Definitions for "Federal estate tax"
A tax that is imposed by the federal government, and some state governments, on the transfer of assets to heirs. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 provides that the amount of assets each person can exclude from estate taxes is $675,000 in 2000 and 2001, rising to $1 million in 2006 and later years.
a tax imposed by the U.S. government on the transfer of property at death; scheduled to be repealed for one year in 2010
An excise tax levied by the federal government on the right to transfer property at death. It is imposed on and measured by the value of the estate left behind by the deceased.