ESTATE TAX LAWS

Many states levy an estate tax in the exact amount of the Internal Revenue Code Sec. 2011 credit for state death taxes allowed under the federal estate tax laws. This is often referred to as a "pick-up" tax. In such states, the states' estate tax laws essentially pick up any slack created under the federal laws.

An inheritance tax is levied on the right to receive property by inheritance. Beneficiaries are divided into classes according to the closeness or remoteness of their relationship to the decedent, with different exemptions and tax rates applied to each class. Generally, the closer the relationship, the greater the exemption and the lower the tax.

In the coming years, there will most likely be a lot of changes to the way states impose their estate taxes. For example, the substantial changes to the federal estate tax laws enacted in 2001 under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) include the gradual phase-out of the state death tax credit. This means that states with only a pick-up tax in place will entirely lose their estate tax revenues unless additional state estate taxes are enacted (which many have already done). Just keep in mind that the billions of dollars of associated lost state revenues will have to be made up somewhere else. (Translation: look for some form of higher state taxes in the future)

WHAT'S BELOW? In the table below, you will find links and citations to estate, inheritance, and similar taxation laws for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Alabama	Title 40, Section 15 Estate and Inheritance TaxTitle 40, Section 15A Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
Alaska	Title 43, Chapter 31 Estate Tax
Arizona	Title 42, Chapter 4 Estate and Generation Skipping Taxes
Arkansas	Title 26, Chapter 59 Estate Taxes
California	California Revenue and Taxation Code, Division 1, Part 10, Chapter 9 Estates, Trusts, Beneficiaries, and Decedents
Colorado	Title 39, Article 23-24 Estate and Inheritance and Succession Tax
Connecticut	Title 12, Chapter 216 Succession and Transfer Taxes Title 12, Chapter 216a Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Title 12, Chapter 217 Estate Tax Title 12, Chapter 218 Federal and State Estate Taxes Title 12, Chapter 218a Estate Income Tax
Delaware	Title 30, Chapter 13 Inheritance Title 30, Chapter 14 Gift Tax Title 30, Chapter 15 Estate Tax Title 30, Chapter 16 Pass-Through Entities, Estates and Trusts Title 30, Chapter 17 Interstate Compromise or Arbitration of Death Taxes
District of Columbia	Title 47, Chapter 37 Inheritance and Estate Taxes
Florida	Title XIV, Chapter 198 Estate Taxes
Georgia	Chapter 48-12
Hawaii	Chapter 236D Estate and Transfer Tax
Idaho	Chapter 63-3024 Individuals' Tax and Tax on Estates and Trusts Chapter 63-3022L Individuals who are Officers, Directors, Shareholders, Partners or Members of a Corporation or Partnership or Beneficiaries of a Trust or Estate
Illinois	35 ILCS 405 Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act
Indiana	Title 6, Article 4.1 Death Taxes
Iowa	Title X, Chapter 450 Inheritance Tax Title X, Chapter 450A Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Title X, Chapter 450B Qualified Use Inheritance Tax Title X, Chapter 451 Iowa Estate Tax
Kansas	Chapter 79, Article 15 Death Taxes
Kentucky	Title XI, Chapter 140 Inheritance and Estate Taxes
Louisiana	Title 47, Section 181 Imposition of Tax on Estates and Trusts
Maine	Title 36, Chapters 551-575 Inheritance, Succession and Estate Taxes
Maryland	Tax-General, Title 7 Death Taxes
Massachusetts	Title IX, Chapter 65 Taxation of Legacies And Successions Title IX, Chapter 65A. Taxation of Transfers of Certain Estates. Title IX, Chapter 65B Settlement of Disputes Respecting the Domicile of Decedents for Death Tax Purposes. Title IX, Chapter 65C Massachusetts Estate Tax.
Michigan	Chapters 205.201 - 205.256 Michigan Estate Tax Act
Minnesota	Chapter 291 Estate Tax Chapter 292 Gift Taxes
Mississippi	Title 27, Chapter 9 Estate Tax
Missouri	Title X, Chapter 145 Estate Tax (formerly Inheritance Tax)
Montana	Chapter 15-30-135 Tax on beneficiaries or fiduciaries of estates or trusts Chapter 15-30-136 Computation of income of estates or trusts -- exemption Chapter 15-30-137 Determination of tax of estates and trusts Chapter 15-30-138 Estates and trusts tax remedies.
Nebraska	Chapters 77-2001 - 77-2116 Inheritance Tax; Estate Tax; Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
Nevada	Title 32, Chapter 375A Tax on Estates Title 32, Chapter 375B Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
New Hampshire	Title V Chapter 87 Taxation of Transfers of Certain Estates Title V, Chapter 88-A Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act Chapter Title V, Chapter 90 Settlement of Disputes Respecting the Domicile of Decedents for Death Tax Purposes
New Jersey	Chapters 58-33 - 58-38
New Mexico	Chapter 7, Article 7 Estate Tax
New York	Tax, Article 26 Estate Tax Tax, Article 26-B Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
North Carolina	Chapter 105, Article 1A Estate Taxes
North Dakota	Chapter 57-37.1 Estate Tax (PDF)
Ohio	Title LVII, Chapter 5731 Estate Tax
Oklahoma	Sections 68-801 - 68-827 Inheritance or Transfer Taxes
Oregon	Chapter 118 Inheritance Tax
Pennsylvania	Title 20, Chapter 37 Apportionment of Death Taxes
Rhode Island	Chapter 44-22 Estate and Transfer Taxes - Liability and Computation Chapter 44-23 Estate and Transfer Taxes - Enforcement and Collection Chapter 44-23.1 Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Chapter 44-24 Gift Tax
South Dakota	Title 10, Chapter 40 Imposition And Amount Of Inheritance Tax Title 10, Chapter 40A Estate Tax Title 10, Chapter 41 Administration And Collection Of Inheritance Tax
South Carolina	Title 12, Chapter 16 Estate Tax
Tennessee	Title 67, Chapter 8 Transfer Taxes
Texas	Tax Code, Subtitle J, Chapter 211 Inheritance Taxes
Utah	Title 59, Chapter 11 Inheritance Tax Act
Vermont	Title 32, Chapter 185 Interstate Arbitration of Death Taxes Title 32, Chapter 187 Interstate Compromise of Death Taxes Title 32, Chapter 189 Uniform Estate Tax Apportionment Act Title 32, Chapter 190 Estate and Gift Taxes
Virginia	Title 58.1, Chapter 9 Virginia Estate Tax
Washington	Titles 83 Estate Taxation
West Virginia	Chapter 11, Article 11 Estate Taxes
Wisconsin	Chapters 72 Estate Tax
Wyoming	Title 39, Chapter 19 Inheritance Taxes

 

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