death tax

References

death tax

taxation

Also known as: death duty

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June 25, 2026

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The term "death tax" is commonly used to refer to an estate tax, which is a tax on the value of property transferred after an owner's death. This tax is typically applied to estates exceeding a certain statutory amount and is calculated at graduated rates.123

Estate taxes can be justified on legal grounds as a fee for the privilege of transferring property to heirs, and on social grounds for reducing wealth inequality and breaking up large estates. While often criticized, particularly when it might force the sale of family businesses, estate taxes generate revenue and are part of a broader system of transfer taxes, including gift taxes. In the United States, federal estate tax exemptions have increased significantly in recent years.3

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Sir William Harcourt
…the total estate of a deceased person, Harcourt’s legislation of 1894 was capable of producing much more revenue than taxes only on the amounts inherited by beneficiaries. The new death duties were enacted over the opposition of Rosebery and Gladstone, who believed that easily increased taxes would encourage frivolous governmental…
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…the total estate of a deceased person, Harcourt’s legislation of 1894 was capable of producing much more revenue than taxes only on the amounts inherited by beneficiaries. The new death duties were enacted over the opposition of Rosebery and Gladstone, who believed that easily increased taxes would encourage frivolous governmental…
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taxation
Direct taxes
Taxes at death take two forms: the inheritance tax, where the taxable object is the bequest received by the person inheriting, and the estate tax, where the object is the total estate left by the deceased. Inheritance taxes sometimes take into account the personal circumstances of the…
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Taxes at death take two forms: the inheritance tax, where the taxable object is the bequest received by the person inheriting, and the estate tax, where the object is the total estate left by the deceased. Inheritance taxes sometimes take into account the personal circumstances of the…
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estate tax
Historical development and rationale
…as part of a broad death tax program. It was first imposed in the United States in 1898 to help finance the Spanish-American War, was repealed in 1902, and was reimposed in 1916 to help finance mobilization for World War I.
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…as part of a broad death tax program. It was first imposed in the United States in 1898 to help finance the Spanish-American War, was repealed in 1902, and was reimposed in 1916 to help finance mobilization for World War I.
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inheritance
Critiques of inheritance
…the United States, although the federal tax on succession depends solely on the size of the estate, the additional inheritance taxes levied by the states are widely patterned upon the closeness of relationship. This method is also employed in numerous other countries but not, since 1949, in England.
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…the United States, although the federal tax on succession depends solely on the size of the estate, the additional inheritance taxes levied by the states are widely patterned upon the closeness of relationship. This method is also employed in numerous other countries but not, since 1949, in England.
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