What is the federal estate tax? The Federal estate tax is a tax on the right to transfer property at death. The tax, reported on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, is applied to estates for which at-death gross assets, the "gross estate," exceed the filing threshold. Included in gross estate are real estate, cash, stocks, bonds, businesses, and decedent-owned life insurance policies. Deductions are allowed for administrative expenses, indebtedness, taxes, casualty loss, and charitable and marital transfers. The taxable estate is calculated as gross estate less allowable deductions. This page provides additional information about data produced in SOI's Estate Tax Study. Please click on a link below to get started. Selected Terms and Concepts Current and Prior Revisions of Form 706 Data Sources and Limitations Please visit Estate Tax Statistics for data tables and articles from the study. The IRS Estate Tax page provides further information concerning the estate tax.
