Nicholas Brown, a contributor to Farm Law & Tax, recently wrote an article for Southern Ag Today that covered four tools that farmers and agribusiness owners can use to minimize their estate tax liability in 2025 and beyond.  Southern Ag Today is a peer-reviewed publication managed by extension professors across the southern United States.

After attending a series of farm schools hosted by NC FarmLink, it became increasingly clear that many individuals had concerns about estate taxes resulting in an eventual end of their farms.  Generally speaking, most farmers will not have to pay estate taxes upon their death because of the estate tax exemption.  For the few farmers whose estates are not fully covered by the estate tax exemption, there are tools, such as family LLCs and irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), that farmers should solicit advice from legal and tax professionals on.  Farmers also have the potential to utilize IRC § 2032A, which is another advanced tool used to minimize estate tax liability.