The Internal Revenue Service has released the Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs) for December 2018. AFRs are published monthly and represent the minimum interest rates that should be charged for family loans to avoid tax complications.

Here are the rates for December 2018:

Annual

Semiannual

Quarterly

Monthly

Short-term

2.76%

2.74%

2.73%

2.72%

Mid-term

3.07%

3.05%

3.04%

3.03%

Long-term

3.31%

3.28%

3.27%

3.26%

The Section 7520 interest rate for December 2018 remains at 3.6 percent. The Section 7520 interest rate is the interest used in a common estate tax planning technique called a “grantor retained annuity trust” or “GRAT.” In general, the lower the interest rate, the more effective the transaction is for reducing estate taxes.