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

Reynolds, the former Putnam Investments CEO, cited the combination of the millionaire’s tax and the Massachusetts estate tax. —Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025

Texas does not have these types of taxes, though there is a federal estate tax and there used to be a state inheritance tax that was eliminated in 2015. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025

The Gem State doesn’t have gift or inheritance taxes, and its estate tax for deaths expired in 2004, according to the Idaho State Tax Commission. —Idaho Statesman, 13 Oct. 2025

Estate, Adoption and Child Care Benefits Expanded Estate planning also sees a significant change, with the federal estate tax exclusion climbing to $15 million for those who die in 2026, up from $13,990,000 the year before. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 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