§2518 Disclaimers

Summary

If someone makes a qualified disclaimer of an interest in property, the law treats that interest as if the person never received it for the tax rules in this part of the code. A “qualified disclaimer” means the person gives a final, unconditional refusal to accept the property. The refusal must be in writing and received by the person who transferred the property, that person’s legal representative, or the person who legally holds the property no later than 9 months after the later of the date the transfer happened or the day the person turns 21. The person must not have accepted the property or any benefits from it. Because of the refusal, the interest must pass without the refuser directing where it goes and must go either to the decedent’s spouse or to someone other than the person who refused. A disclaimer can cover only part of an undivided interest. A power over property counts as an interest. Also, a written transfer of the transferor’s entire interest that meets similar timing and non-acceptance rules and that goes to the same people who would get the property after a disclaimer is treated the same as a qualified disclaimer.