Estate Tax
Estate Tax means:
the amount due to the government, generally based on the fair market value of one’s property at death, less liabilities. The federal estate tax and gift tax have been unified, and one unified credit applies to the sum of the property given during one’s lifetime and remaining at death. Estate tax exemptions and deductions are numerous, and relevant tax laws can be complex. Former IRC (check if this IRC provision is current here) §§2001 and 2002.
Federal Estate and Gift Tax Rates and Exclusions
Federal estate tax exclusions and the bottom and top tax rates:
Estate Tax Exclusion
- Year 1977 : $120,667
- Year 1978 : $134,000
- Year 1979 : $147,333
- Year 1980 : $161,563
- Year 1981 : $175,625
- Year 1982 : $225,000
- Year 1983 : $275,000
- Year 1984 : $325,000
- Year 1985 : $400,000
- Year 1986 : $500,000
- Year 1987-1996 : $600,000
- Year 1997 : $600,000
- Year 1998 : $625,000
- Year 1999 : $650,000
- Year 2000-2001 : $675,000
- Year 2002 : $1,000,000
- Year 2003 : $1,000,000
- Year 2004 : $1,500,000
- Year 2005 : $1,500,000
- Year 2006 : $2,000,000
- Year 2007-2008 : $2,000,000
- Year 2009 : $3,500,000
- Year 2010-2011 : $5,000,000 (in 2010, federal estate tax was optional)
- Year 2012 : $5,120,000
- Year 2013 : $5,250,000
- Year 2014 : $5,340,000
- Year 2015 : $5,430,000
- Year 2016 : $5,450,000
Estate Tax Initial Rate (Above Exclusion)
- Year 1977 : 30%
- Year 1978 : 30%
- Year 1979 : 30%
- Year 1980 : 32%
- Year 1981 : 32%
- Year 1982 : 32%
- Year 1983 : 34%
- Year 1984 : 34%
- Year 1985 : 34%
- Year 1986 : 37%
- Year 1987-1996 : 37%
- Year 1997 : 37%
- Year 1998 : 37%
- Year 1999 : 37%
- Year 2000-2001 : 37%
- Year 2002 : 41%
- Year 2003 : 41%
- Year 2004 : 45%
- Year 2005 : 45%
- Year 2006 : 46%
- Year 2007-2008 : 45%
- Year 2009 : 45%
- Year 2010-2011 : 35% (in 2010, federal estate tax was optional)
- Year 2012 : 35%
- Year 2013 : 40%
- Year 2014 : 40%
- Year 2015 : 40%
- Year 2016 : 40%
Estate Tax Maximum Rate
- Year 1977 : 70%
- Year 1978 : 70%
- Year 1979 : 70%
- Year 1980 : 70%
- Year 1981 : 70%
- Year 1982 : 65%
- Year 1983 : 60%
- Year 1984 : 55%
- Year 1985 : 55%
- Year 1986 : 55%
- Year 1987-1996 : 55%
- Year 1997 : 60% (the top average tax rate was 55%)
- Year 1998 : 60% (the top average tax rate was 55%)
- Year 1999 : 60% (the top average tax rate was 55%)
- Year 2000-2001 : 60% (the top average tax rate was 55%)
- Year 2002 : 50%
- Year 2003 : 49%
- Year 2004 : 48%
- Year 2005 : 47%
- Year 2006 : 46%
- Year 2007-2008 : 45%
- Year 2009 : 45%
- Year 2010-2011 : 35% (in 2010, federal estate tax was optional)
- Year 2012 : 35%
- Year 2013 : 40%
- Year 2014 : 40%
- Year 2015 : 40%
- Year 2016 : 40%
Description and Definition of Estate Tax
The Federal taxes levied on the transfer of property from the deceased to his or her heirs, legatees or devisees. It is based on the fair market value of the decedent's property at death, less his or her liabilities. The tax begins at a 37% rate – when a decedent's taxable estate exceeds 0,000. That amount will rise gradually until it reaches million in 2006. For qualifying small business and family farms up to .3 million can be free of the estate tax starting in 1998.
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