Estate tax opponents coined the term 'death tax' to sway public opinion

The debate over estate taxes centers on wealth inequality

Since the modern federal estate tax was implemented, people have felt strongly about whether or not to keep it. Much of the debate boils down to equality: Proponents say the tax creates better income equality between the rich and poor, while opponents say it's an inequitable tax only placed on the wealthy.

Death taxes have helped fund wars since the 1860s

Death taxes date back to 700 BCE and were used in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt. In the US, they've been used to finance wars since the Civil War, and have been levied on both the estate and beneficiary. The estate tax created during WWI to help finance war efforts is still in effect today.

If the estate tax is repealed, more expensive alternatives might come in its place

The federal estate tax has been up for political debate for decades. Many want to get rid of it altogether. If repealed other tax options, like capital gains taxes, could have people paying more in taxes than before.

Death taxes are placed on a deceased person's estate

Death taxes can include liquid cash, property, stocks, or other financial assets they owned. There are two main types of death taxes in the US: the estate tax and inheritance tax. Death taxes are levied at the federal and state level, but are targeted towards the rich.

Historically, only about 1% to 2% of Americans had to pay the federal estate tax

Recent IRS data shows that between 2011-16, that number dropped even lower: The federal estate tax only impacts about 0.2% of Americans. Death taxes typically only impact the rich, and the federal estate tax is no exception.

See how the federal estate tax has changed in the 21st century

In 2001, the government passed an act to completely repeal the tax. It was overturned in 2010. In 2017, the government increased the exemption threshold so fewer people would have to pay into the tax. In 2025, the exemption threshold was permanently set to $15M.

Certain trusts can bypass estate taxes—but the terms can't be changed

Putting money and other financial assets in an irrevocable trust is one way to avoid estate taxes. There are some cons to this trust, like the fact that you can't change the terms of the trust or assets in the trust after they're set. But a big pro is that any financial assets in an irrevocable trust aren't considered part of your estate, meaning they aren't subject to death taxes.

What is the unlimited marital deduction?

One big way to avoid paying several death taxes? Get married. The unlimited marital deduction allows an individual to grant all their financial assets to their spouse while they're alive or after they’ve died without having to pay the federal estate tax or gift tax. There are limitations to this rule. For instance, how it works with state death taxes. Learn more here.

More than 40 states have passed versions of the Uniform Declaration of Death Act

The 1981 model law, now enacted in most states, is the legal basis for death in the US. There have been many efforts to amend this law, citing the need for more transparency to improve trust between families and the medical profession, though none have moved forward. Alterations to the law could have implications for organ donations and removing life support.

The term 'wedding tax' is often used to refer to the extra money that many wedding industry suppliers charge

According to wedding vendors, the "wedding tax"—the additional money charged for goods and services specifically intended for a wedding rather than another type of event—stems from the increased amount of time and attention that someone like a florist or makeup artist spends on a wedding versus any other type of event. Unlike other events, weddings are often planned a year or more in advance and require more detailed planning and hours of communication.

How the federal income tax affected Prohibition

In the early 1900s, 30% to 40% of government tax revenue came from liquor, wine, and beer, a reliance that made Prohibition seem like a fiscal impossibility. But the passage of the federal income tax in 1913 changed the calculus, which helped allow the government to ban alcohol production and sales.

Tax-loss harvesting is a way that some people attempt to trim their tax bills

Specifically, tax-loss harvesting is a way to lower your tax bill by offsetting investment gains with losses. It can be tricky to practice and comes with a few important rules, so working with an expert may be your best bet before Tax Day.

Supporters say term limits prevent entrenched power

Advocates argue that term limits stop politicians from becoming career insiders, make government more accountable, and ensure fresh ideas circulate. They believe regular turnover keeps officials closer to the public and less beholden to special interests.

In 1968, a Harvard Medical School committee issued the first neurological definition of death

The definition set a legal and medical precedent for how we define death, important for issues including organ donation. This 2020 video podcast discusses the history of brain death controversies and the variability in how death has been determined, including discussions in the late 1960s about when patients are considered dead in the context of organ donations.

Final life insurance is most common for people over the age of 50

Final expense life insurance is a type of life insurance where, instead of paying a sum of money to your beneficiaries after death, the insurance covers the expenses for your funeral, burial, and any end-of-life care.

In the 1950s, the federal government tried to dissolve tribal nations and end their sovereignty

A federal policy called "termination" withdrew official recognition from more than 100 tribes in the 1950s, cutting off federal services and subjecting reservation land to state taxes and sale.

The first US ETF was launched in 1993

Exchange-traded funds are relatively new inventions, and they've grown significantly in popularity during their few decades of existence. They were first created as an alternative to mutual funds. A colorful visualization depicts the entire history of ETFs.

The temperance movement loathed toasting

The 19th- and 20th-century groups opposed to drinking alcohol viewed toasting as a vile practice that encouraged excess and debauchery. One reverend wrote in 1881 that "toasting is a relic of the vile custom of drinking to the honour, applause and commemoration of depraved men and women, whose persons should have been despised, and whose memories should be perished."

The Roth IRA was named after Senator William V. Roth, Jr.

The Roth IRA was established by Senator William Roth in 1997 as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act. Roth IRAs differ from traditional IRAs in that they allow individuals to invest after-tax income for retirement rather than pre-tax income.

Mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today

The word "mortgage" comes from medieval French, meaning "death contract"—but the modern American mortgage has a more recent and complicated history. This explainer looks at how mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today, including the impacts of New Deal policies, redlining, and the Fair Housing Act.

What is Swedish death cleaning?

Popularized in 2017 by Margareta Magnusson and her book "Döstädning: The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning," Swedish death cleaning is a cultural practice that encourages older folks to organize (and often donate) their belongings before they pass. This article explores the reasons behind the practice and explains how it can alleviate stress around death.

Early Americans hated the idea of a central bank

After a series of economic panics induced by a lack of reserve cash at regional banks, the architects of today’s Federal Reserve opted to emphasize the goal of the bank as a reserve at the federal level—thus creating the lasting name.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Day of the Dead poems skewer everyone, living or dead

The tradition of calaveras literarias, or satirical poems about death, dates back to the 20th century. They take aim at everyone, including deceased loved ones, politicians, family and friends.

Many writers considered 'existentialist' didn't identify with the term

“Existentialism” was first introduced in 1943 by philosopher Gabriel Marcel. Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir readily adopted the term, but others, such as Albert Camus and Martin Heidegger, rejected it. Earlier philosophers, like Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, were long dead by the time the word was in vogue.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

No proof of Nikola Tesla developing a working 'death ray' exists

He described his "teleforce" weapon as generating beams of concentrated particles that could destroy targets from 250 miles away with unparalleled precision. Analysis of Tesla's papers on the subject by an expert after his death revealed the work to be mostly speculative.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.