{ "id": "95-416", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "95-416", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 431637, "date": "2014-06-05", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:21:47.132453", "title": "The Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes as they apply to transfers in 2014. The following discussion provides basic principles regarding the computation of these three transfer taxes.\nThe federal estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes were resurrected by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-312) after a hiatus of one year (2010). The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) permanently extended the estate tax rules enacted by the 2010 Act except for the top tax rate, which increased from 35% to 40% for both the estate and gift taxes.\nThe federal estate tax is a tax levied on the transfer of property at death and measured by the size of the decedent\u2019s estate. The tax is computed through a series of adjustments and modifications of a tax base known as the \u201cgross estate.\u201d Certain allowable deductions reduce the gross estate to the \u201ctaxable estate,\u201d to which is then added the total of all lifetime taxable gifts made by the decedent. The tax rates are applied and, after reduction for certain allowable credits, the amount of tax owed by the estate is reached. \nThe federal gift tax is a tax imposed on all gratuitous transfers of property made during life. The tax seeks to account for transfers of property that would otherwise reduce the estate and accordingly estate tax liability at death. The donor\u2019s tax liability of the gift depends upon the value of the \u201ctaxable gift.\u201d The taxable gift is determined by reducing the gross value of the gift by the available deductions and exclusions. \nThe unified transfer tax credit is available against both gift and estate tax liability. To the extent this credit is used to offset gift taxes, it is unavailable to offset estate taxes. The Internal Revenue Code refers to the credit as an \u201capplicable exclusion amount,\u201d that is, the amount of taxable gifts or estate that the credit would cover. The applicable exclusion amount in 2014 is $5,340,000.\nThe generation-skipping transfer tax attempts to close a perceived loophole in the estate and gift tax system where property could be transferred to successive generations without intervening estate or gift tax consequences. There are two basic forms of generation-skipping transfers: the indirect skip, where the generation one level below the decedent receives some beneficial interest in the property before the property passes to the generation two or more levels below; and the direct skip, where the property passes directly to the generation two or more levels below the decedent. The generation-skipping transfer tax is imposed at a flat rate of 40% with an available exclusion of $5,340,000. While it is of the same value, this exclusion is separate from the unified transfer tax credit available for the estate and gift taxes.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/95-416", "sha1": "8575c810947762fdff8b79b617ec227196d14be4", "filename": "files/20140605_95-416_8575c810947762fdff8b79b617ec227196d14be4.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/95-416", "sha1": "ffbebc7be85c808a173ac284b923dc146b342a17", "filename": "files/20140605_95-416_ffbebc7be85c808a173ac284b923dc146b342a17.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc813588/", "id": "95-416_2013Sep18", "date": "2013-09-18", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "The Federal Estate, Gift, and GenerationSkipping Transfer Taxes", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130918_95-416_581c0ac6c49b4a0e533c796e85c07f3214262b40.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130918_95-416_581c0ac6c49b4a0e533c796e85c07f3214262b40.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821476/", "id": "95-416_2012May04", "date": "2012-05-04", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes: A Description of Current Law", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits. The federal estate tax is computed through a series of adjustments and modifications of a tax base known as the \"gross estate.\" Certain allowable deductions reduce the gross estate to the \"taxable estate,\" to which is then added the total of all lifetime taxable gifts made by the decedent. The tax rates are applied and, after reduction for certain allowable credits, the amount of tax owed by the estate is reached.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120504_95-416_65c9c861894572bb0765fb2c9b880a51f92cd1ae.pdf" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Taxation", "name": "Taxation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Estate tax", "name": "Estate tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gift tax", "name": "Gift tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Inheritance tax", "name": "Inheritance tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Tax rates", "name": "Tax rates" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26089/", "id": "95-416_2008Jan04", "date": "2008-01-05", "retrieved": "2010-07-07T17:39:19", "title": "Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes: A Description of Current Law", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits. The federal estate tax is computed through a series of adjustments and modifications of a tax base known as the \"gross estate.\" Certain allowable deductions reduce the gross estate to the \"taxable estate,\" to which is then added the total of all lifetime taxable gifts made by the decedent. The tax rates are applied and, after reduction for certain allowable credits, the amount of tax owed by the estate is reached.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20080105_95-416_0223c6b1516ad97933b3c2fea55527fc4d0943d9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20080105_95-416_0223c6b1516ad97933b3c2fea55527fc4d0943d9.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Taxation", "name": "Taxation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Estate tax", "name": "Estate tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gift tax", "name": "Gift tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Inheritance tax", "name": "Inheritance tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Tax rates", "name": "Tax rates" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811776/", "id": "95-416_2007Jan19", "date": "2007-01-19", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes: A Description of Current Law", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits. The federal estate tax is computed through a series of adjustments and modifications of a tax base known as the \"gross estate.\" Certain allowable deductions reduce the gross estate to the \"taxable estate,\" to which is then added the total of all lifetime taxable gifts made by the decedent. The tax rates are applied and, after reduction for certain allowable credits, the amount of tax owed by the estate is reached.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20070119_95-416_02920f7a04186d23146467fca1a4ff8d5a714374.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20070119_95-416_02920f7a04186d23146467fca1a4ff8d5a714374.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Taxation", "name": "Taxation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Estate tax", "name": "Estate tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gift tax", "name": "Gift tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Inheritance tax", "name": "Inheritance tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Tax rates", "name": "Tax rates" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820837/", "id": "95-416_2003Jan29", "date": "2003-01-29", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-skipping Taxes: A Description of Current Law", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the Federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the Federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20030129_95-416_992d6c071940f80f705821b2ce5fff15a14f8bab.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030129_95-416_992d6c071940f80f705821b2ce5fff15a14f8bab.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Taxation", "name": "Taxation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Estate tax", "name": "Estate tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gift tax", "name": "Gift tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Inheritance tax", "name": "Inheritance tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Tax rates", "name": "Tax rates" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs3420/", "id": "95-416_2002Jan15", "date": "2002-01-15", "retrieved": "2005-06-12T06:09:31", "title": "Federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Taxes: A Description of Current Law", "summary": "This report contains an explanation of the major provisions of the Federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The discussion divides the Federal estate tax into three components: the gross estate, deductions from the gross estate, and computation of the tax, including allowable tax credits.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20020115_95-416_05e561945a00ff8483b8c6cd25ea7f1e7e0d716f.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20020115_95-416_05e561945a00ff8483b8c6cd25ea7f1e7e0d716f.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Taxation", "name": "Taxation" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Internal revenue law", "name": "Internal revenue law" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Gift tax", "name": "Gift tax" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Estate tax", "name": "Estate tax" } ] } ], "topics": [] }