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What is death tax?

 

What is death tax?

The Bankrate.com financial term of the day is: "death tax."

"Death tax" is slang for the federal estate tax; it's a term that was coined by detractors of the tax. They dismiss it as a tax on death and a sign of a tax system run amok. The tax is levied on property left by an owner who has died. Estates below a certain threshold are exempt from the estate tax.

Critics say the two fabled certainties of life -- death and taxes -- intersect in the federal estate tax, which they call the death tax.

For answers to all of your tax questions, visit the Taxes section at Bankrate.com.

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