PRIA Logo™
Title 26 — Internal Revenue CodeRelease 119-73

§2044 Certain Property for Which Marital Deduction Was Previously Allowed

Title 26 › Subtitle Subtitle B— Estate and Gift Taxes › Chapter 11— ESTATE TAX › Subchapter A— Estates of Citizens or Residents › Part III— GROSS ESTATE › § 2044

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When a surviving spouse dies, their gross estate includes the value of property in which they had a qualifying income interest for life, if that property earned a marital deduction when it was transferred to them — through the first spouse's estate or as a gift — and the survivor did not already trigger gift tax by disposing of the interest during life. The property is treated as passing from the surviving spouse for estate and generation-skipping tax purposes.

Full Legal Text

Title 26, §2044

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The value of the gross estate shall include the value of any property to which this section applies in which the decedent had a qualifying income interest for life.
(b)This section applies to any property if—
(1)a deduction was allowed with respect to the transfer of such property to the decedent—
(A)under section 2056 by reason of subsection (b)(7) thereof, or
(B)under section 2523 by reason of subsection (f) thereof, and
(2)section 2519 (relating to dispositions of certain life estates) did not apply with respect to a disposition by the decedent of part or all of such property.
(c)For purposes of this chapter and chapter 13, property includible in the gross estate of the decedent under subsection (a) shall be treated as property passing from the decedent.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2044 was renumbered section 2045 of this title.

Amendments

1983—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–448 added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1983 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–448 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if it had been included in the provision of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, Pub. L. 97–34, to which such amendment relates, see section 109 of Pub. L. 97–448, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Effective Date

Section applicable to estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 1981, see section 403(e) of Pub. L. 97–34, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1981 Amendment note under section 2056 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

26 U.S.C. § 2044

Title 26 — Internal Revenue Code

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73