Marital deduction
Encyclopedia
Marital deduction is a type of tax law
that allows a person to give assets to his or her spouse with reduced or no tax
imposed upon the transfer. Some marital deduction laws even apply to transfers made postmortem. Spouses can transfer property between themselves tax free and ex-spouses can do that according to divorce decree. For U.S. estate and gift tax purposes, there is no tax on transfers between spouses, whether during lifetime or at death. There is no limit on the amount that may be transferred. However, there are two important exceptions. The federal gift tax marital deduction is only available if the donee spouse (the person receiving the gift) is a U.S. citizen
. The federal estate tax marital deduction is available for bequests at death to a surviving spouse, whether or not he or she is a U.S. citizen. However, if the survivor is not a U.S. citizen, the bequest must take the form of a specialized type of trust known as a Qualified Domestic Trust.
Tax law
Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.-Major issues:Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
that allows a person to give assets to his or her spouse with reduced or no tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
imposed upon the transfer. Some marital deduction laws even apply to transfers made postmortem. Spouses can transfer property between themselves tax free and ex-spouses can do that according to divorce decree. For U.S. estate and gift tax purposes, there is no tax on transfers between spouses, whether during lifetime or at death. There is no limit on the amount that may be transferred. However, there are two important exceptions. The federal gift tax marital deduction is only available if the donee spouse (the person receiving the gift) is a U.S. citizen
Citizenship in the United States
Citizenship in the United States is a status given to individuals that entails specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between the United States and the individual...
. The federal estate tax marital deduction is available for bequests at death to a surviving spouse, whether or not he or she is a U.S. citizen. However, if the survivor is not a U.S. citizen, the bequest must take the form of a specialized type of trust known as a Qualified Domestic Trust.