Estate Tax Basics

Date Published: 
Mon, 06/14/2010

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. June 14, 2010. 

"Policy Basics: The Estate Tax" is a fact sheet gives readers a solid breakdown of the tax, what it means and how it may change in the future. Even a simple document like this counters some of the more outrageous myths conservatives propagate about the policy.

"It is levied not on the full estate but rather on the portion of the estate’s value that exceeds a specified amount of money, called the 'exemption level,' minus deductions, such as for charitable giving." The current exemption level is $3.5 million, or $7 million for a couple.