estate tax

noun

: a tax in the form of a percentage of the taxable estate that is imposed on a property owner's right to transfer the property to others after his or her death compare inheritance tax sense 1

Examples of estate tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Having income or estate tax, formal administration, etc. —Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

What To Know When someone passes away in the U.S, an estate tax is levied on their estate based on the net value of their assets at death and paid to the federal or state government. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

This potential change could create significant estate tax liabilities for high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals who do not leverage the current higher exemption levels. —Matthew F. Erskine, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025

While the estate tax’s effect on the economy is well known, you would be surprised by how little revenue the tax generates. —James Carter, Boston Herald, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for estate tax

• anticlimax
• counterattacks
• hemothorax
• mesothorax
• metathorax
• pneumothorax
• almanacs
• carrybacks
• haversacks
• lumberjacks
• maniacs
• microcracks

Legal Definition

estate tax

noun

: an excise in the form of a percentage of the taxable estate that is imposed on a property owner's right to transfer the property to others after his or her death

called also succession tax

see also unified transfer tax compare gift tax, inheritance tax