Data on 2007 Estate Tax Returns

About 36,706 estate tax returns (Forms 706) were filed for decedents who died in 2007, reporting a combined $224.8 billion in total gross estate. Remember, in 2009, the estate tax exemption was $2 million per person.

Of the returns filed, 47.3% claimed a marital deduction for property passing to a surviving spouse. One in five returns claimed a charitable contribution deduction, totaling $27.9 billion. After accounting for these and other deductions, there were 16,608 taxable returns reporting $24.6 billion in net estate tax.

Source: Summer 2011 SOI Bulletin