In the State of Pennsylvania inheritance tax is paid on the assets of the deceased.  The personal representative is responsible for the payment of the taxes. 

There is an inheritance tax in Pennsylvania and it is pretty extensive.  Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax is 4.5 percent for transfers to direct descendants (lineal heirs), 12 percent for transfers to siblings, and 15 percent for transfers to other heirs (except charitable organizations, exempt institutions, and government entities). Property owned jointly between husband and wife is exempt from Inheritance Tax, while property inherited from a spouse, or from a child twenty-one or younger by a parent is taxed at a rate of 0 percent.
 
For dates of death on or after January 1, 1995 to June 30, 2000, the tax rate for Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax is 6 percent for transfers to direct descendants (lineal heirs), 15 percent for transfers to siblings, and 15 percent for transfers to all other heirs. The spousal tax rate for dates of death on or after January 1, 1995 is 0 percent.
Inheritance tax exemptions and rates may vary depending on who received the property, i.e. the decedent’s spouse may be taxed at a lower rate than would be a friend of the decedent. A number of states are phasing out their inheritance tax systems however Pennsylvania is going strong..

The inheritance tax is due within 9 months of a person’s death.  After that you are considered delinquent.  If you pay before the deadline, you can receive a discount of 5%. 

Those that support inheritance tax say that it is not a death tax per say but a tax on a transfer of wealth that was received upon the death of a person.  Those that are against it state that the full estate, not the amount transferred, increases the effective transfer tax rate.  It should be less than the value of the estate.

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 11:56 am and is filed under Inheritance Tax Laws, Tax Laws. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.