However, farm assets and business assets represent a relatively small share of total taxable estate value, approximately 17.1% of gross taxable estate value in 2009. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annually publishes data on the distribution of assets in estate tax returns filed in a tax year. This report uses data for returns filed in 2009 and 2010. The estate tax was repealed for those who died in 2010, thus the data for the returns filed in 2010 do not reflect the impact of the tax. The 2010 data are provided as an Appendix to this report. Table 2 suggests the progressivity of the estate and gift tax in 2009. In contrast to farm estates, assets typically associated with non-farm businesses are concentrated in estates valued over $10 million.
This report provides data on the distribution of assets in estates as reported on estate tax returns filed in 2009 and 2010. The data for 2010 are unique, as the estate tax was repealed for those who died in calendar year 2010. Thus, the 2010 data are presented as an appendix to this report. Based on the 2009 data, this report finds that farm and business assets represent a small share of the total value of taxable estates that filed tax returns in 2009 (3.25% and 13.86%, respectively). That share is concentrated in estates valued over $10 million. For an overview of the estate tax, see CRS Report RL30600, Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]. This report will be updated as new data become available.