Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-900.5
Insurance on the decedent's life, payable to a corporation or association in which the decedent had an ownership interest, while not subject to tax as insurance, may increase the value of the decedent's interest. In re Reed's Estate, 243 N.Y. 199, 153 N.E.47, 47 A.L.R. 522 (1926).
For a gift to be determined to have been made in contemplation of death it is not necessary that the grantor be conscious of imminent or immediate death. However, the term means more than the general expectation of death which all entertain. It is a gift when the grantor is influenced to do so by such expectation of death, arising from bodily or mental condition, as prompts persons to dispose of their property to those whom they deem the proper object of their bounty. It is sufficient if the thought of death is the impelling cause for the gift. U.S. v. Wells, 283 U. S. 1 02, 51 S. Ct. 446, 75 L.Ed. 867 (1931); In re Mann's Estate, 219 Iowa 597, 258 N.W. 904 (1935).
EXAMPLE. The decedent-donor, A, died July 1, 2012. The three-year period during which gifts may be subject to inheritance tax begins July 1, 2009. During the calendar year 2009, A made a cash gift to nephew B of $14,000 on May 1, 2009, and a second gift to B of $4,000 on August 1, 2009. In this example, none of the $14,000 gift made on May 1, 2009, is includable for inheritance tax purposes because it was made before the three-year period began, based on A's date of death. All of the $4,000 gift made on August 1, 2009, is includable for inheritance tax purposes because it is in excess of the calendar year 2009 federal gift tax exclusion of $13,000.
The consent of the donor's spouse signified under 26 U.S.C. Section 2513(b) shall also be presumed to be consent for Iowa inheritance tax purposes, unless the contrary is shown. If the split gift election is made, the election shall apply to all gifts made during the calendar year. Therefore, if the election is made, each spouse may use the annual federal gift tax exclusion which shall be applied to one-half of the total value of all gifts made by both spouses during the calendar year to each donee.
EXAMPLE A. Grantor-decedent, A, on July 1, 1992, transferred to nephew B, without consideration, a 160-acre Iowa farm, reserving the life use. On the date of transfer, the farm had a fair market value of $2,000 per acre, or $320,000. On August 1, 1994, A released the retained life estate without any consideration being given and then died on December 1, 1994. The release on August 1, 1994, constitutes a gift, for inheritance tax purposes, of the value of the entire farm (less the annual gift tax exclusion), within the three-year period prior to death. What is taxable is what would have been taxable had the release not been given. United States v. Allen, 293 F.2d 916 (10th Cir. 1961); Rev. Ruling 56-324, 1956 2 C.B. 999. In this example, the gift is not to be valued at the time of the release of the life use, but rather at its fair market value at the time of death. See subrule 900.9(1). The real estate cannot be valued at its alternate valuation date because it is not included in the federal gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, but rather it constitutes an adjusted taxable gift not eligible for the alternate valuation date. See rule 701-900.10 (450) and Federal Estate Tax Regulation Section 20.2032-1(a) and (d).
EXAMPLE B. A, on August 1, 2009, loaned brother B $450,000 which was evidenced by a non-interest-bearing promissory note, payable on demand. A died on October 1, 2011, with no part of the loan having been repaid. The principal amount of the note is includable in A's gross estate. The free use of money is a valuable property right to the debtor. Dickman v. Commissioner, 465 U.S. 330 (1984). Thus, in effect, A has made a gift of the value of the interest to B each year the debt remains unpaid. Assuming for purposes of illustration that the applicable federal short-term rate for the entire year is 9 percent for each year and no other gifts were made to B, A has made a gift to B of $40,500 through August 2010 (one year after the note was executed) and an additional gift of $40,500 through August 1, 2011, and two months' interest of $6,750 from August 1, 2011, to the date of death on October 1, 2011. Therefore, in calendar year 2009 A has made a gift of 5/12 of $40,500, or $16,875. After deducting the annual calendar year exclusion of $13,000, $3,875 is subject to inheritance tax. Since the loan was outstanding for all of calendar year 2010, $40,500, less the $13,000 exclusion, or $27,500, is subject to inheritance tax. For calendar year 2011 the loan was outstanding for nine months. Three-fourths of $40,500, less $13,000, or $17,375, is subject to inheritance tax.
In this example it is not necessary that the loan be made within the three-year period prior to death. It is the free use of the loan during the three-year period prior to death that constitutes the gift.
EXAMPLE C. On March 1, 2010, A sold a 160-acre Iowa farm to niece B for $1,500 per acre, or $240,000. On the date of sale, the fair market value of the farm was $2,500 per acre, or $400,000. A died on August 1, 2012. This sale is, in part, a gift. It is not a bona fide sale for an adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth, and as a result, the difference between the sale price and the fair market value of the farm on the date of sale constitutes a gift. The sale price in this example represents only 60 percent of the farm's fair market value; therefore, 40 percent of the farm is a gift. However, the gift percentage to apply to the farm's value at death is 37 percent, not 40 percent, because the $13,000 annual gift tax exclusion must be deducted from the value of the gift. See the computation of this percentage in Example D immediately following.
EXAMPLE D. On March 1, 2010, A sold a 160-acre Iowa farm to niece B for $2,500 per acre, or $400,000, which was also the fair market value of the farm on the date of sale. The sale was an installment sale contract, payable in 20 equal annual installments of principal and interest. The unpaid principal balance is to draw interest at one-half of the prevailing Federal Land Bank loan rate, which for purposes of illustration we will assume to be the rate of 12 percent, or 6 percent per year. The annual payments of principal and interest are $34,873.82 per year. A died on August 1, 2012. In this example, the sale price in and of itself does not constitute a gift because the sale price was also the fair market value of the farm. However, the difference between the prevailing Federal Land Bank loan rate of 12 percent and the contract rate of 6 percent constitutes a gift from A to B.
The amount of the gift that is includable in the gross estate is computed by determining the present value of the future annual payments of $34,873.82 discounted to reflect a 12 percent return on the investment. The discounted value is then divided by the fair market value of the farm on the date of the sale to determine the percentage of the sale price that is a bona fide sale for full consideration and the percentage of the sale price that represents a gift before the annual exclusion. The gift percentage is then applied to the fair market value of the farm (or special use value, if applicable) at death, to determine the amount that is includable in the gross estate.
The computation in this example is as follows:
The present value of the future annual payments of $34,873.82 for 20 years to reflect a 12 percent return on an investment is $260,488.05. That is, an investor who desires to earn the market rate of return of 12 percent on an investment would only pay $260,488.05 for this 6 percent $400,000 contract of sale.
Bona Fide Sale Percentage
This is the percentage of the sale price of $400,000 that represents a bona fide sale for full consideration.
Gift Percentage
The sale price of $400,000 - $260,488.05 or $139,511.95 is the gift portion of the sale price due to the 6 percent interest rate on the contract, before the $13,000 annual exclusion is deducted.
The gift percentage is computed as follows:
In this example the gift percentage used to determine the amount of the farm value at death that is taxable is only 32 percent of the value because deducting the $13,000 exclusion reduced the gift percentage from 35 percent to 32 percent. The gift took place in the year of sale, not in the year of death. As a result, 32 percent of fair market value (or special use value, if applicable) of the farm at the time of the donor's death is includable in the gross estate for inheritance tax purposes.
If a confidential relationship constituting a constructive or resulting trust is established on behalf of the decedent, the property or property interest that is the subject of the trust is part of the decedent's gross estate as singly owned property.
The reservation of the life income, or portion thereof, need not necessarily be stated or contained in the instrument of transfer to be includable for taxation. The transfer of property may contain no reservation of income or other incidents of ownership in the grantor, but if there is a contemporaneous agreement between the grantor and grantee to pay the income, or portion thereof, to the grantor for life, the two instruments or agreements when considered together may be construed to be reservation of the income from the transferred property. See In re Sayres' Estate, 245 Iowa 132 at 141, 142, 60 N.W.2d 120 (1953) for a full discussion of the subject.
The instrument need not be in any special form. For example, it may take the form of a contract of sale to terminate at death where the payments consist of the income from the property only. In addition, the transfer to be includable for taxation is not limited to income-producing property. For example, the transfer of the grantor's dwelling, reserving the life occupancy, falls within the meaning of a reserved life income or interest. Generally, revocable trusts can be classified as reserving a life income or interest. This type of transfer does not fall within the annual gift exclusion.
If the donee's power to appoint is limited to a class or group of persons, a special, not a general, power is created. In re Estate of Spencer, 232 N.W.2d 491, at 496 (Iowa 1975).
If the instrument in the donor's estate creates a special power of appointment, the property subject to the power is taxed as if the donee of the power had received a life estate or term for years, as the case may be. Those persons who would take the property in the event the special power is not exercised are taxed in the donor's estate as if they had received the remainder interest in the property subject to the special power, although an election to defer payment of the tax may result in either no tax or a different tax obligation. This could happen, for example, if the special power is the power to invade the corpus for the health, education, and maintenance of the donee.
Property subject to a special power of appointment is not includable in the gross estate of the donee of the power regardless of whether the donee possesses the special power or exercised the power at death, unless a QTIP election was made under Iowa Code subsection 450.3(7) in which case the rule governing QTIP elections shall control. See paragraphs 900.5(10)"a" and "b" for the distinction between a general and special power and subrule 900.5(11) for the rule governing QTIP elections.
For inheritance tax purposes, if there is an exercise or release of the general power within three years of the donee's death, the property subject to the exercise or release is includable in the donee's estate just as if the donee had retained possession of the power at death and is taxable to those to whom the property is appointed in case the power is exercised, or to those who take in default of the exercise in case the power is released.
The general power of appointment is considered to have been exercised for the purposes of this rule when the nature of the disposition is such that if it were a transfer or disposition of the donee's property, the transfer would be subject to inheritance tax under Iowa Code section 450.3. The power is considered exercised in the following three nonexclusive classes of cases:
If property is not eligible for an Iowa qualified terminable interest election, or if eligible, but an Iowa election is not made, it is not included in the estate of the surviving spouse grantee-donee for inheritance tax purposes by reason of Iowa Code section 450.3. The fact that the qualified property is included in the estate of the surviving spouse for federal estate tax purposes does not necessarily mean the property is automatically included in the surviving spouse's Iowa gross estate.
The treatment of the qualified property in both the grantor-donor's and the surviving spouse's estates for Iowa inheritance tax purposes is determined by the Iowa election, or lack of an election, being made in the grantor-donor's estate.
This subrule is illustrated by the following examples:
EXAMPLE 1. Decedent A died testate, a resident of Iowa, July 2, 1995, leaving a surviving spouse, B, and two children, C and D. On February 1, 1992, A transferred by deed a 160-acre Iowa farm to spouse B for life, with the remainder at B's death to two children, C and D. An election was made under 26 U.S.C. Section 2523(f) to treat the gift of the 160-acre farm as passing entirely to B in fee.
Upon A's death the 160-acre farm is not part of A's gross estate either for federal estate or for Iowa inheritance tax purposes because the transfer was made more than three years prior to death. However, upon the death of B, the surviving spouse, the 160 acres is included in B's gross estate (unless disposed of prior to death) for federal estate tax purposes, but is not included in B's Iowa gross estate. The transfer by A took place more than three years prior to death, and therefore is not included in A's Iowa estate and is not eligible for an Iowa qualified terminable interest election.
EXAMPLE 2. On October 1, 1992, grantor A executed a revocable inter vivos trust which consisted of cash and a 160-acre Iowa farm. Under the terms of the trust agreement A was to receive the trust income for life and upon A's death the trustee was to pay the trust income to A's spouse, B, for life, with the power to invade the principal for B's care and support. Upon B's death the trust was to terminate and the balance of the corpus was to be paid to A's children, C and D. A died July 2, 1995, and the personal representative elected to treat the trust assets as passing entirely in fee to the surviving spouse, B, for federal estate tax purposes. An Iowa qualified terminable interest election was not made. In this fact situation, the election qualified the trust assets for the marital deduction for federal estate tax purposes. For Iowa inheritance tax purposes, since an Iowa election was not made, the trust assets are taxed on the basis of a life estate passing to B, the surviving spouse, and the remainder passing to the children, C and D. Upon B's death, the trust corpus will be included in B's estate for federal estate tax purposes, but not in B's estate for Iowa inheritance tax purposes, because an Iowa qualified terminable interest election was not made in A's estate.
An Iowa election cannot be made unless an election has been made on the same qualified property for federal estate tax purposes on a required federal return, or in case of a gift made within three years of the decedent grantordonor's death, for federal gift tax purposes. However, even though a federal election has been made, the personal representative of the decedent grantor-donor's estate has the option to either make or not to make the election with respect to the qualified property for Iowa inheritance tax purposes. It is sufficient for Iowa inheritance tax purposes that a valid federal election has been made. What constitutes a valid election for federal estate or gift tax purpose is determined under applicable federal law and practice and not by the department.
However, it is permissible for Iowa inheritance tax purposes to make an election for a smaller but not larger percentage of the qualified property than was made for federal estate or gift tax purposes. These general principles can be illustrated by the following examples:
EXAMPLE 1. Decedent-grantor A created a revocable inter vivos trust on October 15, 1992, which was funded by $200,000 in cash and a 160-acre Iowa farm worth $200,000. The trust provided that the trustee pay the income to A for life and upon A's death, the trustee was to pay the income to A's surviving spouse B for life, with power to invade the principal for B's care and support. Upon B's death the trust was to terminate and the balance of the principal was to be distributed to A's two children, C and D.
A died on July 2, 1995, and the principal of the trust is included in A's gross estate both for federal estate and Iowa inheritance tax purposes because the trust was revocable and A retained the income for life. A's personal representative elected to treat 50 percent of the trust assets as qualified terminable interest property for federal estate tax purposes. A's personal representative elected not to treat the qualified property as passing to B for Iowa inheritance tax purposes. This is permissible because the personal representative has the option to either elect or not to elect to treat 50 percent of the qualified property as passing in fee to the surviving spouse for Iowa inheritance tax purposes.
EXAMPLE 2. Same factual situation as Example 1. A's personal representative elects to treat only 25 percent of the qualified property as passing in fee to the surviving spouse for Iowa inheritance tax purposes. This is permissible because the personal representative is not required to make an election on all of the qualified terminable interest property on which the federal election has been made. It is sufficient that a federal election has been made for at least as large a percentage of the qualified property on which the Iowa election is made. However, an Iowa election cannot be made for a larger percentage of the qualified property than the percentage made on the federal election.
EXAMPLE 3. Same factual situation as Example 1. In this example, A's personal representative, for Iowa inheritance tax purposes, purports to elect to treat the $200,000 cash in the trust as passing in fee to the surviving spouse, but not the 160-acre Iowa farm, which is also valued at $200,000. Although the federal estate tax election is for 50 percent of the qualified property, the Iowa election is invalid even though it is made in respect to an asset which is equal in value to 50 percent of the trust principal. If the election is made for less than all of the qualified terminable interest property, the election must be for a fraction of all the qualified property. The personal representative is not permitted to select for the election some qualified assets and reject others. See Federal Estate Tax Regulation 20.2056-1(b).
The election consists of two affirmative acts performed by the personal representative on the inheritance tax return:
EXAMPLE 1. Decedent A died testate on July 2, 2017, survived by a spouse, B, aged 65, a child, C, and C's stepchildren, D and E. Under A's will, all property was left in trust to pay all of the income to B for life. Upon B's death, the trust was to terminate and the principal was to be divided equally between D and E, who are the stepchildren of child C. The personal representative elected to treat the trust assets as passing entirely in fee to surviving spouse B. The net corpus of the trust consists of a 160-acre farm valued at $250,000 and personal property valued at $200,000.
Tax on the basis of all property passing in fee to B
Share | Tax |
$450,000 | $0 |
EXAMPLE 2. Same facts as Example 1, with the exception that the personal representative did not make an Iowa qualified terminable interest election. In this fact situation, the trust assets are taxed on the basis of a life estate passing to the surviving spouse B with a remainder over to D and E.
In Example 1, the qualified terminable interest election results in no inheritance tax. However, as shown in Example 2, it would cost D and E $30,997.46 if the election had not been made.
EXAMPLE 3. G, the surviving spouse of F, died testate, a resident of Iowa, on October 15, 2017. Under the terms of G's will, G's grandchildren, H and I, inherit G's entire estate in equal shares. G's net estate consists of $200,000 in personal property and a 160-acre Iowa farm with a value of $250,000 both of which were the subject of a qualified terminable interest election in F's estate and in which H and I own the remainder interest. G's net estate also consisted of $100,000 in intangible personal property that G owned in fee simple.
G's net estate for Iowa inheritance tax purposes consists of the following:
$200,000, personal property from F's estate.
$250,000, 160-acre farm from F's estate.
$100,000, owned by G in fee simple.
$550,000 Total
The shares of H and I and their tax owed in G's estate are computed as follows:
For the purposes of this exemption:
EXAMPLE 1. The decedent was a participant in a qualified retirement plan through the decedent's employer. The beneficiary of the retirement plan is the decedent's niece. The balance in the retirement plan will be fully subject to federal income tax and included as net income pursuant to Iowa Code section 422.7 when paid to the beneficiary. As a result, Iowa inheritance tax would not be imposed on the value of the retirement plan.
EXAMPLE 2. The decedent was a participant in a qualified retirement plan through the decedent's employer. The beneficiary of the pension is the decedent's niece. A portion of the payments received by the niece will be fully subject to federal income tax and included as net income pursuant to Iowa Code section 422.7. As a result, Iowa inheritance tax would not be imposed on the value of the portion of payments included as net income. However, the remaining portion of the payments not reported as net income pursuant to Iowa Code section 422.7 would be subject to Iowa inheritance tax. See Iowa Code section 450.4.
An exemption from Iowa inheritance tax for a qualified plan does not depend on the relationship of the beneficiary to the decedent. Payments under a qualified plan made to the estate of the decedent are exempt from Iowa inheritance tax. See In re Estate of Heuermann, Docket No. 88- 70-0388 (September 21, 1989). In addition, for the purpose of determining the taxable or exempt status of payments under a qualified plan, it is not relevant that the decedent rolled over or changed the terms of payment prior to death. Taxation or exemption of payments made under a qualified plan is determined at the date of the decedent's death.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 422.7, 450.2, 450.3, 450.4(5), 450.8, 450.12, 450.37, 450.91, 633.699, and 633.703A and Iowa Code section 450.4 as amended by 2015 Iowa Acts, chapter 137.
Iowa Admin. Code r. 701-900.5
ARC 1137C, IAB 10/30/13, effective 12/4/13; ARC 2633C, IAB 7/20/16, effective 8/24/16; ARC 2691C, IAB 8/31/16, effective 10/5/16; Editorial change: IAC Supplement 11/2/22; Editorial change: IAC Supplement 11/2/22; Editorial change: IAC Supplement 10/18/23