Definition of "Federal estate tax"

Mike Williams real estate agent

Written by

Mike Williamselite badge icon

Keller Williams

Federal tax imposed on the estate of a decedent according to the value of that estate. The first step in the computation of the federal estate tax owed is to determine the value of the decedent's gross estate. This determination can be made by adding the following values of assets owned by the decedent at the time of death:

  1. property owned outright.
  2. gratuitous lifetime transfers, but with the stipulation that the decedent retained the income or control over the income.
  3. gratuitous lifetime transfers subject to the recipient's surviving the decedent.
  4. gratuitous lifetime transfers subject to the decedent's retaining the right to revoke, amend, or alter the gift.
  5. annuities purchased by the decedent that are payable for the life time of the named survivor as well as the annuitant.
  6. property jointly held in such a manner that another party receives the decedent's interest in that property at the decedent's death because of that party's survivor ship.
  7. life insurance in which the decedent retained incidents of ownership.
  8. life insurance that was payable to the decedent's estate.
The second step in the computation of the federal estate tax owed is to subtract allowable deductions (including bequests to charities, bequests to the surviving spouse, funeral expenses, and other administration expenses) from the gross estate. This results in the taxable estate. Adjustable taxable gifts are then added to the taxable estate, resulting in the computational tax base. From the table below, the appropriate tax rate is then applied to the computational tax base, resulting in the tentative (certain credits may still be subtracted) federal estate tax.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Federal law comparable to state workers compensation statutes setting out liability of railroads for work-related injuries or death of their employees. Railroad employees are not covered by ...

Employee benefit plan that does not have the federal tax advantages of a qualified pension plan, in which employers receive a federal tax deduction for contributions paid into the plan on ...

Method of accident prevention whose objective is to detect system-component deficiencies that have the potential for causing accidents. ...

Securities that derive their value from other financial instruments that are used by the insurance company to hedge its bets on which direction the market is moving. For example, cattle ...

Coverage for musicians and other providers of musical services such as musical instrument dealers. Musical instruments, service equipment, and sheet music are insured on an all risks basis ...

Contract under which an assessment insurance company can charge policyowners additional sums if the company's loss experience is worse than had been loaded for in the premium. This ...

Wondering what is Title Insurance? Let’s see if our title insurance definition helps you understand it 100%: It is a policy required of home buyers by lenders, to protect against ...

Addition to reflect exposures with a greater probability of loss than standard exposures. For example, insuring a munitions factory obviously requires a premium greater than that required ...

Coverage for business risks including goods in transit, fire, burglary, and theft. A common example is the COMMERCIAL PACKAGE POLICY (CPP). ...

Popular Insurance Questions