The IRS has released the new applicable federal rate tables for March 2012, and they remain the same as they were in February. The Short Term (0-3 years) rate is .19%, the Mid-Term (3-9 years) rate is 1.08% and the Long Term (9+ years) rate is 2.65%, with annual compounding. The I.R.C. § 7520 Rate, used to calculate the value of annuities, life interests, and remainders, remains at 1.4%See Rev. Rul. 2012-9.
It continues to be a favorable environment for Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer tax planning, as the use of many common estate freeze techniques including grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) and installment sales to grantor trusts (IGTs) work best when interest rates are low.


