Who pays the estate tax?
The top 10 percent of income earners pays nearly 90 percent of the tax, with over one-fourth paid by the richest 0.1 percent. Few farms or family businesses pay the tax.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that some 11,310 individuals dying in 2017 will leave estates large enough to require filing an estate tax return (estates with a gross value under $5.49 million need not file this return in 2017). After allowing for deductions and credits, 5,460 estates will owe tax. Over two-thirds of these taxable estates will come from the top 10 percent of income earners and close to one-fourth will come from the top 1 percent alone.
Estate tax liability will total an estimated $19.95 billion in 2017. The top 10 percent of income earners will pay 88 percent of this total. The richest 0.1 percent will pay $5.48 billion, or 27 percent of the total.
Only an estimated 80 small farms and closely held businesses—estates with farm and business assets totaling no more than $5 million and making up at least half of gross estate—will pay any estate tax in 2017. Such estates will represent about 1 percent of all taxable estate tax returns.
The Tax Policy Center estimates that small farms and businesses will pay $30 million in estate tax in 2017, fifteen hundredths of 1 percent of the total estate tax revenue.
Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “Microsimulation Model, version 0217-1.”
Harris, Benjamin. 2013. “The Estate Tax After ATRA.” Tax Notes. February 25.
Joint Committee on Taxation. 2015. “History, Present Law and Analysis of the Federal Wealth Transfer System.” JCX-52-15. Washington, DC: Joint Committee on Taxation.
Williams, Roberton. 2013. “Finally, a Permanent Estate Tax, Though Just for the Wealthy Few.” TaxVox (blog). February 7.