§2206 — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

Summary

If someone's estate paid estate tax and part of that estate was life insurance paid to a beneficiary other than the executor, the executor can recover a fair share of the tax from that beneficiary. The share matches how much the insurance proceeds made up of the taxable estate, and multiple beneficiaries pay in the same ratio. A surviving spouse is mostly protected: proceeds covered by the marital deduction are off limits, except any amount above the total marital deductions allowed. The person who died can override all of this in their will.

Title 26, §2206

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Unless the decedent directs otherwise in his will, if any part of the gross estate on which tax has been paid consists of proceeds of policies of insurance on the life of the decedent receivable by a beneficiary other than the executor, the executor shall be entitled to recover from such beneficiary such portion of the total tax paid as the proceeds of such policies bear to the taxable estate. If there is more than one such beneficiary, the executor shall be entitled to recover from such beneficiaries in the same ratio. In the case of such proceeds receivable by the surviving spouse of the decedent for which a deduction is allowed under section 2056 (relating to marital deduction), this section shall not apply to such proceeds except as to the amount thereof in excess of the aggregate amount of the marital deductions allowed under such section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Pub. L. 94–455 substituted “the taxable estate” for “the sum of the taxable estate and the amount of the exemption allowed in computing the taxable estate, determined under section 2051” after “policies bear to”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–455 applicable to estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 1976, see section 2001(d)(1) of Pub. L. 94–455, set out as a note under section 2001 of this title.

§2206 Liability of Life Insurance Beneficiaries