View all text of Part II [§ 2010 - § 2016]
§ 2010. Unified credit against estate tax
(a) General rule
(b) Adjustment to credit for certain gifts made before 1977
(c) Applicable credit amount
(1) In general
(2) Applicable exclusion amountFor purposes of this subsection, the applicable exclusion amount is the sum of—
(A) the basic exclusion amount, and
(B) in the case of a surviving spouse, the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount.
(3) Basic exclusion amount
(A) In general
(B) Inflation adjustmentIn the case of any decedent dying in a calendar year after 2011, the dollar amount in subparagraph (A) shall be increased by an amount equal to—
(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by
(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment determined under section 1(f)(3) for such calendar year by substituting “calendar year 2010” for “calendar year 2016” in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
If any amount as adjusted under the preceding sentence is not a multiple of $10,000, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $10,000.
(C) Increase in basic exclusion amount
(4) Deceased spousal unused exclusion amountFor purposes of this subsection, with respect to a surviving spouse of a deceased spouse dying after December 31, 2010, the term “deceased spousal unused exclusion amount” means the lesser of—
(A) the basic exclusion amount, or
(B) the excess of—
(i) the applicable exclusion amount of the last such deceased spouse of such surviving spouse, over
(ii) the amount with respect to which the tentative tax is determined under section 2001(b)(1) on the estate of such deceased spouse.
(5) Special rules
(A) Election required
(B) Examination of prior returns after expiration of period of limitations with respect to deceased spousal unused exclusion amount
(6) Regulations
(d) Limitation based on amount of tax
(Added Pub. L. 94–455, title XX, § 2001(a)(2), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1848; amended Pub. L. 97–34, title IV, § 401(a)(1), (2)(A), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 299; Pub. L. 101–508, title XI, § 11801(a)(39), (c)(19)(A), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–521, 1388–528; Pub. L. 105–34, title V, § 501(a)(1)(A), (B), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 845; Pub. L. 107–16, title V, § 521(a), June 7, 2001, 115 Stat. 71; Pub. L. 111–312, title III, §§ 302(a)(1), 303(a), Dec. 17, 2010, 124 Stat. 3301, 3302; Pub. L. 112–240, title I, § 101(c)(2), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2318; Pub. L. 115–97, title I, §§ 11002(d)(1)(CC), 11061(a), Dec. 22, 2017, 131 Stat. 2060, 2091.)