Klaus Gottlieb, Esq.

Short answer. A NICRUT and a NIMCRUT use the same net-income limitation: each year, the trust pays the lesser of the stated unitrust amount or its trust accounting income. The difference is that a NIMCRUT keeps track of prior shortfalls and may pay them later. But the makeup account is useful only if the trust will remain a NIMCRUT and can later produce enough trust accounting income to exceed the current year's regular unitrust amount. If the trust flips to a straight CRUT, any unpaid makeup...

Open the full PDF article By Klaus Gottlieb, Esq. Jurisdiction Federal, with California fiduciary-law overlay Primary Statutes IRC §§ 6034, 664, 4941, 4946, 4947(a)(2); Cal. Prob. Code §§ 16002, 16003, 16045–16054 Key Authorities Treas. Reg. §§ 1.664-1(a)(7), 53.4947-1(c); IRS Form 5227, Split-Interest Trust Information Return; IRS Statistics of Income Form 5227 microdata, filing years 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022 Last Reviewed August 2026 Category Charitable Planning — Research / Data At...

Short answer. Yes. One spouse can fund a California charitable remainder unitrust alone if the funding asset is that spouse's separate property. Community property requires a different analysis, but not necessarily a different CRUT. Both spouses can transfer community property to one CRUT while only one spouse receives the unitrust payments. Federal law separates who contributes the property from who receives the unitrust interest. That distinction can matter substantially for a younger...