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

Plus, the federal estate tax exemption will increase to $15 million. —Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025

For decedents dying in 2026 and beyond, up to $15 million (and $30 million for couples) is exempt from the federal estate tax, and this exemption will be indexed for inflation. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 4 July 2025

Congressional Republicans are advancing a proposal to permanently expand the federal estate tax exemption, allowing ultra-wealthy families to pass down even more of their assets without triggering tax liabilities. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025

It was amended in 2017 and again in 2023, and all three of the couple’s children have a one-third share of the remaining Federal estate tax exemption, worth about $2 million each. —Rachel Desantis, People.com, 4 June 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