Decrease in Filed Estate Tax Returns and IRS Collections

From 2009 to 2010, the number of estate tax returns filed dropped fifty-five percent. Additionally, the IRS collections dropped over 20% from 2009 to 2010 with collections of $20.4 billion and $16.1 billion in net estate taxes, respectively. The majority of returns filed in 2010 applied to decedents who died in 2009 when there was a $3.5 estate tax exclusion amount.

See Eric Kroh, “Estate Tax Returns Fell by Half in 2010, IRS Says,” 2011 TNT 193-3, (Oct. 4, 2011); Andrew Hodes (Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal) Number of Estate Tax Returns Down Over Fifty Percent in 2010, Wealth Strategies Journal, Oct. 5, 2011.

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