BNA Software ‘ BNA Estate & Gift Tax Planner

The
gross estate data entry is structured
around the terminology and structure
of IRS Form 706, U.S. Estate Tax
Return. For example, the input sections
include Schedule A ‘ Real
Estate, Schedule B ‘ Stocks
& Bonds, Schedule C ‘
Mortgages, Notes & Cash, Schedule
D ‘ Life Insurance, and so
forth. This will be comforting to
anyone who presumably has a good
familiarity with this form. The
gross estate section includes data
input for life insurance values
where one spouse owns life insurance
on the other spouse’s life,
factors for pre-death appreciation,
and the value of liquid non-includible
property. For purposes of liquidity
analysis, the program allows you
to break down the assets on these
worksheets into liquid and non-liquid
assets. Data-entry worksheets are
also available for qualified employer
plans and IRAs, private annuities,
SCINs (installment notes) and ‘phantom
assets,’ such as gift tax
paid by the decedent on gifts made
within three years of death.

Another input section is dedicated
to the many options related to marital
deduction planning. This includes
detail regarding specified marital
bequests, joint property that automatically
passes to the surviving spouse,
and the amount of the decedent’s
qualified plans and IRAs passing
to the surviving spouse. Using the
‘Zero Federal Tax’ options,
you can apply the calculation of
an optimized ‘bypass trust’
so that the first spouse to die
can fully utilize the federal estate
exemption amount.

Charitable deduction planning is
handled by another series of input
worksheets and includes options
for specified charitable bequests,
charitable lead annuity transfers,
charitable lead unitrusts and charitable
remainder trusts. In the Gift entry
worksheet, there are inputs for
pre-1977 taxable gifts, post-1976
gifts, discounted gifts, direct
skip gifts, GRITs, GRATs, GRUTs,
and future gifts.

The main worksheet ultimately computes
federal and state tax credits, federal
estate tax, state death taxes, and
the remaining ‘family share’
after taxes. Once the data entry
is complete, several visual tools
let you and your clients see the
big picture using graphs, flowcharts,
or the new Microsoft PowerPoint
presentation. There are six graph
types, including total death taxes,
total family share, estate distribution,
gross estate, liquidity, and custom
graphs that let you select data
from specific data-entry sections.
The flowchart graphically shows
the flow of estate value from the
decedent through to the ultimate
beneficiaries.

Customization, Flexibility & Features – 4Stars
BNA Estate & Gift Tax Planner
uses a very flexible system of built-in
worksheets and custom worksheets.
On any input screen where there
are specific pre-defined input items
or calculations (for example, Adjusted
Gross Estate), the program provides
numerous sub-worksheets where detail
is entered. However, for any detail
input item, you can double-click
on the input cell to open a custom
worksheet where you are free to
enter any amount of detail you wish
for that item. This provides a very
flexible input method that allows
you to enter as much or as little
detail as needed.

The program also provides numerous
calculation options and features,
such as a user-defined inflation
rate for an increase in the GST
exemption amount, and the ability
to override the sunset provision
of HR 1836 (EGTRRA) after 2010.

Client Presentation Tools – 5 Stars

The primary client presentation
tools provided include a customized
PowerPoint slide show, six graphs
(Total Death Taxes, Total Family
Share, Estate Distribution, Gross
Estate, Liquidity, and Custom Graph),
and a comprehensive flowchart that
shows the flow of estate assets
from client(s) to heirs. The Custom
Graph lets you choose to display
data from numerous predefined items
as well as data from any worksheet
and row within the entire plan.
(The company noted that its planned
July release of BNA Estate &
Gift Tax Planner will offer a library
of explanatory text. Other planned
enhancements include a new, more
user-friendly and dynamic user interface,
links to BNA Tax Management portfolios
on the Web, and even more flexible
PowerPoint presentations.)

Company History – 4 Stars
BNA Software, part of BNA Tax Management
and BNA, is a popular tax and accounting
software company that was established
in 1983, with a reputation for solid
products. The company offers toll-free
technical support as well as numerous
training forums and an online knowledge
center. BNA Software’s other
products include BNA Estate and
Gift Tax 706 and 709 Preparers,
BNA Income Tax Planner, BNA Corporate
Tax Audit Analyzer, BNA Sales &
Use Tax Rates and Forms, and BNA
Fixed Assets.

Relative Value – 4 Stars

BNA Estate & Gift Tax Planner
is an agile calculation machine
that can grind out the numbers based
on the input you hand it, offering
customized PowerPoint slide shows
for client presentations. If your
goal is to compute the correct tax
in the quickest way possible with
access to easy what-if analysis,
this is a powerful and appealing
program. It is priced at $1,195
for a single-user license; additional
users are $205 each.

2004 OVERALL RATING:

Each review takes into consideration
several areas that are important
when deciding on a package that
best suits your needs and practice:
Comprehensiveness, Reliability &
and Ease of Use; Calculations; Customization,
Flexibility & Features; Client
Presentation Tools; Company History;
and Relative Value. Given the complexity
of this product category in general,
it is difficult to do these topics
justice in a limited space. You’ll
certainly want to do additional
detailed research regarding specific
features that you may be looking
for in your area of specialty. Each
company’s web site provides
a wealth of information, as well
as demo products.

In order to provide a consistent
basis for product pricing comparisons,
we have tried to identify a ‘prototypical’
firm that might use this type of
software. For estate planning software,
this is a financial services firm
that specializes in advanced planning
for high net worth clients. The
number of users could range from
one to any number, so I have tried
to provide the single-user price
for each package as well as the
price for additional user licenses.