the federal forms, the trustee or its administrator prepares the trust's own returns and statements, and the registered agent makes the entity filings.
2026 figures. The following amounts apply for 2026. Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
| Item | 2026 amount | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Gift tax annual exclusion | $19,000 per donee | I.R.C. § 2503(b); Rev. Proc. 2025-32, § 4.42(1) |
| Annual exclusion for gifts to a non-citizen spouse | $194,000 | § 2523(i); § 4.42(2) |
| Basic exclusion amount (estate and gift) | $15,000,000, indexed from 2027 | § 2010(c)(3), as amended by Pub. L. 119-21, § 70106; § 2.14 |
| GST exemption | $15,000,000 | § 2631(c) |
| § 2801 covered-gift exclusion | $19,000 | § 4.42(3) |
| Foreign gifts from foreign corporations or partnerships (Form 3520, Part IV) | More than $20,573 | § 6039F; § 4.47 |
| Gifts or bequests from a nonresident alien individual or foreign estate (Form 3520, Part IV) | More than $100,000 (not indexed) | Form 3520 instructions |
| Covered expatriate tax-liability test | $211,000 | § 877(a)(2)(A); § 4.37 |
| Exit tax exclusion | $910,000 | § 877A(a)(3); § 4.38 |
| FBAR penalty, non-willful (per report) | $16,536 | 31 U.S.C. § 5321(a)(5); 31 C.F.R. § 1010.821 (no 2026 adjustment published) |
| FBAR penalty, willful | Greater of $165,353 or 50% of the balance | Same |