Tax Policy Group Predicts Estate Tax Returns Will Decrease in 2011

According to the Tax Policy Group, new rules governing which taxpayers are required to pay estate taxes will decrease the amount of total taxes owed in 2010 by about fifty percent compared to 2009 (the last year the tax was levied).

The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, based on IRS data, anticipates 8,600 estates, comprising $125 billion, will file estate tax returns in 2011. The Tax Policy Group predicts that of these 8,600 estates, only 3,270 will actually owe the IRS taxes and that those 3,270 estates will owe around $10 billion. According to the IRS, taxpayers filed 14,713 taxable returns in 2009, showing $20.6 million in due taxes.

The Tax Policy Group also expects that slightly more estates will file tax returns for 2012 than for 2011. The Center predicts that 8,850 estates will file tax returns in 2012 and 3,340 of those will owe taxes totaling about $11 billion.

See Arden Dale, Estate Tax Returns To Shrink Sharply For 2011-Tax Policy Group, The Wall Street Journal, Jun. 9, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse, (WealthCounsel) for bringing this article to my attention.