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

Garcia argued that Florida’s tax policy, which has no capital gains tax, no estate tax, and no income tax, is one of the main attractions for the wave of millionaires and billionaires that are moving to the Sunshine State. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2024

What about the multimillionaires who pass fortunes to their heirs without being subject to the estate tax? —Susan Harley, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024

So, the estate tax is taxed on the estate and the estate pays it before assets are distributed. —USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024

For example, a special type of marital trust that qualifies for the unlimited gift and estate tax marital deduction requires that all income must be distributed to the spouse/beneficiary. —Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024

So then, what's the difference here between estate tax and inheritance tax? —USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2024

That means if an individual inherits less than $13.61 million in assets, the estate tax is not a concern; in 2019, just eight out of every 10,000 people who died left an estate large enough to warrant the tax. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2024

Bezos’s move to Florida also will save him significantly because the state doesn’t have an estate tax, says John Pantekidis, managing partner and general counsel at TwinFocus, which manages over $7 billion for ultrahigh-net-worth (UHNW) families. —Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2024

Maryland is the only state to impose both an estate tax and an inheritance tax. —Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

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