26 U.S.C. § 2051
Section 2051 · Definition of taxable estate
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 34 court decisions — leading case 192 N.C. App. 321 - In Re Estate of Pope (2008)
Most recently applied in Estate of Richard D. Spizzirri v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (May 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
For purposes of the tax imposed by section 2001, the value of the taxable estate shall be determined by deducting from the value of the gross estate the deductions provided for in this part.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendments
1978—Pub. L. 95–600 struck out “exemption and” after “gross estate the”.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Section 702(r)(5) of Pub. L. 95–600 provided that: “The amendments made by this subsection [amending this section and sections 1016, 6324B, and 6698A of this title] shall apply to estates of decedents dying after December 31, 1976.”
Cross References
Liability of life insurance beneficiaries, see section 2206 of this title.