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

part of the Model Uniform Life and Health Insurance Policy Provisions Law giving an insurer a time limit on contesting coverage for preexisting conditions or misrepresentation. This law, ...

Picture of future dividends that the insurance company expects to be allocated to a specific block of policies. The accuracy of this picture depends on the actual future mortality, ...

Same as term Coinsurance: ...

Coverage for an insured firm if its business debtors fail to pay their obligations. The insured firm can be a manufacturer or a service organization but it cannot sell its products or ...

Mathematical premise stating that the greater the number of exposures, (1) the more accurate the prediction; (2) the less the deviation of the actual losses from the expected losses (X - x ...

Individual action or failure to act as a reasonably prudent person would under similar circumstances, resulting in harm to another. Also called negligence. A reasonably prudent person is ...

A ceding company's premium to which the reinsurance premium factor is used to produce the reinsurance premium. ...

Difference between the actual mortality experience and the expected mortality experience. In statistical terms, this is known as the deviation of the actual (X) from the expected (X). The ...

Time interval between the date benefits end under Social Security and the date these benefits resume. For example, survivor benefits are paid only as long as the parent (if less than age ...

Popular Insurance Questions