inheritance tax

inheritance tax

noun

Definition of INHERITANCE TAX

1

:  a tax on a decedent's net estate that is levied after the estate is transmitted to the inheritors

2

:  death tax; especially :  estate tax

First Known Use of INHERITANCE TAX

1841

inheritance tax

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Levy on the property accruing to each beneficiary of the estate of a deceased person. Inheritance tax may be more difficult to administer than estate tax because the value passing to each beneficiary must be fixed, and this often requires complex actuarial calculations. Inheritance taxes date back to the Roman Empire. In the U.S. inheritance taxes have always been collected by the individual states, while the federal government has imposed an estate tax. The first state inheritance tax was imposed by Pennsylvania in 1826.