Order Code RS20593
Updated February 7, 2007
Asset Distribution of Taxable Estates:
An Analysis
Steven Maguire
Analyst in Public Finance
Government and Finance Division
Summary
This report provides data on the distribution of assets in estates as reported on
estate tax returns filed in 2005. This report finds that farm and business assets represent
a small share of the total value of taxable estates that filed tax returns in 2005, (2.3%
and 10.8%, respectively). That share is concentrated in estates valued over $10 million.
For an overview of the estate tax, see CRS Report RL30600, Estate and Gift Taxes:
Economic Issues, by Jane G. Gravelle and Steven Maguire. This report will be updated
as new data become available.
Introduction
The estate and gift tax debate has centered on the perceived need to relieve heirs of
the responsibility of remitting taxes on the decedent’s transferred assets, particularly in
the case of family farms and businesses. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16), phases out the estate and gift tax by 2010.
Repeal of the estate and gift tax for all estates would achieve the policy objective of relief
for farm and small-business estates. However, farm assets and business assets represent
a relatively small share of total taxable estate value, approximately 13.1% of gross taxable
estate value in 2005. (The provisions phasing out the estate tax expire after 2010,
although repeal may be made permanent.)
Overview
The estate and gift tax minimum filing requirement is $2.0 million for deaths
occurring in 2007. Generally, estates valued below the threshold are not required to file
a return. Estates valued over the threshold amount calculate their tax liability based upon
the entire (or gross) value of the estate inclusive of the $2.0 million. Deductions from the
gross estate value, such as bequests to a surviving spouse (the marital deduction), state
estate and inheritance taxes, and donations to charitable organizations, are then subtracted
from the gross estate value. The tentative tax liability is determined by the progressive
rate schedule provided for in the tax code.

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CRS-2
The next step in the calculation of estate tax liability, and perhaps the most
important, is the applicable credit. The applicable credit is set such that an estate has the
equivalent of a $2.0 million exemption (for deaths occurring in 2007, see Table 1 below).
In many cases, the marital deduction combined with the deduction for charitable
contributions can eliminate all estate tax liability.
Table 1. Increases in the Filing Requirement
Filing Requirement or
Year of Death
Applicable Credit
Equivalent Exemption
2004 and 2005
$1,500,000
$555,800
2006 through 2008
$2,000,000
$780,800
2009
$3,500,000
$1,525,800
2010
estate tax repealed
estate tax repealed
2011 and after
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
Before 2005, estates were allowed to claim a credit for state death taxes paid. The
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, however, gradually
repealed the credit for state death taxes; eliminating it in 2005 and replacing it with a
deduction for taxes paid. Many states have relied on the federal credit for their estate tax
and will need to modify their tax laws to continue collecting their estate and inheritance
taxes. According to a recent evaluation of state laws, as of September 2006, “About half
the states — some 24 states — continue to collect either an estate or inheritance tax.”1
The data utilized in this report are from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Statistics
of Income (SOI) Division.2 The SOI data report the assets held by estates by gross estate
value classes. For this report, farm returns are defined as estates reporting farm assets.
Business returns are defined as those estates that include assets typically held by
businesses: ‘closely held stock,’ ‘limited partnerships,’ ‘real estate partnerships,’ and
‘other non-corporate business assets.’ Estates reporting one or more of the four assets
were termed business returns. This methodology is imperfect and likely double counts
many estates. As a result, the number of business estates would be significantly
overstated by this estimate.
1 Elizabeth McNichol, “State Taxes on Inherited Wealth Remain Common: 24 States Levy an
Estate or Inheritance Tax,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Sept. 9, 2006, p. 615.
2 Statistics of Income, Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2005, IRS, SOI unpublished data, Nov. 2006.

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CRS-3
Taxable Estate Tax Returns
Of the approximately 2.4 million deaths in 2004 of people 25 years old and over,
1.3% incurred estate and gift tax liability.3 Further, only 1,715 decedents with taxable
estates included farm assets (0.07% of all deaths), and 11,011 taxable estates listed assets
of the type typically held by businesses (0.46% of all deaths). The primary reason for the
low number of filers relative to the number of deaths in 2004 is the high gross estate value
filing threshold. In tax year 2004, only estates valued at greater than $1,500,000 were
required to file an estate and gift tax return.4 This makes the estate tax a relatively
progressive tax source.
Table 2 suggests the progressivity of the estate and gift tax in 2005. Taxable estates
worth over $10 million accounted for 7.2% of the total taxable estates, yet 47.8% of all
estate tax revenue. The 3,600 estates (19.5% of taxable estates) larger than $5 million
generated over 63% of total estate tax revenue. Recall that only 1.3% of deaths generated
any estate tax liability.
Table 2. Wealth Distribution of Taxable Returns Filed in 2005
Gross
Percent of
Percent
Net Estate
Size of Gross
Taxable
Taxable
Taxable
Federal Net
Tax
Estate
Returns
Estate Value
Estate
Estate Tax
(thousands)
(thousands)
Returns
Revenue
All Returns
18,431
$101,771,906
$21,520,989
100.0%
100.0%
1.5 to 2.5 million
8,668
$16,866,733
$1,550,048
47.0%
16.6%
2.5 to 5.0 million 6,162
$20,763,258
$4,393,227
33.4%
20.4%
5.0 to 10.0 million
2,280
$15,590,318
$4,477,023
12.4%
15.3%
10.0 to 20 million
822
$11,251,943
$3,275,972
4.5%
11.1%
over 20.0 million
498
$37,299,654
$7,824,719
2.7%
36.7%
Source: Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2005, IRS, SOI
unpublished data, November 2006.
3 The latest available estate tax data are for the 2004 tax year. The estimated number of deaths
in 2004 of those 25 and over is based on data from 2003. Death statistics for 2004 reported by
age are not yet available. Total number of non-infant deaths in 2004, as reported in “Births,
Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2004,” National Vital Statistics Reports,
vol. 53, no. 21, June 28, 2005, however, was 2,365,700. The data are available at
[http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_15.pdf]. Some estates may have been for
individuals that died before their 25th birthday, thus, the percentage could be slightly overstated.
4 For a detailed history of the estate and gift tax as well as an explanation of current law, see CRS
Report 95-416, Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes: A Description of Current
Law, by John Luckey; and CRS Report 95-444, A History of Federal Estate, Gift, and
Generation-Skipping Taxes, by John Luckey.

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CRS-4
Asset Distribution of Taxable Estates
The SOI data do not distinguish estate tax returns by detailed occupation of the
decedent, such as farmer or business person. However, the data do provide significant
detail on the distribution of the decedent’s assets. Table 3 summarizes estate tax return
asset data from the returns filed in 2005. Generally, assets that represent more of the
taxable estate shoulder a greater share of the tax burden. The value of taxable estates is
concentrated in the following asset categories: publicly held stocks, state and local bonds,
non-farm real estate, personal residences, and cash. These five assets represent 66.4% of
total taxable estate value in 2005. Thus, eliminating the estate tax will reduce the tax
burden on these assets.
Farm and Business Assets
Table 3 reports that the value of total farm assets (“farm real estate” and “other
farm assets”) is approximately 3.5% of total taxable gross estate value. Note that the IRS
does not separately report farm real estate; CRS estimated an amount for this report.
Farm real estate would have been included in the “Other Real Estate” asset category. Real
estate represents about 84% of total assets held by non-corporate farms according to
recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.5 Thus, a new category, “farm real
estate,” was created to better represent farm asset distribution. The primary assumption
used to determine the amount of farm real estate is that the ratio of non-real estate farm
assets to farm real estate assets (1 to 5.3) is the same for the farms of decedents and for
the farms in the USDA data. Thus, by this interpolation, approximately $3.0 billion of
the assets in the reported “Other Real Estate” IRS category would likely be farmland. The
data reported in Table 3 reflect this adjustment of the IRS reported data.
The business assets in Table 3 represent approximately $11.0 billion of total
taxable estate value (or 10.8%). The largest is closely held stock, worth approximately
$5.9 billion. However, total business assets as reported do not explicitly indicate the
portion of those assets held in small businesses.
Though farm and business decedents may have other taxable assets — such as
equities and cash — the burden on farm and business assets alone is quite small relative
to other assets. Thus, removing the estate and gift tax or lowering the rates in general will
have a much greater effect on non-farm and non-business assets.
5 The farm data are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service,
available online at [http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FarmBalanceSheet/Fbsdmu.htm].

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CRS-5
Table 3. Asset Distribution of Taxable Estate Tax Returns
Filed in 2005
Percent of Total
Total Asset Value
IRS Defined Asset Category
Taxable Estate
($ in thousands)
Value
Gross Estate Value
101,771,906
100.00%
Publicly Held Stock
34,019,003
33.43%
State and Local Bonds
12,319,653
12.11%
Non-farm Real Estate
7,582,227
7.45%
Personal Residence
7,161,594
7.04%
Cash
6,471,578
6.36%
Closely Held Stock*
5,899,244
5.80%
Annuities
4,265,332
4.19%
Cash Management Accounts
4,182,384
4.11%
Other Federal Bonds
3,266,286
3.21%
Limited Partnerships*
3,045,329
2.99%
Farm Real Estate**
2,992,949
2.94%
Mortgage and Notes
2,112,390
2.08%
Corporate and Foreign Bonds
1,406,573
1.38%
Other Assets
1,275,587
1.25%
Real Estate Partnerships*
1,233,297
1.21%
Insurance, Face Value
922,596
0.91%
Art
858,723
0.84%
Other Non-corporate Business Assets*
785,908
0.77%
Non-real estate Farm Assets**
559,560
0.55%
Unclassifiable Mutual Funds
519,952
0.51%
Depletables and/or Intangibles
328,782
0.32%
Mixed Bond Funds
245,322
0.24%
Federal Savings Bonds
221,816
0.22%
Insurance, Policy Loans
32,922
0.03%
Source: Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2005, IRS, SOI
unpublished data, November 2006.
* Indicates an asset that is included in this report’s definition of a business estate.
**Indicates CRS-interpolated estimates, see text for methodology.
Table 4 presents detailed data on farm and business assets by gross estate value.
Relatively large farm estates, those valued between $10 million and $20 million, comprise
a relatively larger share of total estate value for that estate size category. Overall,
however, farm estates appear to be evenly distributed across the estate size categories.
Note that farm assets and farm real estate account for approximately 3.5% of total taxable
estate value.
In contrast to farm estates, assets typically associated with non-farm businesses
are concentrated in estates valued over $10 million. In fact, of the $11.0 billion in total
business assets in estates, over $7.9 billion is held in those estates valued over $10
million. As a consequence, smaller-business taxable estates, those valued at less than $10
million, contribute very little to the estate and gift tax base.

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CRS-6
Table 4. Percent of Taxable Estates Filed in 2005 with Farm Assets
and Business Assets by Size of Estate
Percent of Taxable
Taxable Estate Value
Estate Value in Class
($ in thousands)
Represented by:
Size of Gross Estate
Farm
Business
Farm
Business
Gross
Assets*
Assets
Assets
Assets
All Returns
101,771,906
3,552,508
10,963,779
3.49%
10.77%
$1.5 to $2.5 million
16,866,733
518,865
627,045
3.08%
3.72%
$2.5 to $5.0 million 20,763,258
630,210
1,125,043
3.04%
5.42%
$5.0 to $10.0 million
15,590,318
457,251
1,274,626
2.93%
8.18%
$10.0 to $20 million
11,251,943
626,629
1,311,086
5.57%
11.65%
$20.0 million or more
37,299,654
1,319,552
6,625,979
3.54%
17.76%
Source: Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income, Estate Tax Returns Filed in 2005, IRS, SOI
unpublished data, November 2006.
*Includes the CRS-estimated value of farm real estate.
In summary, repeal of the estate and gift tax would clearly achieve the policy
objective of relief for estates composed of farm and small-business assets. Farm assets
and business assets, however, represent a relatively small share of total taxable estate
value, approximately 14.3% at the most. For more on the estate tax and businesses, see
CRS Report RL33070, Estate Taxes and Family Businesses: Economic Issues, by Jane
Gravelle and Steven Maguire.

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