What is the Personal Wealth Study?
The Personal Wealth Study uses information reported on Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, to estimate the wealth of the living population. These estimates, based on the Estate Multiplier technique, appear every three years. The estimates are limited to that segment of the population for whom personal wealth is at least equal to the estate tax filing threshold in effect for the estimation period.
Personal wealth study onesheet
For information about selected terms and concepts and a description of the data sources and limitations, please visit Personal wealth study metadata.
SOI data tables
Included Items: Total and selected assets, debts and mortgages, and net worth.
All top wealthholders by size of net worth
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 1. Personal wealth: All top wealth holders, type of property by size of net worth | Size of net worth | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS, 1998 XLS, 1995 XLS, 1992 XLS, 1989 XLS |
Female top wealthholders by size of net worth
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 3. Personal wealth: Female top wealth holders, type of property by size of net worth | Size of net worth | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS |
Male top wealthholders by size of net worth
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 2. Personal wealth: Male top wealth holders, type of property by size of net worth | Size of net worth | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS |
Female top wealthholders by age
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 5. Personal wealth: Female top wealth holders, type of property by age of wealth holder | Age of wealth holder | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS, 1998 XLS, 1995 XLS, 1992 XLS, 1989 XLS |
Male top wealthholders by age
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 4. Personal wealth: Male top wealth holders, type of property by age of wealth holder | Age of wealth holder | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS, 1998 XLS, 1995 XLS, 1992 XLS, 1989 XLS |
Top wealthholders by state of residence
| Data presented | Classified by | Tax years |
|---|---|---|
| Table 6. Personal wealth: Top wealth holders, net worth and selected assets, by state of residence | State of residence | 2019 XLSX, 2016 XLS, 2013 XLS, 2007 XLS, 2004 XLS, 2001 XLS, 1998 XLS |
SOI Bulletin articles
The articles below contain detailed analysis, including some year-to-year comparisons, as well as an explanation of estimation methodology and data tables. All of the articles are in .pdf format. These articles were also published in the quarterly SOI Bulletin.
2019 PDF | 2016 PDF | 2013 PDF | 2007 PDF | 2004 PDF | 2001 PDF | 1998 PDF | 1995 PDF | 1992 PDF | 1989 PDF | 1986 PDF
The underlying methodology of the estate multiplier technique recent improvements for 1989 PDF
Preliminary estimates of personal wealth, 1982: Composition of assets PDF
Estimates of personal wealth, 1982: A second look PDF
Trends in personal wealth, 1976-1981 PDF
Research papers
The following are research papers written by SOI analysts. The papers below are in .pdf format.
Consider the source: Differences in estimates of income and wealth from survey and tax data PDF
Authors: Barry W. Johnson, Statistics of Income, IRS; Kevin Moore, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
This paper examines the comparability of administrative and survey data, focusing specifically on data from Federal income and estate tax returns collected by the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) sponsored by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Updating techniques for estimating wealth from federal estate tax returns PDF
Author: Barry W. Johnson, Statistics of Income, IRS
This paper documents the history and development of the estate multiplier technique, a statistical methodology for estimating the wealth of a living population using data reported on returns filed for wealthy decedents, with an emphasis on recent methodological improvements.
Additional information
The Federal Reserve Board of Governor's triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, which is supported by the Statistics of Income Division, provides estimates of household finances, including wealth, income, and debts. Analyses of survey results, as well as public-use data sets, can be accessed online at through the Federal Reserve.
Compendiums of federal estate tax and personal wealth studies
- Compendium of federal estate tax & personal wealth studies: Volume 1
- Compendium of federal transfer tax & personal wealth studies: Volume 2
File readers
Bulletin articles and research papers are available in Adobe PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print these files. Data tables are available in Excel version 4.0. A free Excel viewer is available for download, if needed.