New Focus on Income Taxes. With the Federal Estate Tax exclusion now $11,200,000.00 per person as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the New York State Basic Exclusion Amount at $5,250,000.00 per person, planning for most families has shifted to income tax planning. Old estate plans were often set up with the intent of reducing or eliminating estate taxes with little or no income tax planning. The situation is now reversed and as a result it is imperative to have your estate plan reviewed by a competent estate planning attorney to make sure that you are maximizing income tax planning opportunities in light of the new estate tax exclusions.